Whiteboarding

Partner Program

© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Your Tools

Markers Eraser Surface/Whiteboard

© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Working Backwards: Begin With The End In Mind

Start with Why

• Write it on the board

What’s the desired • “If we are back here six months from now, what did we

outcome of this accomplish…?”

• “What are your biggest challenges…”
meeting?
Plan your Section - Example
Its ok to write your name here, and your email
Parking Lot
Requirements and 1. Let’s discuss after this
This is your Assumptions are 2. Let me find out the information
Objective here 3. I am not sure
Start draw architecture here
Your notes here
1. Customer challenges
2. Architecture
3. Schedule
4. Team

© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Why Whiteboard (you)
It’s a conversation - learn about the customer’s true needs

People learn at a deeper level when the brain and hand are both engaged

You can practice with just a blank piece of paper

Improvise: translate the “best practices” to your own voice

Why Audience Like Whiteboard

Audience more engage with your story – sometime slides are boring

Movement make people stay focus

Establish conversation and help audience have better understanding

Audience can always jump in and clarify if something is not correct

Take a picture and use it as a note/MoM at the end of session

Feels more personal

© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Touch, Turn and Talk

When you are Touching the whiteboard, stop talking

(you have your back to the audience)
Turn towards the audience and establish eye contact
(this provides essential time to think)
Talk only while looking at the audience
 Touch, Turn and Talk (cont.)

DON’T DO

• talk with your back to the customer • Regularly move off to the side so everyone

• ”spray” your words as you turn can take in the entire field of view

• move around too much • Take a pause (slightly longer than feels
comfortable)
• gesture too much or wave your arms around
Mechanics

Create sections (lists) for the board

• “Parking Lot” (or YETI?)
• Requirements / Objectives
• Assumptions

Refer back to the goals and requirements as you address them.

Reflect back on what you’ve learned as you progress.

Some tips

• Make sure there is available whiteboard/surface before

the meeting
• Prepare for large format paper, if no whiteboard
available
• Bring additional marker as backup
• Write slowly. Write BIG. Write Clear. Notice Spelling
• Always clarify and confirm with your audience
• Take a picture at the end of session, share it with your
team and customer
© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
How about virtual Whiteboarding

There are many ways to whiteboard virtually, here is just an

example
Tablet + Pen
Digital drawing pad
Paper + pencil with camera ON

Invest on the necessary tools

© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Use App to Visualize your Whiteboard

Few free app available:

awwapp.com – now is part of miro.com
invisionapp.com
Some Other Tips:
• Practice as much as possible – make sure you are used to the TOOLS and APP
• Other than PEN, use SHAPES, TEXT to make it more attractive
• Use colors, different thickness
• Select Area, Copy and Paste to duplicate
• Pre-build your picture, and import once you start your whiteboard - Modularize
• Make multiple pages if required, don’t complicate your page
• Take picture means : export to a file and share
• Collaborate with your audience if possible (you may need to subscribe)
• Always prepare for failure – draw a complete page in case you have problems in tools
© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its Affiliates. All rights reserved.
Stylish & Consistent

Practice!
Build a library of common building blocks, e.g.

• 3-tier web application

• VPC with connection to infrastructure on premises

Come up with your • Analytics / data pipeline
own style • Serverless mobile app
– be consistent • IoT application
Whiteboard Judo Move

• Hand the customer the pen and ask them to draw their
“current architecture”

Advanced Move • Grab a different color pen

• Either draw new picture (or overlay!) with different colors
Resources

Dan Roam: "The back of the napkin"

(https://www.amazon.com/Back-Napkin-Expanded-Problems-Pictures/dp/1591842697/

Visual facilitating:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OfNOYtfnVls

Simon Sinek: “Start with Why”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

The Expert: Red Lines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg