1. Steve Whittaker, Rachel Laban and Simon Tucker University of Sheffield
Analysing Meeting Records: An Ethnographic Study and Technological Implications
Steve Whittaker, Rachel Laban and Simon Tucker
University of Sheffield

2. Introduction Meetings are inefficient. Inefficient in many ways
Estimates of productivity ranges from 33-47%
Inefficient in many ways
Process Loss
Free Riding
Conformance Pressure
Information Loss

3. Introduction
Previous work has developed technology for capturing and reviewing meeting discussions.
Predominant technologies in use today are still low-tech.
Important to revisit the issue of information capture.
Examine representations and processing of meeting information
Use this examination to empirically evaluate current meeting access technology

4. Presentation Outline Description of Study into meeting records
Analysis of Public meeting records
Analysis of Personal meeting records
Examination of technological implications
Conclusion

5. Study Context We examined two UK service firms
One responsible for mail deliveries
One supplying software services
Observed a series of meetings for teams in each case
Teams had between 5 and 7 members
Meetings examined ranged from 3 to 16 participants
Meetings were task-oriented

6. Data Collected We collected a wide range of data
Observations of behaviour
Analysis of personal notes
Pre and post interviews with participants
Transcripts made of a subset of all the meetings
Confidentiality preserved

7. Public Meeting Records
Most commonly this will be minutes
Shared record of decisions and action points for a single meeting
Generally produced by a single person – a designated “minuter”
Minutes are a highly abstract representation of the events of the meeting.

8. Function of public records
Tracking Group Progress
Meetings often begin by running through the minutes from the previous meeting
Serve to assist individuals co-ordinate their actions
A public record of past actions and decisions
Very occasionally minutes used to answer questions regarding past commitments

9. Function of Public Records
Remind people about their commitments
Serve as a communal todo list
Resolve disputes about commitments
The minutes act as an implicit contract between group members
Minutes are often formally signed off
Used to determine who was assigned to particular tasks

10. Limitations of Public Records
Not all meetings were minuted
Minutes were occasionally inaccurate
Participants often checked the minutes against their own notes.
Minutes lack contextual information.
Hence participants must take their own notes.
Minutes are selective
Minutes are not timely
Often taking a number of days to produce

11. Limitations of Public Records
Laborious to produce
Designated minuter required – reduced contribution
Minutes don’t capture meeting experience
Participants may require a richer meeting record
Peripheral aspects
Minutes largely only record decisions and actions

12. Personal Meeting Records
Participants address the limitations of public meeting records by taking own notes
Personal records highly valued
Notes reflect personal perspective
Largely consist of decisions, actions and context
Often cryptic, used as more of a memory aid.
Can be used to inform non-attendees

13. Functions of Personal Records
Personal Reminders
Provide contextual information
Check accuracy of minutes
Brief others on meeting contents

14. Limitations of Personal Records
Taking notes reduces the ability to contribute
Notes often lack accuracy and comprehensibility
Esoteric nature makes it difficult for non-attendees to understand.

15. Technological Implications
Current technology addresses the limitations of public records
Can provide both a contextual and immersive experience
No longer laborious or untimely
Although some problems are still present
Current meeting browsers offer no abstraction facilities
There is a question of the formality of automatically generated meeting records

16. Technological Implications
Technology also addresses the limitations of personal records.
Reduces the burden on producing contextual records
Non-attendees no longer hindered by esoterics
Again, there are still problems with technology
Browsers do not exploit progress in note-taking technology
Lack of direct access to decisions and actions

17. Summary We have examined the use of meeting records in two firms.
Meetings generally produce two sets of records:
Public record – generally minutes.
Personal records – generally personal notes
We noted the advantages and disadvantages of both sets of records
We briefly examined how technology is addressing the limitations of the records.