Is Workshop Tactics worth it?
Michael Crabb discovered that Workshop Tactics could help him save significant time in workshop planning. As a head of computing learning and teaching who frequently runs workshops with little notice, he needed reliable tools to structure engaging sessions quickly. The cards became his secret weapon for transforming one-hour workshops into comprehensive learning experiences.
"Things like this save you so much time"
Why Michael needed better workshop tools
Mike Crabb is a lecturer in human-computer interaction at the University of Dundee. His research focuses on user experience and accessibility. He frequently runs workshops for students, faculty members, and administrators to help improve the university experience. With workshops often requested with very little notice, he needed tools that could help him save time in planning whilst maintaining quality. Connect on LinkedIn.
"Things like this save you so much time. Make sure that you're talking to the right people. Make sure you're gathering information. And yeah, I use a deck on a daily slash weekly basis just now. And I have no doubt that you will do too."
Watch Michael's testimonial about Workshop Tactics
Full testimonial transcript
My name is Michael Crabb. I'm head of computing learning and teaching at the University of Dundee in Scotland.
So we bought two sets of Pip Decks. We bought the Workshop Tactics, and we bought the Idea Tactics. And the main reason for this is really down to the number of workshops I'm asked to run nowadays, to talk to students, to talk to faculty members, to talk to administrators, and try and come up with ideas of how we can make the university experience a little bit better.
And I thought that the Pip Decks would be a really interesting way of trying to save me some time in doing this. More often than not, I'm asked to carry out these workshops with very little notice.
So it made sense for us to buy a deck like this to see if it would save us something, and it really did.
Having things like this, this is one of my favorites. So the journey map. So having a very simple way for us to see, okay, well this is a task that we want to carry out. So for example, for journey maps, we're always looking to see how people carry out processes in universities and how we can make them better.
And activities like this are great, but the activities don't just happen in isolation. This little bit down at the bottom here, that's the secret sauce.
So that helps us to see, well, how can we turn this one hour workshop into a two hour, two and a half hour workshop where we can combine different activities together?
So if you're considering buying a Pip Deck and you're trying to figure out whether or not you'd want to, think about the amount of time that you spend drawing up your workshop plans, and then think about the amount of time that you're not spending talking to people and finding out the answers.
Things like this save you so much time. Make sure that you're talking to the right people. Make sure you're gathering information.
And yeah, I use a deck on a daily/weekly basis just now. And I have no doubt that you will do too.
From time pressure to efficient planning
Michael purchased Workshop Tactics to address the challenge of running workshops with very little notice. As a head of computing learning and teaching, he frequently needed to create engaging workshops for students, faculty members, and administrators with minimal preparation time.
The cards provided him with a systematic approach to workshop planning. Rather than spending hours drawing up workshop plans, he could quickly access proven activities and combine them effectively. This allowed him to focus on gathering information and talking to the right people rather than struggling with workshop structure.
The university workshop challenge
University workshops require more than just activities—they need structured learning experiences that can be adapted to different audiences. Michael found that Workshop Tactics provided the tools he needed to transform simple activities into comprehensive learning experiences.
The journey map card became his favourite tool for understanding how people carry out processes. The "secret sauce" at the bottom of each card helped him understand how to combine activities to create longer, more comprehensive workshops.
What made the difference
Michael's experience shows how Workshop Tactics solves real problems for educators and facilitators. The cards provide instant access to proven facilitation techniques, reducing planning time whilst maintaining quality. The structured approach, in particular, helped him create more effective learning experiences.
How Michael uses Workshop Tactics in practice
Michael builds sessions from one anchor activity and the “secret sauce” suggestions beneath it. For process improvement, he pairs journey map with a quick stakeholder sweep, then closes with a decision tactic that commits to one change this term. For ad‑hoc requests, he keeps a short list of 30‑, 60‑ and 120‑minute combinations so he can scale the workshop length on demand without re‑writing a plan.
Who this helps
- Higher‑education faculty facilitating curriculum and service improvements
- University administrators who need productive, inclusive discussions
- Academic support teams designing student‑experience projects
Transform your workshop planning
If you're tired of spending hours planning workshops, the Workshop Tactics Deck might be exactly what you need. You'll join over 200,000 professionals who've found their confidence through these cards.
Michael's success story represents one example of how Pip Decks' community of over 200,000 professionals across 100+ countries is transforming their work. These are real experiences from trusted experts who've field‑tested these tools in demanding professional environments.
For the complete facilitation system, consider pairing Workshop Tactics with Storyteller Tactics to create workshops that both educate and inspire.
Explore more success stories on our Pip Decks Testimonials Hub.
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