Running a Playbook Workshop

For larger groups or project kick-offs, a structured workshop helps align a team on guidelines and workflows before annotation begins.

When a Workshop Is Worth It

A dedicated session makes sense when:

• You are starting a new project with contributors who have not used the playbook before
• You need to align a large team on common terminology before annotation begins
• You are piloting the playbook in a new language community and want to collect localization feedback

For small teams or individual onboarding, a one-to-one walkthrough is usually sufficient — see Onboarding a Team.

Workshop Formats

Format	Best for	Duration
Orientation session	Introduce the playbook to a new team	2–3 hours
Task deep dive	Train contributors on one chapter (e.g., speech recording, text annotation)	Half day
Full onboarding	Bring all project roles together before a project launch	Full day
Feedback and localization	Review a chapter with community experts, collect revision input	2–3 hours

Preparing a Session

1. Identify the relevant chapters — limit to 1–2 per session; do not attempt the full playbook at once
2. Prepare a concrete worked example — use real samples from your project, not abstract examples
3. Distribute materials in advance — share the chapter link or a printout at least 3 days beforehand
4. Assign roles — designate a facilitator, a note-taker, and a timekeeper before the session begins
5. Make materials available offline — see Inclusive Access

A Simple Session Structure

00:00 – 00:15  Welcome and objectives
00:15 – 00:30  Playbook overview (structure, how to navigate)
00:30 – 01:00  Deep dive into the relevant chapter (facilitator-led)
01:00 – 01:30  Hands-on task in small groups (3–5 people)
01:30 – 01:50  Group debrief (what was clear, what was confusing)
01:50 – 02:00  Next steps and Q&A

For a full-day workshop, repeat the deep-dive and hands-on blocks for each additional chapter with breaks between.

Facilitation Tips

• Start with a concrete task, not a lecture — participants engage faster when they have something to do
• Capture disagreements — where participants interpret guidelines differently is where the playbook needs more clarity; document these moments and submit them as feedback
• Time-box discussions; have someone keep the session on schedule

After the Workshop

• Share a written summary within 48 hours: what was covered, what questions arose, what next steps are
• Log any sections that caused confusion — these are candidates for improvement
• Submit feedback via the GitHub repository or the built-in feedback form on the site
• Identify one or two participants who can serve as local playbook champions — people who can answer questions and onboard future contributors independently