The workshop method at its most basic level is consistent with the art form method. The major points of difference are the point of reference and the intent of the method. The art form conversation uses the object or situation being discussed and the participants' relationship to it as points of reference. It uses the objectivity of the art form to maintain focus to the conversation and the structure of the conversation to deepen the participants' relationship to the issue being raised indirectly by the art form. The workshop method uses the focus question and the experience and ideas of the participants as the points of reference. The structure of the sequence of the workshop process is as follows. The fourth process is to give names to the groups, sub-groups, and sub-sub-groups, etc. into which the data has been organized. These names should be as concrete as possible while being inclusive of all the data in the group. Some attention should be paid to the language used in naming. The type of language used should reflect the organizing principle. For example, if specific steps to implement a plan are being organized then action verbs and verb modifiers should be used for the names.
The final process is to write prose descriptions of the groups and sub-groups. Where possible the data should be used for this purpose along with additional insights as the data is organized, named and written. This written material is the basis of agreement for the workshop. It is the product of the workshop. It is at this point that the group may be asked if that is their decision. While the group has been making decisions all along here is where the final decision is articulated and symbolized.
While it is possible to have workshops in size from an individual to over 1000 people participating, the optimum size is from 15 to 30 people. For groups larger than this it is best to divide into several groups dealing with the same questions and to gestalt the results of these workshops in a plenary session. In this case each group would be treated as an individual in the smaller workshops.
In the dynamics of the workshop the objective level is the context and the brainstorm. The reflective level is the gestalting process. The naming process is the level of interpretation. The last step is the decisional level.
