Using Flight Plans#

Tags flight plans facilitation production learning continuous improvement

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This page is under construction

Using this pattern#

Flight plans are a structured approach to course delivery that ensures consistent, high-quality learning experiences. This pattern addresses these challenges:

  • How to maintain consistent delivery quality across sessions

  • How to manage session state and transitions effectively

  • How to support learning objectives systematically

  • How to enable continuous improvement of delivery

  • How to coordinate multiple delivery roles efficiently

Our experience has shown that following the flight plan patterns consistently leads to successful outcomes, regardless of minor session variations or small mistakes. It can feel strange to follow a plan so closely, but it is a great way to ensure that we are on track and that we are making the most of the time available. It creates a kind of safety net for the delivery team.

Flow#

Session delivery follows three key phases:

  1. Briefing:

We meet 30 minutes before the session to review the flight plan and to make any small changes. We also use this time to lightly contract as a team, ensure that everyone is clear about their role and responsibilities and check the delivery team can be seen and heard.

We expect that the delivery team members will have prepared their own resources (e.g. flipcharts, A/V equipment) prior to the briefing. There should be no surprises from delivery team members about what they will be doing - there are no prizes for being a diva here!

Over time, we have developed a checklist for this briefing, which helps us to ensure that we cover all the important points, support each other and settle our state as a team.

  1. In-session management:

This is the main session delivery phase. The flight plan provides a structured time plan for this which we follow closely. Because we have clarified the roles, we can focus on a good learning experience for the participants, trainee delivery team members and observers.

  1. Afterparty and review:

Once the main part of the session is over, we invite the particpants to stay on to ask any questions and share their insights. This allows us to get to know them better and to understand how the session went from their perspective.

After the participants have left (usually after 15 minutes), we review the session as a team. We look at what went well and what we could improve.

We record our observations about how the session went in a standard format. This is used in our continuous improvement process.

Delivery roles#

Clear role definition and coordination are essential for successful flight plan delivery. For information about the design roles, see the Designing Flight Plans.

One key learning for us is to be very aware of the role(s) we are in, and to be clear about what we are doing in each moment and why.

Role requirements vary by context:

  • Small groups may need only one facilitator and one producer

  • Large groups may require multiple producers

  • Training new delivery team members may require a more experienced facilitator and/or producer to support the trainee.

  • Facilitators and observers may pair up with a participant to ensure breakout exercises are well supported. This allows the facilitators to remind themselves of the experience of being a participant.

The flight plans can also be used to guide a one-to-one coaching session.

Examples and resources#

You can find the latest published flight plans here.

Implementation#

Key implementation considerations:

  • Technical environment setup

  • Communication channels

  • Timing management

  • Resource preparation

  • Role coordination

  • Quality assurance methods

Evaluation#

We know that the session went well if the:

  • Participants share their insights or learnings

  • Delivery team has followed the flight plan closely

  • Session finished on or ahead of time

  • Delivery team worked together to address any unexpected issues

  • We had fun!

Additional delivery factors#

Common variations:

  • Small group adaptations

  • One-to-one coaching modifications

  • Large group scaling approaches

  • Virtual vs in-person delivery adjustments

Improvement process#

The flight plan improvement cycle:

  1. Session observation

    • Track pattern effectiveness

    • Note adaptation points

    • Document challenges

  2. Pattern refinement

    • Update based on observations

    • Incorporate feedback

    • Test modifications

  3. Implementation

    • Roll out updates

    • Monitor results

    • Gather new feedback

References#