Designing Structured Intervention

for Managing Complexity

Open Space Technology

OCD Group A10:
H21004 | Alankrit
H21036 | Pritam
H21058 | Vasudevan
H21075 | Ayush
H21082 | Iman
Introduction (1/2)

● Open Space Technology enables all kinds of people, within any type of organization, to
collaborate effectively and enact change
● In Open Space meetings, people create and manage their own agenda with parallel
working sessions around a chosen strategic goal
● This can be done through 1-day workshops, 3-day conferences, regular staff meetings or
creating a platform where dialogue and collaboration can take place
● Open Space Technology works best under the following conditions:
a. Work to be done is complex
b. Diversity among people and ideas involved
c. Potential for conflict is high
d. Sense of urgency to get things done
Introduction (2/2)
Advantages of using Open Space Technology:

1. Issues that are most important to the people involved will be raised
2. The issues that are raised can be addressed by the most qualified and capable people available in
these spaces
3. One or two days' worth of work will result in a final, printed report that will be in the hands of
the attendees when they leave, with all of the key concepts, discussions, facts, findings,
suggestions, and plans for immediate action.
4. Similar to meetings of the United Nations, formal reports and documentations can be prepared in
very short time frames even in large group sizes
5. Future implementations can be achieved in a speedy time frame, as the results of the conferences
or meetings can be made available immediately to every relevant stakeholder
6. These implementations will be faster than any other formal interventions by large groups of
people - OST can achieve in days and weeks what most programs can do in months or years
 Problem under Consideration

● The problem under consideration was presented to Deloitte India’s Human Capital Consulting
division by one of the largest Indian mass media companies
● The organization wanted to implement an ERP solution to smoothen operations
● The team of consultants at Deloitte realized that the core problem presented was not
operational, but rather a matter of communication within the organization
● As an alternative, Deloitte offered an OST solution which would span across the entire
organization and include the various business within it
● Given the opportunity to have an open discussion, leaders across all levels in the organization
assembled to discuss areas of improvement and the way forward
 Chosen Principle
“WHOEVER COMES IS THE RIGHT PEOPLE”
First principle of Open Space technology: Whoever
comes is the right people which essentially indicates that
the quality of discussions within groups is what matters
the most.
Focus on the quality of inputs provided by each
individual members of the group. Quality inputs might
also be generated by interns in the team
This mindset would be particularly useful in the case of
solving a real-life business problem like that of ERP
implementation. The first principle finds its implication in
the part where the focus of the group can be diverted from
the designation/status focused conversations to the quality
of the contributions of the individual members of the
group.
Thank You