Spike: Improvement - End meetings on time & Schedule meetings more than a few hours ahead

[mreekie]

This was a top 3 out of the retrospective, but we didn't have time to discuss it very deeply there. I'm taking a shot at it here. I'm combining 2 of the top 3 items that came out of the retrospective.

I'm guessing that this is mostly aimed at the growth in the number and length of meetings since I've come onboard so I think this likely falls within my bailiwick anyway. 🤔

If that assumption is true, then the best way to address this is through quantifying things.
I'm not going to assign this a size and if it bleeds over into the first January sprint that's fine.

Definition of done:

• [x] I'll keep track for January of meetings running over time and running within time, and we can take a look at the next retrospective.
• [x] I am working out a cadence for meetings. I propose that we see how this works in the January sprint (after the holidays) and revisit it at the retrospective that follows as well.

Adjacent items

Here's where I'm aiming for individual meetings:

• Define the end time of the meeting at the beginning.
• Have an agenda for the meeting
  • where it's a repeating thing (e.g. issue sizing meetings, retrospective, etc), I will keep us on track with a checklist
• End the main agenda at 10 minutes before the meeting to determine next steps
• I will end meetings early if we make it through our agenda.

Meeting tools:

• Make use of the decider protocol to keep meetings moving and limit over communication (especially by me). This is the thumbs up, thumbs down, hand thing.
• Continue to make use of tools such as the retrospective game to make meetings efficient.
• Perhaps look at other tools such as lean coffee to keep topic discussions bounded.

For repeating meetings I am working on establishing a cadence. This includes:

• sizing meetings
• triaging new issues
• Backlog stewards prioritizing and sizing.

Keeping track of meeting times

• As much as possible as I work out those cadences to keep our sprint related meetings to the 11AM-12PM band.
• Last minute meetings will when required will if at all possible be held during the 11-12 time period.

[mreekie]

@pdurbin sorry about this one. I'm prretty sure that this was one that the team was directing at me during the retrospective. I'm going to keep it open for January as it refers to in the description and work it.

[mreekie]

Jan 4

• 11AM daily 2 min late.
• 11:15 Sizing ended on time.

[mreekie]

Team agreed that we could close this. If it becomes an issue then we can re-open this as a new issue.