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The conventional approach to building a simulation is to work with 1 or 2 people from your client company, let them answer your questions and give you feedback on whether the simulation is accurate. However, at SIMUL8 we've started taking a different approach for certain situations. We've started using workshops as part of our methodology.

Why Workshops?

We've found that when we are asked to simulate a process covering many departments or areas the conventional approach doesn't always work. We can meet with stakeholders individually and they can all have a different view of what happens in the process. Potentially we could build several different simulations of what is meant to be the same process! What we want to have is an understanding of the process which is unaffected by personal perception so that our simulation accurately reflects reality.

Workshops are one way to do this. By involving all stakeholders we can get them talking about the process, reach agreement on the structure of the process and also identify the issues surrounding it. It may be that you learn that the issues are concentrated in one area so you actually only need to build a simulation of that part of the process.

The objective of the workshop is to get people talking about the process - so everything in the workshop is tailored to discussion. However, since SIMUL8 makes it pretty easy to build and change simulations you may even start working with your simulation during the workshop.

An Example

The first time we used workshops was for one of our large health care customers. There were concerns about the capability of one of their receiving wards to meet demand. The diagram below shows that to simulate the process we had to include the ED and other wards as the problems in the Receiving ward could be caused by the way patients flowed in or out of the ward.

If we had only to look at the Receiving Ward we would probably have followed the conventional approach to model building but because we were looking at several different wards (which meant many stakeholders and issues) we decided to use workshops as part of our methodology.

We held 3 workshops and had approximately 12 people attending each one. The 1st workshop was to get an understanding of the process, the 2nd workshop was to get feedback on the model structure, the 3rd was to validate the simulation results and identify improvements to the process that could be investigated using the model.

We invited nurses, doctors and bed managers from each ward, a porter, a pharmacist, management figures (e.g. Director of Medicine) and a data analyst.

The workshops were successful - we were concerned at first that the politics of the hospital might prevent people from talking but that didn't seem to be an issue. We did find at start of the 1st workshop that people were quiet but realized that was because we hadn't done anything to stimulate the conversation. It wasn't enough to say to them 'tell us about your process'. They needed to be asked specific questions to get the conversation going. Luckily we had brought some equipment with us and were able to quickly set up a post-it session - getting people to put their thoughts on a post it. Once we started discussing the info on post-its we couldn't get people to stop talking!

Since then workshops have become part of our standard approach to model building.

The Benefits

It's important to be aware that there are benefits for the client as well as the model builder.

Model builder:
- Gives the simulation consultant access to a wide range of knowledge and experience on which to base the simulations
- Buy-in from participants which can smooth progress of project
- Easier model validation

Client:
- Brings workshop participants on board (which makes implementing any changes easier)
- The workshop participants gain a fresh view of the their process and role
- Improved communication between participants (important when we talking about larger processes with many departments that interact)

Who Should Attend

There should be a representative from every stakeholder group present. I've also found it useful to have someone who works with the data there. During discussions they can let you know what suggestions are feasible in terms of data availability and when you contact them looking for information they'll understand exactly what you're looking for and why.

General Format

We've found that the length of workshops can vary depending upon how much you want to cover. Generally they take between a half and a whole day. Our general approach is:

1. Brief introduction to simulation and SIMUL8. Show a simple model that has an easy story to understand. Remember a lot of your audience may never have heard of simulation before.
2. Show a model of the process. It's a good idea to have a model of their process on display as it will act as starting point for discussion. Don't worry if the model is wrong - sometimes this can better as it gets people talking
3. Discussion: May require formal idea generation technique such as a Post-It session if you find a conversation isn't happening naturally or is being dominated by certain people.

Workshop Facilitation

Workshop facilitation is a large research area. There are many different thoughts on the most effective and efficient ways to carry out your workshop. I would recommend you do some initial research but you'll find your technique improves as your experience grows - for example you may discover that allowing people to sit behind desks stops discussion.

General Tips

Some general advice that applies to all situations and groups is:

Conclusion

The format we follow is just a suggestion - we've found the key thing with workshops is to be flexible. If you've started with one approach and it doesn't seem to working be prepared to change to another. Just always keep in mind what you want to achieve from the workshop and work to that objective.

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