With the Liberating structure ‘User experience fishbowl’ you can share the knowledge of a few with a (large group). On this page a short explanation.
There are many ways to introduce a (large) group of people to a topic. The Fishbowl is a fun interactive variation on boring reports and dry monologues. In these Liberating structures we zoom in on user experiences : A group of users shares the experiences with a product in a mutual conversation, the audience observes.
Design
- The knowledge holders (maximum 8) are in the middle of the room
- They have a conversation about their experiences with a product or service (what was good, what could be better, etc.)
- The audience consists of people who know less about the topic and are informed. They can take notes, but have no active role in the conversation.
Fishbowl
The word Fishbowl refers to the working method. In the middle of the room, the experts sit down and talk to each other, like fish in a fishbowl. The spectators sit around it and look, as it were, at the fish in the bowl.
Also online
You can do the Fishbowl perfectly online. Ask 4-5 volunteers to have the conversation and let the others mute their sounds. So they follow the conversation, but have no input. The advantage is that your screen is already a bit of a fishbowl
New customer in the bowl
As the name of the Liberating structure suggests, it is mainly about user stories. And who knows more about the use than… the user himself. The Fishbowl is therefore very suitable if you as an organization have a new customer and want to introduce your own employees to the world of the customer. Put your customers in the fishbowl and let them have the conversation.
New product in the making
The fishbowl is also a powerful stage if you are building a new product as a team. Have the conversation about your product in the bowl and let others from the organization and outside the organization listen in. So transparency.
Other forms
There are of course more occasions where you can use the fishbowl. Think of a crisis: what happened according to those directly involved? Be creative.