Make Project Meetings Collaborative with Discussions and Tasks

Project meetings are a fact of life. But who has time to write up and email minutes after the call? Save time and make your team more accountable, self-directed, and productive with a few simple steps for collaboration in a teamsite.
NOTE: This post gives detailed instructions using Microsoft SharePoint and LiveMeeting, but the team process will work with any web-based collaboration and conferencing tools.

One-Time Setup

1. In your discussion board:

a.     Create a view Minutes for Subject contains Minutes. This will filter any post with the word "Minutes" in the title, including "Minutes of Meeting" or Meeting Minutes" (since both are in common use).

b.   Choose Actions>Alert Me to set an alert for each team member to send a daily summary of new items in the Minutes view.

c.    Choose Settings>Create New Column and create a Lookup column called Related Tasks to the title field of the Discussion Board (multiple items). When the Scribe records or the Facilitator reviews minutes, you can select one or more action items as reference.

d.   Choose Settings>Create New Column and create a Choice column called Status with values Open/Resolved/Closed. Use this to review prior minutes for open action items, and ensure all issues are resolved.

2. In your Task list:

a.    Choose Settings>List Settings>Advanced and select Send e-mail when ownership is assigned.

b.   Choose Actions>Alert Me to set an alert for the project manager to send a daily summary of all changes to the Task list.

c.     Choose Settings>Create New Column and create a Lookup column called Related Discussions to the title field of the Discussion Board (multiple items). When team members record tasks, you can select one or more meeting minutes as reference.

Roles for Team Collaboration

1. Your team will need two designated roles for a meeting:

a.    Facilitator, who will run the meeting (not always the project manager!)

b.   Scribe, who will update the discussion board during the meeting to take notes for the meeting minutes. This should be a different person than the facilitator.

c.    The scribe can rotate among the team, someone can volunteer, or the manager can appoint one, but both Facilitator and Scribe should be recognized roles.

2. Your team will also need a peer-to-peer process for Take an Action Item using tasks.

a.    To take an action item, you create a task in the Task list and assign it to yourself as the owner.

b.   To request an action item, any team member may create a task and assign it to any other team member (peer to peer). Project managers can model this behavior by inviting team members to assign you a task (and completing it promptly!).

c.    To report on an action item, the owner updates the comments and either marks the task Completed, or assigns it to the next person who can take action.

d.   Task ownership can change several times before completion. Team members are encouraged to share tasks by reassigning, or by updating a task they’re collaborating on, rather than creating a new task with each new owner.

During the Call

1.     The Facilitator includes the teamsite URL in the meeting invite, along with the LiveMeeting URL.

2.     All members log in to the teamsite (where they can contribute) as well as to the LiveMeeting.

3.     The Facilitator reviews active tasks, new documents, and open issues, and other agenda items.

4.     The Scribe opens a new discussion item and takes notes directly in the teamsite during the meeting. You can save a discussion item, reopen it, and add updates so team members will see minutes in real time.

5.     The Facilitator asks the team to take action items, which the Scribe may note in the minutes.

6.     During or immediately after the meeting, each member records their action items in the Tasks list and self-assigns them. Once the Scribe has created the Minutes discussion, it will appear in the Related Discussions column, and team members can link to the meeting minutes for reference.

7.     As the team becomes more familiar with the teamsite, you may need the LiveMeeting less. For informal sessions, team members can collaborate directly in the teamsite while on the phone. For formal project meetings, it’s a good idea for the PM to use LiveMeeting to demonstrate the teamsite and use it hands-on during the call.

Catching the Rhythm

1.    The first 2-3 weeks, the project manager can expect to take the lead as team members settle in to the project. One key to collaboration is the mindshift around tasks: from something the PM “gives” to something the team “takes.”

2.      Change your language to change team mindset. During calls, kickstart your project with “I’ll take that action item” and replace “I’ll send you a link” with “I’ll post that to the teamsite.”

3.      Publicly praise team members who show initiative as site contributors, and privately reassure those who may feel that they may do something wrong or “break” the site. Reinforce the message that the site belongs to the team as a collaboration space, and that all team members are peers who may contribute as equals.

4.     At each meeting, review all open tasks and discussions on the teamsite, including the Created/Created By and Modified/Modified By fields. Set an expectation and a weekly cadence: before each weekly meeting, each task owner should modify (update or close) active tasks, and the Scribe/Facilitator should modify (reply, resolve, or close) any open discussions.

5.     Within a month, your team will have a strong sense of accomplishment and confidence: visible task progress, meetings on the record, and everyone on the same page. And everyone should have noticed that the typical new-project flurry of emails has been replaced by orderly daily digests.

6.     At this stage, the PM should take a checkpoint with Site Actions>Site Usage Summary to see if there are team members who are not yet using the site. Reach out to them by phone or face to face to resolve any technical issues. Including the teamsite URL in your signature can help with “I lost the link.”

Summary

Free your PM from meeting minutes, and your team from email storms, by using your team discussion board for meeting minutes and your task list as a peer-to-peer tracking system. Your team will be more accountable, gain self-confidence and trust in the team, and spend less time managing your inbox and more time getting work done.