The parking lot
A workshop parking lot is a space where you can save ideas that can't be addressed at the moment. It can either be tangible, like an easel-sized sticky note or whiteboard, or digital, like a Miro board or a Google Doc.
What goes into the parking lot?
- Off-topic ideas you want to address later
- Questions you can't answer right now but are worth researching in the future
- Comments that can't be acted upon during the workshop but can be a great follow-up topic
Ensure that people know that the parking lot will be addressed — using this tool to get rid of unwanted ideas will come across as dismissive. Schedule time to discuss parking lot items at the end of the workshop or in a separate meeting 1-2 days later.[1]
Pro Tip: Separating the parking lot discussion from the original meeting helps people look at ideas from a renewed perspective.
