Project Team Work Process Organization. What meeting to run within a project?

The efficiency of project management depends directly on regular management. This routine varies from stage to stage but does not differ in its essence. Today I suggest considering different types of meetings within a project as well as their agenda and goals.

There are only three types of meetings:

• when we generate something
• when we negotiate something
• when we check the project status

The process of organizing and holding such meetings varies.

Meeting-generator: the best strategy here is brainstorming. A Team shares the ideas on the issue discussed and collects them all together so as to proceed with analysis afterward.

Meeting-negotiation: we select some of the developed ideas which are considered suitable and formalize them by deadlines, accountability, and workflow.

Status meeting: we are to discuss the project standard agenda and cover all the main aspects. For instance, while discussing a schedule we consider deadlines, resources, risks, and milestones. Team members are allowed to speak up if they are responsible for some areas and ready to demonstrate some results. There also can be just a speech of a Project manager followed by a discussion. The best practice for such a type of project meeting is to back the discussion with a relevant question list created by the Team in advance. The main goal of such meetings is to build awareness of the project status.

Such a regular management routine should have a clear timing and regularity. In such a case the staff will “stay in a rut” being able to distribute their effort competently. That means they’ll get an opportunity to create their own efficient routine of participation in the project including adequate preparation for meetings.

It is also important to understand that the management agenda is always in priority over the subject matter. It’s an integral part of a high-quality meeting.

Next time I would like to address facilitation issues that can become crucial during project meetings. In case you are interested in the topic and want to delve into it faster and more deeply, help yourself with the following books:

The Secrets of Facilitation: The SMART Guide to Getting Results with Groups by Michael Wilkinson

Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner