Meeting Planning From a Project Management Perspective

1. Meeting Planning From a Project Management Perspective Project Managers and Project Team Members - like all Business Professionals - attend numerous meetings of various types, purposes, and durations. Examples include Status Update Meetings, which generally last thirty minutes to an hour and are focused on reporting on the current status of the project and Performance Reviews, on the other hand, which last from one to several days. There are many differences among the types of meetings Project Management Professionals attend, but there are also many commonalities. This article will focus on the commonalities involved in planning for meetings - regardless of type or duration. For Project Managers, Meeting Planning falls under the more general domain of Project Communications Management. Meetings, like other forms of communication, are evaluated in terms of the degree to which they facilitate the efficient and effective achievement of project objectives. Consequently, the costs associated with holding meetings are weighed against the benefits derived from the meetings AA Meetings Locator. The Project Manager must consider not just the direct costs of staging the meeting, but also the costs associated with having personnel attend the meeting instead of doing other project-related work. From this perspective, the importance of properly planning for meetings is clear: Poorly planned meetings can be costly endeavors that have a low probability of contributing value to the project. The first and most important question the Project Manager must ask is: "What is the purpose to be served by holding this meeting?" Is the purpose of holding the meeting merely to provide attendees with information, or are the attendees expected to work together to generate new information? Are attendees expected to arrive at key decisions during the meeting, or are they merely gathering information during the meeting for decisions to be made at a later time? Very importantly, meetings - themselves - are rarely considered to be deliverables; but instead, are considered to be venues or systems utilized to produce deliverables (such as: decisions made; clarification of issues achieved; documents produced; etc.) Clearly determining the purpose of the meeting often contributes significantly to answering other key questions involved in planning for the meeting: (A) Who should attend? (B) Where should the meeting be held? (C) Is remote attendance by teleconferencing or video-conferencing needed / appropriate?

2. (D) What documents must be prepared for dissemination? (E) What equipment must be made available (i.e. laptops, projection screens, white boards, flip-charts, etc...) (F) Will food / refreshments be provided? Once the above decisions have been made, the real planning begins. The meeting planner needs to clearly envision the meeting as he or she wants / expects it to be carried-out. It is often helpful to develop a Story Board in order to clearly visualize (and plan for) the phases of the meeting; clearly state what one wants to accomplish during each phase; and the actions that will need to be taken during each phase in order to accomplish each of the meeting objectives. While developing the Story Board, it is also helpful to simultaneously develop any needed checklists to be used during the meeting to ensure that nothing is forgotten (i.e., that minutes are captured; action-items assigned; and that summaries of the meeting's accomplishments and decisions-made are provided as-needed). Once the logistics are clear and the Meeting Planner has a clear vision of the intended meeting in mind, he or she is now ready to develop the Meeting Agenda. The Meeting Agenda should include the following information: • Proposed Topics for Discussion • Discussion Leader for each Topic • Time Allotted to each Topic Next, a Meeting Invitation, along with the Meeting Agenda, should be mailed / emailed to the expected attendees - no less than one to two weeks prior to the meeting-date. The Meeting Invitation should clearly state: 1) The goals of the meeting; 2) where and when the meeting will be held; 3) whether participants are allowed to request additional agenda items; and if so, how and within what time-frame to submit such requests. (If additional Agenda Items are allowed, a Revised and Final Meeting Agenda should be distributed to attendees no later than two days prior to the meeting). Meetings like projects themselves, go through the phases of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closeout. While conducting the meeting, the Meeting Leader executes the Meeting Plan that has been developed and monitors and controls the meeting to ensure that the Meeting Plan is followed. The meeting is closed-out by ensuring that all items on the Meeting Checklists have been completed (or moved forward to future meetings). Closeout also includes ensuring that action items generated by the meeting have

3. been listed and that individuals have been assigned to each action item. The final step in closing out meetings is to distribute and finalize the Meeting Minutes. Meeting Management - including Meeting Planning - is not unique to the field of Project Management. However, applying some of the tools, techniques, and methods utilized by Project Managers to the process of Meeting Management can increase the chances of holding meetings that genuinely add value to one's business endeavors. Robert Ware has over 30 years experience in design and implementation of automated information processing systems for government, educational and private organizations. Extensive experience in training and educating others in the concepts and use of Knowledge / Information Processing Systems as well as in managing information systems projects. Robert has developed, conducted and analyzed training needs for various organizations including Baltimore Gas and Electric, The Bureau of National Affairs, National Public Radio and the US Department of Labor. He has written more than twenty training manuals focused on the areas of Project Management, Leadership, and Communication. These materials are used to deliver courses to corporations, government agencies, and academic institutions seeking training in these areas. For more information please call 410-772-6316 or go to http://www.projmasters.com