Lean Meetings ...or, How we learned to enjoy and have productive meetings

Hello!I am Nikos DimitrakopoulosI am here because I’m a developer (at heart) who does a lot of meetings. You can find me as nikosd @ github and twitter

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How many meetings?

Hello ^ 2!I am Kyriakos KentzoglanakisI am here because I want to be enjoying my lot of meetings (instead of loathing them) You can find me as kkentzo @ github and twitter

What is this presentation about?

▪ Convince you that meetings can be productive and fun.▪ Give some practical tips on how to run meetings.▪ Give some practical tips on how to participate in meetings.

Now some trivia...

Why?

This is what it felt like in e-Travel in regards to meetings.

Most challenging areas

Topics from easiest to hardest:

1. Technical decisions inside a single team2. Cross team technical decisions3. Identification of affected areas & complexity (cross-dept)4. Taking scope/feature decisions (cross-dept)

And?

After some intensive and open sessions with▪ Spyros Adam▪ George Drakopoulos▪ Marilena Papageorgiou▪ Ioannis Karadimas▪ Vasilis Kalligas▪ Tasos Latsas▪ me and Kyriakos

we have prepared and put to use as a pilot inside the company the material that we are going to discuss today.

And?

Common types of meetings

▪ Scrum meetings▪ Code reviews▪ Technical meetings▪ Cross departmental collaboration & syncing▪ HR stuff

Common symptoms of bad meetings

▪ No accomplishment▪ Drifting ▪ Wrong level of abstraction▪ Not enough time▪ Multiple meetings for the same topic

FEAR NOT!It’s simple!

FEAR NOT!It’s simple!… but not easy.

I.The heart of a meeting

#1: Start from the end

The single most important thing for a meeting is a clearly defined and unambiguous goal.

● Two sentences top.● Must answer the “why”.● Must be realistic.● Must be practical.● Must explain what is enabled after the meeting.

#2: Describe the outcomes

What will happen after the meeting?

● What written material will be produced?● What should be handed to participants?

#3: Imagine the how

How will the group achieve what’s needed?

● Start from the end (the goal) and go backwards.● Ask yourself: Is the time sufficient?● Ask yourself: Do we have all people needed?

#4: Define the people needed

Who is needed in order to answer all the questions?

● Those requesting the goal/will benefit from it● Those who are affected from the outcome of the

meeting● Those who will carry out the work needed

As many people as needed but no more.

Summary of Part I

#1. GoalSet a clearly defined and unambiguous goal.

#2. ArtifactsSpecify in advance what will be enabled after the meeting and what are the artifacts of the meeting.

#3. ProcessDefine the tactics that will be used in order to achieve the goal. Ask the proper questions in the right way.

#4. PeopleThink and invite those who are needed in order to answer the questions and those who are affected from the outcome.

Interlude / takeaways

● Using the above you get about 50% of the overall benefit.

● Preparations for a meeting can take from 15 minutes to multiple hours (2 or 3 for a complex meeting).

● Don’t schedule or attend a meeting without the previous well-defined and understood by you.

That’s it?No

I: Preparations II: ??? III: ???

II.The actual meeting

#5: Eyes on the ball

How to keep people focused?

● State the goal & the artifacts upfront.● Keep the goal & the artifacts visible at all times.● When drifting, read aloud the goal.

#6: Explicit constraints

How to prevent people from drifting?

● Collect constraints before the meeting.● State them upfront.● Keep them visible.● Keep visible new ones.● Use them to constraint the discussion.

#7: Respect decisions

How to prevent people from doing loops?

● Collect decisions as they come.● Keep them visible.● Use them to constraint the discussion.

#8: Don’t let the ball drop

● Collect action items as they come.● Keep them visible.● What/Who/When.

Summary of Part II

#5. Visible GoalKeep the goal visible throughout the meeting.

#6. Visible constraintsKeep (new and old) constraints visible throughout the meeting.

#7. Visible decisionsKeep (new and old) decisions visible throughout the meeting.

#8. Visible action itemsCollect and keep action items visible throughout the meeting with clear owner/deadline.

Interlude / takeaways

● Using the above you get an additional 30% of the overall benefit.

● Facilitation skills are built (practice makes perfect)● Be visible, be explicit, be ruthless

That’s it?No

I: Preparations II: Facilitation III: ???

III.After the meeting

#9: Closure & summary

Before breaking up the meeting:

● Review the whether the goal was achieved.● Go through the artifacts (decisions, action items, etc).● Give a big thank you to everyone.

How does it look like?

#10: Share the artifacts

After breaking up:

● Debrief or take screenshots of the artifacts.● Share them with everyone.

Interlude / takeaways

● Using the above you get the last 20% of the overall benefit.

● Should be the simplest one.● Expect 15% time overhead for the facilitator.

Summary of Part III

#9. Closure & summaryShare the feeling of achievement - you earned it!

#10. Share the artifactsMake sure everyone has the material generated.

That’s it?Almost...

I: Preparations II: Facilitation III: Closure

What’s next?

● Advanced tools for the process● Handling difficult topics● Handling difficult people

What’s next?

Are you interested for more info? We are still working on it.

Get in touch.

Thanks!!● Questions?● Feedback?