Asynchronous workshops with Miro

One of the things that caught my attention when I joined Hotjar was the commitment to being as asynchronous as possible as part of their remote working culture. I started the challenge to myself to try and do most of the workshops in an asynchronously way, and I loved it 💙

What’re asynchronous workshops?

It’s an online workshop but done asynchronously, which means that everyone involved can complete the workshop on their own time at their own pace.

Who does participate in the asynchronous workshops?

All the squad members can participate in the workshops. At least one representative of each discipline:

• Product Manager

• Engineers (both Frontend and Backend)

• Designer

• Content Designer

What’s the benefit of asynchronous workshops?

The benefit of this async collaboration has been:

• A shared understanding of the vision of the squad.

• More alignment.

• Better quality overall as the team is more aware of the reasons why we do a project and they are more motivated.

• An increase in awareness of our users’ needs on the engineering side.

• More happiness: Flexibility of working at our own pace in our own time.

• A higher engagement in all disciplines.

What the team say

Collaboration, energy and everyone’s input are heard. Engineer

The Miros are super engaging and fun. And the emojis, GIFs and our faces make them enjoyable rather than a chore! Content Designer

Be inspired by other people’s perspectives to re-evaluate or re-define mine. Engineer

Which tools do we use?

• Miro: It’s the primary tool we use for the asynchronous workshops.

• Loom: We use Loom to record videos explaining the designs or concepts to share them with the team.

• Figma: It’s the tool we use to design and build prototypes.

Want to read more?