I am sure that you know how to make a project status meeting effective. And still, one thing can destroy a well managed meeting.

Let’s say that the meeting is holding as planned, you (PMO) summarize it, delegate tasks, all is clear. But nobody sees what you are documenting. The meeting is over; everyone remembers some partial information in his/her own interpretation. But not necessarily all the information, and not necessarily the exact one.

There is also a high probability, (yes, this world is cruel) that people will not even open the email with the summary you sent because they think they remember all or they just run out of time. So, all the follow up aspect is under a big question…

What you should do is to summarize the meeting in front all participants, make it visible!  Ask them follow what you are documenting. Question them if they agree to what you just wrote. Embrace if they correct your sentences.  It must be the team’s document, and not of PMO’s!

This simple method significantly improves the understanding of all participants what is the current status, the issues and what should be done. Good luck!

Share if you find this useful.

Rimma Shalman

Project Management Expert