How to organize a small group discussion

Want to organize an ITSM CG small group discussion? Great! Here's what to do:

• 1. Select one or more dates and times for your discussion. Try to choose times that work well for Eastern Time and Pacific Time, such as 2-3 PM ET. If possible, try to find someone to be technical support for your session, and coordinate with them on the dates & times.

  2. Create a sign-up survey to send to the ITSM CG. Include, at least:

     • Description of the small-group discussion (you can copy + paste this into your announcement)

     • Ask for their name

     • Ask for their email address

     • Ask for their institution

     • If more than one time, ask what times would work--try to list times in both ET and PT

     • If you want, ask if they would be willing to present/lead discussions

     • Ask if they have any questions/prompts to start discussion

  3. Send an announcement to the ITSM CG about the small group discussion. Include the description and a link to the survey.

  4. As responses come in, send people preliminary calendar invitations for the appropriate session/time.

  5. Now you need to figure out what tool you are going to use for the small group discussion. It could be a school that your tool has access to, or it could just be Google Hangouts.

  6. Update the calendar invitation with instructions for how to get into the tool, e.g. the link to use. Also send an email to participants in case people have issues with calendar invitations.

  7. The day of:

     • On the day of, log into the tool a few minutes early.

     • At the beginning of the session, state ground rules:

     • * How private is the meeting? Totally confidential (no sharing anything), Chatham House rule, or totally public?

     • * People should mute themselves unless they have issues

     • * People with technical issues should contact the technical support person

     • Wrap up on time

     • Consider sending a short feedback survey asking what went well and what did not go well

  8. Send a summary of the discussion to the ITSM CG listserv including any lessons learned