How to Run an Effective Meeting

• Goal– Get desired results– Use the time of all participants efficiently

• When face-to-face communication is required• Sharing information Defining issues• Generating ideas Solving problems• Setting goals Gaining commitment• Building teams Summarizing progress

Meeting Roles

• Facilitator– Writes the agenda

• Note Taker– Records the meeting and prepares the meeting

minutes• Timekeeper– Keeps track of time and notifies facilitator if discussion

consumes more time than is allotted by the agenda• Spokesperson – academic setting only– Speaks for the group

Types of Meetings• Team meetings

– One or two regularly scheduled weekly team meetings in which all members must be present. Generally 1-2 hours in length

• Client meetings– Regularly scheduled weekly meeting with client to gather requirements– All members should attend first meeting, at least two team members

should attend all other meetings• Faculty Advisor meetings

– Regularly scheduled weekly meetings with faculty advisor. All team members should attend all meetings

• Daily Scrum meetings– Regularly scheduled daily meetings to report on progress since

yesterday, plan for today, and impediments in your way

Daily Scrum• Each day during the sprint, a project status meeting occurs. This is called a daily

scrum, or the daily standup. This meeting has specific guidelines: – The meeting starts precisely on time.

• Often there are team-decided punishments for tardiness (e.g. money, push-ups, hanging a rubber chicken around your neck)

– All are welcome, but only "pigs" may speak– The meeting is time boxed to 15 minutes

• The meeting should happen at the same location and same time every day– During the meeting, each team member answers three questions:

• What have you done since yesterday?• What are you planning to do today?• Do you have any problems preventing you from accomplishing your goal?

• It is the role of the ScrumMaster to facilitate resolution of these impediments. – Typically this should occur outside the context of the Daily Scrum so that the daily

scrum meeting may stay under 15 minutes.

Steps towards Effective Meetings1. Prepare for the meeting

– Prepare and distribute an agenda in advance– Decide what, if any, documentation or advance work is required

2. Launch the meeting on time– Review the agenda– Get agreement on conduct

3. Facilitate the meeting– Keep each part focused on the current issue– Follow the time schedule

4. Conclude the meeting– Summarize key outcomes, action items, decisions made, and other results

5. Follow up– If action items were assigned to people that were not present at the meeting, get

their commitment– Document and distribute minutes of the meeting

Meeting Minutes

1. Name of team holding the meeting2. Place, time, and date of meeting3. Type of meeting (team, client, Fac. adviser)4. Names of attendees5. Discussion summaries and conclusions6. Action items

1. Person(s) responsible2. Deadlines