A Question & Answer Resource for Social Networks
To Share Insights and Opportunities for CoCreation
As an aid to sharing project ideas in social networks, it may be useful to have a standard Q&A template through which specialists can fill in their respective insights on problems, opportunities, and strategies relating to their initiatives.
The questions below aim to generate narratives in a domain-independent "fractal" pattern that can speed learning and discovery of opportunities for co-creation. Key questions are noted in boldface. (To speed interactions, a Q&A web page might have a slider-style button that would give users the choice of seeing only the boldfaced questions.)
GENERIC QUESTIONS
What is your name?
How would you describe yourself?
What is the main topic you will you be exploring here?
Why do you want to share your insights?
ATTRACTOR
What is a good “teaser” to stir up interest in your topic?
Who do you see as the prime audience?
Who else may benefit from the insights you’re sharing here?
OPTION: Who may disagree with the points you'll be making in this background interview?
In what kind of situations will people find your remarks most useful?
Further prompt: Please mention the kind of places, times, or other circumstances where people will find the material you're covering to be most valuable.
How did you research and prepare the material that you are presenting here?
Are there any caveats you’d like to offer about the applicability of what we’ll be hearing?
Before we get going, are there people or organizations whose inputs or help you would like to acknowledge?
II. CHALLENGE
What is the essential challenge now facing the audience you mentioned?
Please give examples of the forms this challenge is now taking.
How has this target audience (or similar groups) met this kind of challenge in the past?
Why are these past approaches no longer the best way to go?
What factors or driving forces now make possible a change in past approaches?
Please describe specific forces (for example, new technologies, ideas, expectations, or value systems) that call for a change in approach.
Who is now adapting best– and who is adapting most poorly – to these forces?
Please describe some surprising examples of successful responses and failures to these forces.
How far-reaching is the challenge that faces the target audience?
What data or key indicators show the extent of the challenge?
How well is the main audience doing now based on statistics, compared with how others are doing?
What are the most critical gaps or shortfalls that the audience you've described has to resolve?
What do you see happening to this audience – and how soon -- if the gaps or challenges are not dealt with?
3. OPPORTUNITY
What surprising result do you think is achievable by the target audience, in response to the challenge?
Are there any examples where people in similar circumstances have successfully achieved such results?
In your view, what are the interesting aspects of their successes?
4. STRATEGY
What are the highlights of a strategy or set of actions that your target audience can take to reach its desired result?
Please describe each core element of your success strategy in as much detail as needed.
For each core element of your strategy, please describe how it compares to other alternatives that people may now be considering to reach the result.
What are the overall preconditions (resources and organizational) for this basic strategy to work?
Please also describe any specific preconditions for the key individual elements of the strategy.
What self-assessment can the audience undertake to scope out the potential value of the basic strategy?
What steps can be taken by your audience to turn the basic strategy into a tailored workplan, and estimate its impacts?
Once this workplan is ready, what steps should your audience take to confirm its acceptance by key stakeholders?
What are the key inputs (skills, funds, places, etc) that the plan will need to be implemented?
What kind of processes will be needed to transform these key inputs into useful outputs?
What delivery systems will get the outputs to the right people and places?
What systems should be in place to confirm the results?
What are the main tradeoffs between three options -- making, buying, or customizing -- to prepare the ground for the preferred workplan?
Are there any surprising “off the shelf” solutions available for this setup stage?
What scenarios do you see to manage the operational stage?
Are there any surprising “off the shelf” solutions that can help in for this operational stage?
What scenarios do you see for troubleshooting/fixing any problems that arise?
Are there any surprising “off the shelf” solutions available in this troubleshooting and fixup stage?
5. ACCEPTANCE TEST
Who are the likely key champions of adopting your basic strategy in the current setting, and what are their interests in supporting it?
Who are the likely key opponents of adopting your basic strategy in the current setting, and what are their interests in opposing it?
Who are the likely key undecided stakeholders, and what are their reasons for staying undecided?
Please list what you see as “deep” factors (e.g. existing values, commitments, or relationships) that influence decisions of the respective stakeholders.
Please list other factors that may influence decisions of the respective stakeholders.
Do you have anecdotes, or information from market surveys, showing what stakeholders think about current conditions?
Do you have anecdotes, or information from market surveys, showing what stakeholders think about the proposed strategy and workplan?
Can you describe, in more detail, important concerns or issues raised by these anecdotes or surveys?
Please note any limitations regarding the data cited and/or the analysis, and suggest ways these limitations can be overcome in the future.
Please conclude with a summary of the acceptance survey results and implications for action.
6. NEXT TO DO
How urgent is the need for the audience to take action?
What are the most pressing issues and uncertainties to resolve, before the audience proceeds to act on the opportunities and strategy?
What results and benefits are with reach of your audience after they make a decision to move forward?
Can you offer any further words of advice or encouragement?
Thanks – we appreciate your sharing this background!
Annex A: Resources to Clarify Understanding
Please give a brief biography of your background and experience in the subject area of your talk, as well as the qualifications of any organization that helped in sponsoring your work.
Can you recommend any related case studies for people to review?
What checklists are available for people to understand the detailed requirements for the project Scoping and Planning stages?
Please give the listeners any sources of questionnaires that can be used in “acceptance testing” of the Strategy and its workplan.
Please give samples of tables and charts that can be used to present the results of “acceptance testing” surveys.
Please give samples of spreadsheets showing revenues, costs, and investment returns from adoption of a similar strategy and workplan.
Please give samples of timelines showing standard phases and activities for this kind of strategy and workplan.
What basic and advance references are available to better understand the subjects covered in this talk?
Where can the audience find other experts or research groups who specialize in the areas covered in this talk?
Annex B: Resources for Next Steps
Are there sample specifications for the key goods and services needed to implement the recommended strategy and workplan?
Are there sample RFP ( documents that can be circulated to vendors of key goods and services needed by this strategy and workplan?
Are there directories of specialized vendors and other solution providers that can be useful?
What are the best online or other venues to post a call for bids?
Please give samples of bid review templates/spreadsheets for evaluating vendor proposals.
Please give model contracts for partnerships or vendor agreements that could be useful for implementing the strategy and workplan.
Please itemize the permits, approvals, and other mandatory requirements that are needed, along with any flowchart of when these requirements must be met.
Please give pointers to any model “dashboards” or project management templates for the audience to oversee implemention of the strategy and workplan.