Engineering teams are no strangers to meetings — and unproductive sessions or unneeded meetings are costly for their concentration and productivity. Whether it's a daily stand-up, design review, or post-mortem, an effective meeting agenda ensures that the session is productive, stays on track, and achieves its objectives.
4 signs you don't need a meeting
How do the world's most successful people think about meetings? Jeff Bezos lives by the rule of not setting up or attending a meeting if two pizzas won't feed the entire group. Similarly, the world's largest hedge fund founder Ray Dalio swears by five rules for every meeting.
One thing rings true for both multi-billionaires: all meetings should strive for efficiency; otherwise, it's not worth people's time.
Next time you organize a meeting, ask yourself these four questions before scheduling with attendees:
Does each attendee have assigned responsibilities?
Does your meeting have a clear agenda?
What are suggested action items?
Have there been previous similar meetings with poor outcomes?
Does each attendee have assigned responsibilities?
Their attendance won't be required without a clear role. Meetings should involve active participation, whether providing insights, making decisions, or driving action. A summary of meeting minutes will suffice if the sole purpose is to listen.
Does your meeting have a clear agenda?
Upon reviewing the meeting agenda, topics must pertain to decisions for current projects to derive value from the meeting.
Meetings without a clear topic or agenda result in random drifting between topics that can leave attendees more confused.
If the meeting's purpose is merely to share updates, communicate asynchronously.
What are suggested action items?
A decision without follow-up or clear ownership is wasted time. Come prepared with an idea of suggested action items and assign people to each item after making decisions. If you already have a clear action item for each individual, find an asynchronous solution to communicate the task.
Have there been previous similar meetings with poor outcomes?
If past meetings with the same group or on the same topic consistently lacked actionable outcomes or results, it could indicate that future ones might have the same issue.
Reduce meeting duration through 7 steps
Every successful and time-efficient meeting requires a clear agenda before the meeting.
Everyone needs to take seven actionable steps before meeting:
Define the purpose
Provide pre-reading
Involve the right people
List down topics for discussion
Add buffer time
Document action items and assignments
Distribute the agenda ahead of time
Define the purpose
Every meeting should have a clear purpose. Ask yourself, why are you holding this meeting? Are you brainstorming a solution to a problem, making a decision, or updating stakeholders?
For example:
Purpose
To review the completion status and performance of the "Alpha 2.0" features implemented in the past quarter, address any outstanding critical bugs and technical debt, and discuss the feedback from beta testers.
Keep the purpose as narrow as possible for attendees to understand the focus of the meeting. You'll help attendees bring relevant data, feedback, and suggestions for specific purposes.
Provide pre-reading
If certain topics require background knowledge, provide attendees with pre-reading material or a summary in the agenda. This helps participants come prepared and ensures you don't waste time getting everyone up to speed during the meeting.
Involve the right people
Involve key stakeholders, decision-makers, and contributors and avoid adding people unnecessarily. Too many participants can derail a meeting's focus and efficiency.
Consider the following factors when choosing the right people:
Relevance: Keep only the people directly involved to eliminate potential distractions and keep discussions narrow.
Expertise: Tap into necessary expertise and knowledge for the meeting's subject matter.
Time Management: Fewer people means fewer opinions, leading to faster decisions.
It's not enough to just invite the right people — delegate meeting topics to different attendees (before the meeting) to keep the meeting on track. You'll address each point on the agenda and keep the conversation focused.
Your meeting agenda might have a section like this:
Attendees & Responsibilities
[Name 1]
Task/Topic: E.g., "Review of frontend UI changes."
Description: A brief overview of what this task/topic encompasses. E.g., "Discuss the latest design modifications based on user feedback."
[Name 2]
Task/Topic: E.g., "Backend API Integration Update."
Description: Brief details about the topic. E.g., "Provide a status update on the integration of the new payment gateway API."
[Name 3]
Task/Topic: E.g., "Security Protocols Update."
Description: Brief about the topic. E.g., "Discuss the findings of the latest penetration testing and upcoming security measures."
...(Continue listing participants and their responsibilities)
List down topics for discussion
Break down your purpose into specific topics or items and mention the expected outcome. Whether it's a decision, a list of ideas, or a task assignment, this sets the stage for a productive discussion. As needed, provide an allotted time or priority to avoid rabbit-holing on a topic of least importance in case time runs out.
Use the example below to create your meeting notes.
Meeting List Template:
i. [Topic Name 1] - [Allocated Time Duration] [Priority Level]
Brief Description: A short description of what the topic is about.
Expected Outcome: E.g., Decision, List of Ideas, Task Assignment.
Pre-reading/Resources (if applicable): [Link or Note]
ii. [Topic Name 2] - [Allocated Time Duration] [Priority Level]]
Brief Description:
Expected Outcome:
Pre-reading/Resources (if applicable): [Link or Note]
iii. ...(Continue listing topics as necessary)
Add buffer time
Anticipate questions and feedback by adding buffer time at the end or between topics. This ensures you can spend extra time on unexpected issues that arise or give everyone time back if everything runs smoothly.
A "Parking Lot" section in your meeting notes provides a space where off-topic or tangent discussions can be "parked" for later discussion. It ensures the meeting stays on track without dismissing valuable, albeit unrelated, points.
And it can look as simple as:
Parking lot
A space to note topics that come up during the meeting but need to be addressed later.
Document action items and assignments
To ensure tasks aren't lost, record them as 'Action Items.' Participants then commit to taking tangible tasks or steps after the meeting concludes.
Keep these 3 points in mind when writing these down:
Accountability: Listing out tasks and assigning them ensures that someone is responsible for each item.
Clarity: Specific tasks with deadlines eliminate ambiguity about what needs to be done and by when.
Track Progress: Action items provide a roadmap for what needs to be accomplished before the next meeting or milestone.
Distribute the agenda ahead of time
Send out the agenda well in advance so participants can prepare. Ask for input or additions to the agenda to ensure all critical topics are covered.
Free Template: Engineering Team Meeting Agenda
Date: [Date of Meeting]
Time: [Start Time] - [End Time]
Location: [Physical Location/Virtual Meeting Link]
1. Objective/Purpose
What is the primary reason for this meeting? Be specific.
- E.g., "To review the progress of Project X and address any bottlenecks."
---
2. Attendees:
List of Participants (consider noting who's leading each section)
- [Name 1]
- [Name 2]
- [Name 3]
- ...
---
3. Agenda Items:
i. [Topic Name 1] - [Allocated Time Duration]
- Brief Description: A short topic description.
- Expected Outcome: E.g., Decision, List of Ideas, Task Assignment.
- Pre-reading/Resources (if applicable): [Link or Note]
ii. [Topic Name 2] - [Allocated Time Duration]
- Brief Description:
- Expected Outcome:
- Pre-reading/Resources (if applicable): [Link or Note]
iii. ...
(Continue listing topics as necessary)
---
4. Parking Lot:
A space to note topics that come up during the meeting but need to be addressed later.
---
5. Action Items & Assignments:
A space to list tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines that arise from the meeting.
- [Action 1] - Assigned to [Name] - Deadline [Date]
- [Action 2] - Assigned to [Name] - Deadline [Date]
- ...
---
6. Feedback & Closing Remarks:
Quick discussion or notes on the effectiveness of the meeting and any general observations.
---
7. Date & Objective for Next Meeting:
When is the next meeting, and what's its preliminary objective?
---
Notes:
Additional space for any other important remarks or notes.
Final word
Unlike some professions, the cost of a diverted hour is tangible for engineers—it's code not written, a bug not fixed, or an optimization not made. Efficient meetings respect the intensive nature of engineering work by maximizing value and minimizing wasted time.
A well-structured agenda is a roadmap to a productive discussion. After all, the true measure of a meeting's success is how it propels action and progress afterward.
Prioritize and always strive for efficient meetings that matter.
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