Stech: Tools for group meetings: Vocabulary

Tools for group meetings: 
Vocabulary
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 If meetings don't follow good practices, you hear:

• The meetings are just a waste of time.
• They just talk, go in circles, get nowhere.
• Lots of good ideas get ignored.

Here is what to do about that

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Vocabulary

• Meeting Agenda.  TODO list for the meeting. 
• Personal agenda.   Goals of a particular person for the meeting 
• Group roles.   Type of actions that regularly appear in task oriented meetings
• Group Maintenance Roles.  Types of actions that regularly foster cooperation in a group
• Group Task Roles.  Types of actions that regularly foster progress on the task of a group
• Group Leadership Roles: Types of actions related to organizing and managing the group operations.
• Facilitator.  Person responsible for encouraging the group to take actions known to foster  effective functioning.
• Action Items.  Concrete actions to be done by a specific person
• Action item, accepted.  A concrete task accepted as a responsibility by a specific person.
• Brainstorming.   A technique for generating ideas in a small group.
• Planning: Develop list of concrete actions needed to reach the project goal.
• Evaluate plans: Assess the benefits, costs, and prospects of alternative plans
• Special Working Group (SWG):  Ad hoc group taking a single action item.
• Delegate: Turn over a task or group role to a specific person or SWG 

Details below

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Notes
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Group projects: Task oriented meetings: best practices
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Meeting Agenda

TODO list for the meeting. A written list of concrete outcomes that the meeting is intended to produce. An effective agenda item should say clearly how people in the group will know when item has been completed.

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Personal agenda

Goals of a particular person for the meeting.  Preferably the goals support some of the items on the agenda.  In some cases, the goals may be to redirect or obstruct some of the objectives in the agenda. 

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Group roles

Type of actions that regularly appear in task oriented meetings. An understanding of these roles is used by facilitators and others to help the group to produce roles when they are needed.

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Group Maintenance Roles

Types of actions that regularly foster effective functioning in a group.  These roles are used to keep the group focused on the task, test for consensus, keep ideas from being lost, remind the group about pending action items, and so forth

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Group Task Roles

Types of actions that regularly foster progress on the task of a group.  Examples are: suggests an action item, reports on an action item, describes a plan of action, lists options.

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Group Leadership Roles: 
Types of actions related to organizing and managing the group operations. People may think of these as the responsibility and prerogative of a designated leader.  Small groups, however, are usually more effective if several people  take responsibility for providing these roles. 

Facilitator

Person responsible for encouraging the group to take actions known to foster effective functioning of groups.  The facilitator provides group maintenance roles or encourages others to provide them.  The facilitator may also point out the need for some leadership roles if no one is providing them.  The facilitator does not need (and does not use) expertise in the task of the group.  The expertise of the facilitator lies in effective group functioning.

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Action Items

Concrete actions to be done by a specific person.  Any action needed for progress on the group project can become an action item.  Common action items are: get information, get approval, or generate a list of ideas; plan for implementation of an idea; evaluate plans for an idea.

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Action item, accepted

A concrete task accepted as a responsibility by a specific person.  The task may include organizing a Special Working Group to complete the task.  Normally the person accepting the action item will give progress reports to the main group until the task is completed. 

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Brainstorming

A technique for generating ideas in a small group.  

• Traditional Brainstorming
• Semi-Structured Brainstorming

Planning

Develop list of concrete actions needed to reach the project goal.
Plan Clipit

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Evaluate plans

Assess the benefits, costs, and prospects of alternative plans.
Choose Clipit
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Special Working Group (SWG):  

Ad hoc group taking a single action item. The group is usually composed of the people most strongly interested in the implementation of the items and the people whose contributions are most needed for the implementation.
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Delegate: Turn over a task or group role to a specific person or SWG.   Action items serve to delegate tasks.  Group maintenance and leadership roles are often delegated by seeking volunteers.  Roles that are commonly delegated include: 

• secretary/recorder 
• time keeper
• agenda manager
• announcement manager

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