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3 Examples of Meeting Minutes

John Spacey, June 10, 2018

Meeting minutes are a document that captures the value created by a meeting. This can include knowledge, requirements, designs, decisions, agreements, risk identification, issues and action items. The format of meeting minutes varies considerably from meeting to meeting. They are typically designed to be concise captures of the basic value created by a meeting such as a decision or status update. The following are illustrative examples of meeting minutes.

Example #1

Meeting minutes may capture decisions, issues and action items that take a step towards resolving issues. This is typical of an initial planning session that leads to more meetings.

Example #2

Meeting minutes should not be confused with a meeting agenda. An agenda is often a separate document or informal statement captured in a meeting booking or email. Nevertheless, it can be useful to include a brief description of the agenda in your meeting minutes.

If your meeting generates significant materials such as the list of brand names in the example, it is common to place this in a separate document and link to it from the meeting minutes.

Example #3

Meeting minutes may be structured by agenda item with a separate list of discussion points and action items for each.

Fields

Depending on the context, the following fields may be included in meeting minutes.

Roles	Meeting Organizer Facilitator Prepared by [meeting minutes] Attendees Absent [invited no-shows]
Agenda	Agenda Item Materials Presenter Discussion Issues Conclusions Action Items
Action Items	Action Assigned To Target Date Status
Motions	Motion Vote Resolved [carried/failed]
Other	Announcements Issues New Business Unfinished Business
Transcript	[A complete transcript of what was said, typically generated by an automated tool]
Approvals	[a list of signatures with role, name and date]

Motions

A motion is a formal step to submit a matter for consideration to a group. This is a common concept in government, non-profit governance and other deliberative assemblies. Motions are somewhat uncommon in a corporate context.

Approvals

Meeting minutes are commonly approved if a meeting seeks agreements between parties. This is uncommon for internal team meetings such as a design session or status meeting. It is old fashioned to include approvals in the document itself as this can be handled electronically with a document management system or similar tool. However, signatures on a paper document may be used if there is a legal requirement to do so.

Overview: Meeting Minutes
Type	Meetings
Definition	A document that captures the value generated by a meeting such as knowledge, decisions, agreements, designs, requirements and action items.
Also Known As	Minutes Minutes of Meeting MoM
Related Concepts	Meetings » Requirements » Action Items » Meeting Agenda »