<aside> <img src="/icons/list-indent_gray.svg" alt="/icons/list-indent_gray.svg" width="40px" /> The Sync Event

• Duration

• Participants

• Components

• 1toAll components

• The Open Space

• Pre and post-event

• Organising team

• Logistics - in person

• Logistics - Remote

• Example agenda </aside>

Fully remote events are a good options when getting everyone together is not possible for any reason. A fully remote event is certainly better than a poorly attended in-person event.

<aside> ⚠️ “Fully remote” means that every single participant is calling with a separate, individual, connection. When multiple people connect through the same laptop or meeting room, it’s a hybrid setup and the event should be designed differently.

</aside>

Your models will have to be all electronic of course.

You will need a feature-rich videoconferencing solution. The key features you need are:

• Supporting everyone in your 1-to-All components, which nowadays is not an issue
• Allowing team and hot topics rooms, crucially with the freedom for all participants to move freely between them
• Electronic whiteboards if not included in your videoconferencing solution
• An asynchronous communication tool to manage the event. Slack or Teams for example.

Even better, there are tools which mimic a physical setup, where you can see the available locations and where people are. Some tools integrate whiteboards and other resources in the rooms; some have spatial sound as well. We have used Welo with great results.

In designing a remote sync event, the most difficult thing is leaving time for participants to recuperate from the exhausting remote interaction. So in the agenda, never have any component extend for more than 45 minutes with 15 minutes of free time. If the component has to be longer, split it explicitly.

Create virtual spaces and rooms for people to hang out during free time or when they need a break even during a session. Connect whiteboards to those spaces so it’s easy to collaborate for everyone in a virtual room.

Always keep everything synchronised and with strict timing. The open space is still an open space and it’s happening at that specific time. Use the async channel to keep everyone informed about what’s happening and what is about to happen.

Next:

Example agendas

Stream Iteration Sync is licensed under CC BY 4.0