CVS Skills in Facilitation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Why does a value study facilitator typically remain neutral on technical content decisions?
- Because facilitators lack technical qualifications
- Because neutrality is only required in government studies
- Because the facilitator's role is to manage process while the team owns the content and outcomes (Correct answer)
- Because sponsors forbid facilitators from speaking
Correct answer: Because the facilitator's role is to manage process while the team owns the content and outcomes
Process neutrality preserves team ownership of results and the facilitator's credibility with all stakeholders.
Question 2: Which questioning technique is most useful for drawing out a quiet subject-matter expert during the Information Phase?
- Rhetorical questions requiring no answer
- Open-ended questions directed to them by name (Correct answer)
- Rapid-fire yes/no questions
- Leading questions that suggest the desired answer
Correct answer: Open-ended questions directed to them by name
Direct, open-ended questions invite quieter experts to share knowledge in their own words.
Question 3: During idea evaluation, a team wants to discard an unconventional idea immediately. What should a skilled facilitator do?
- Delete the idea to maintain the team's goodwill
- Force the team to adopt the idea into the final proposal
- Postpone all evaluation to a later study
- Ask the team to identify any redeeming features or ways to modify the idea before rejecting it (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Ask the team to identify any redeeming features or ways to modify the idea before rejecting it
Exploring an idea's positive aspects before rejection preserves creative potential that abrupt dismissal would lose.
Question 4: What is the main benefit of using a 'parking lot' during a value workshop?
- It captures off-topic but important issues so the session stays on track without losing them (Correct answer)
- It records attendance for the study report
- It ranks ideas by cost savings
- It stores rejected ideas permanently
Correct answer: It captures off-topic but important issues so the session stays on track without losing them
A parking lot acknowledges valid tangents and defers them, protecting the agenda while respecting contributors.
Question 5: A facilitator preparing for a value study learns two departments involved have a history of conflict. The best pre-workshop action is to:
- Exclude one department from the study entirely
- Meet with key stakeholders beforehand to understand concerns and build rapport (Correct answer)
- Seat the departments on opposite sides of the room and hope for the best
- Shorten the workshop to minimize interaction time
Correct answer: Meet with key stakeholders beforehand to understand concerns and build rapport
Pre-workshop interviews surface concerns early and let the facilitator plan interventions and build trust.
Question 6: Which behavior signals that a facilitator is losing control of a workshop session?
- Participants asking clarifying questions about functions
- The team debating the merits of an alternative
- Multiple side conversations occurring while agenda items go unaddressed (Correct answer)
- A short silence while participants think
Correct answer: Multiple side conversations occurring while agenda items go unaddressed
Persistent side conversations and an ignored agenda indicate the group's attention is no longer being managed.
Question 7: When summarizing at the end of each workshop day, the facilitator should primarily:
- Review accomplishments, confirm decisions made, and preview the next day's agenda (Correct answer)
- Critique individual participants' performance
- Present their personal opinion of the best alternative
- Re-open all decisions made during the day for debate
Correct answer: Review accomplishments, confirm decisions made, and preview the next day's agenda
Daily summaries consolidate progress, lock in decisions, and set expectations, keeping the study on schedule.
CVS Skills in Facilitation 3
Why does a value study facilitator typically remain neutral on technical content decisions?