How this case study is conducted
Several product revisions have made Meetings what it is. Staying true to agile, each new release brought improvements and tweaks to the product, always thinking about how to add value for the user.
With this in mind, apart of the necessary Context, I have divided this case into three main sections that allow me to explain how we got to the deployed product. In Exploration and Discovery I give an account of the research done prior to product development. In Product Anatomy I show the component-driven design process. Finally, I hope Conclusions and Next Steps need no explanation. ;)
Context
Meetings are serious business at Gimnasio La Montaña. In the school, many decisions are made collectively, so committees, task forces, commissions, and other forms of groups are formed to discuss issues that affect the entire school community.
Although meetings are decision-making activities, and Gimnasio La Montaña had some established procedures for conducting them, problems arose due to the diversity of the meetings and the people who participated in them: teachers, schools administrators, managers and leaders, parents, and students. All users in our pool.
Exploration and Discovery
Meetings are an essential part of the decision-making process in any educational organization. However, poorly run meetings have a significant negative impact on the effectiveness of decision making and the productivity of the school community.
Among the problems detected in GLM meetings were the lack of clear objectives, constant deviation from the topic, and lack of time to discuss each proposed issue, indicating inadequate time management. Likewise, the missing tasks and meeting notes, even in digital media, evidence a deficiency in information management.
This type of situation led to poor dynamics in the decision-making process, which negatively affected communication and trust among participants, reduced the organization's performance and led to the making of less-than-optimal decisions.
We came to several conclusions: It is essential to establish clear objectives and define a detailed agenda for each meeting. It is also important to ensure good time and information management during meetings in order to make the best use of participants' skills and achieve effective and optimal decision making for the school community.
Among the problems detected in GLM meetings were the lack of clear objectives, constant deviation from the topic, and lack of time to discuss each proposed issue, indicating inadequate time management. Likewise, the missing tasks and meeting notes, even in digital media, evidence a deficiency in information management.
This type of situation led to poor dynamics in the decision-making process, which negatively affected communication and trust among participants, reduced the organization's performance and led to the making of less-than-optimal decisions.
We came to several conclusions: It is essential to establish clear objectives and define a detailed agenda for each meeting. It is also important to ensure good time and information management during meetings in order to make the best use of participants' skills and achieve effective and optimal decision making for the school community.
The initial research led us to look into the academic production around the topic. On the road to greater use of data for decision making, the school was already incorporating the Data Wise framework into its day-to-day operations, reviewing an associated framework, Meeting Wise, was a logical step.
The foundation for Meetings was given by the book Meeting Wise: Making the Most of Collaborative Time for Educators, by Boudett & City (2014).
Meeting Wise, a must-read, is summarized in a 12-point checklist aimed at improving the quality of meetings, in which the proposed actions are divided into four groups: definition of purpose, design of activities, preparation of materials, and time management.
The Checklist
Product Anatomy
Conclusions
We achieved two major achievements as a result of using Meetings at GLM:
Improved meeting productivity and efficiency: Planning and conducting effective meetings with Meetings improved meeting productivity and efficiency by enabling organizers to set clear objectives, define a detailed agenda, and assign tasks to participants more effectively. This helped to optimize meeting time and ensure that all important topics were properly discussed, enabling more effective decision making.
Recording and tracking of tasks and meeting notes: The software also provided recording and tracking of tasks and meeting notes, allowing participants to easily access relevant information, and reducing the risk of information loss. In addition, task tracking helped ensure that all assigned tasks are completed within the set deadline, thereby increasing the organization's output and performance.
Next Steps
Then, I left GLM in February 2022. I reiterated some of the work done there as a way to keep up to date and apply what I learned in the last semester.
These Next Steps are my review of the Meetings experience, the reworking of the meetings workspace.
Default Workspace, UX Revision
In this prototype, I simulate the interaction of the basic meeting setup, as well as the operation of the FAB and its menu for adding meeting items.
Completed Workspace, UX Revision
Here I simulate the interactions of the meeting elements once the meeting has started. I show the creation and management options of the meeting elements.
