Most of the work associated with a workshop like this is actually done before the workshop even begins. To quote one of my favorite inventors and statesmen:
“By not preparing, you are setting yourself up to fail.” —Benjamin Franklin
Finding and aligning functional areas
Depending on your level of industry knowledge, be prepared to spend a significant amount of time on research prior to the workshop. Several topics must be covered before the outline of the workshop can be written.
- A high-level understanding of the industry: Who are the main players, what are the main drivers, what are the trends and what are the current challenges?
- Functional areas of activity: Research in depth what the key functional areas of the company you’re working with are, and then drill down into each one.
Try segmenting functional areas one level lower to get a more granular view. Using an energy utility as an example, a typical list of functional areas might look like the list below:
- Electricity production and management of energy resources: Traditional power plants, renewable energies (solar, wind, hydro), distributed generation, energy storage systems, production optimization
- Network management and asset maintenance: Transportation networks, distribution networks, smart grid technologies, predictive maintenance, outage management, asset lifecycle management
- Customer management, marketing and sales: Customer service, billing and payments, customer relationship management (CRM), marketing campaigns, sales operations, customer analytics
- Energy trading, market operations and risk management: Energy supply, wholesale, price forecasting, market analysis, hedging strategies, risk assessment
- Supply chain management and operational efficiency: Purchasing, supplier management, inventory management, logistics, process optimization, cost reduction
- Finance, Compliance and Regulation: Financial planning, budgeting, accounting, regulatory compliance, auditing, government relations, policy advocacy
- Human resources and workforce management: Talent acquisition, training and development, employee engagement, performance management, workforce planning, health and safety
- Information technology, cybersecurity and innovation: IT infrastructure, cybersecurity measures, data analysis, business intelligence, innovation programs, research and development (R&D), emerging technologies (IoT, AI, Blockchain)
- Environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility: Emissions reduction initiatives, sustainability reporting, environmental compliance, renewable energy certificates, community engagement, CSR programs
You have now completed the first part of the research and should, ideally, align with the client on whether this list is what they want to focus on or whether they want to develop certain areas while excluding others. The structure above will help you refine the workshop agenda in more detail and will also help guide the rest of the research for the workshop.
In-depth analyzes of functional areas
After aligning with the framework, we can begin to dig deeper into each of the subcategories to understand where and how AI and data science are applied to drive value. This is usually where I have to spend the most time researching.
I usually start with specific questions, such as: “How is AI used in power generation, particularly wind generation?” » The results of this query may generate the following topics:
- Using AI and quantum computing to better understand how to plan and optimize wind turbine placement in onshore wind farms
- Time series modeling for fault detection and turbine diagnostics
- Time Series Modeling for Predictive Turbine Maintenance
If available, also try to quantify the possible value derived from the use of the technology. For example, if Equinor, an energy company, was able to reduce unplanned wind turbine downtime by 40% after implementing a predictive maintenance project, how does that translate into monetary value? How would this example translate into your specific business if you had, for example, a wind farm with 1,000 wind turbines? The quantification aspect is important because it will facilitate the subsequent work of prioritizing initiatives.
At this stage of research, it is also acceptable to think outside the box and perhaps explore how a specific technology might be borrowed from one industry to another. Many technologies begin by being used in one industry and then evolve into others with similar functional areas. For example, data-driven churn management began to be used by telecommunications companies and banking companies, but was quickly adopted across almost every industry.
Writing the agenda
With an understanding of the industry, functional business areas and technological possibilities, it is time to draft an agenda for the workshop.
For a two-day workshop, I would recommend at least 30 minutes for an introduction to introduce the workshop and its objectives. I would also allow time to review pre-workshop results, as this gives participants insight into their a priori collective views, expectations and priorities. The remainder of the workshop would then be devoted to sessions on the selected functional areas. Finally, end the workshop with a summary of the topics covered and next steps.
A 2 day workshop with 9 deep dives into functional areas, could be planned using the structure below:
Day 1
9:00 a.m. — 9:30 a.m.: Welcome and introduction
9:30 a.m. — 10:00 a.m.: Review of pre-workshop results
10:15 a.m. — 11:30 p.m.: Session 1
1:00 p.m. — 2:15 p.m.: Session 2
2:30 p.m. — 3:45 p.m.: Session 3
4:00 p.m. — 5:15 p.m.: Session 4
5:15 p.m. — 5:30 p.m.: Day 1 recap
Day 2
9:00 a.m. — 9:15 a.m.: Day 1 recap
9:15 a.m. — 10:30 a.m.: Session 5
10:45 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.: Session 6
1:00 p.m. — 2:15 p.m.: Session 7
2:30 p.m. — 3:45 p.m.: Session 8
4:00 p.m. — 5:15 p.m.: Session 9
5:15 p.m. — 5:45 p.m.: Final recap and next steps
