Meeting minutes is basically important protocols discussed at a meeting. Basically meeting minutes covers all the topics discussed during a meeting, such as the current status of the project, any issues with the project, and schedule of and what has to be completed before the next meeting.

As everyone has already mentioned, taking minutes at meetings are obviously important. I was the secretary of the executive board of my fraternity for a few years and one of my responsibilities was to take the minutes. It is important to note that when taking the minutes, every single word does not have to be recorded. They should be detailed, but only the important items that may need to be referred to at a later time should be written down. Along with the minutes, it is equally important to have an agenda prepared before meetings. This makes meetings go much smoother and much more organized.

This may be slightly off topic, but one important thing to consider in meeting minutes is clarity. When our project manager takes down meeting minutes she often writes what she hears and interprets, however that may not always be correct. As a researcher working in the lab most days, I am very close to the details of the project and am very familiar with experiments and the science behind everything as is my director whom I talk with every day. However when I give my updates in meetings I may say something that I will understand but the PM might interpret differently. In the end it is important to be clear and review the meeting minutes to ensure they are correct.

I agree that meeting minutes are important, since they capture the essential information of a meeting (decisions and assigned actions). They keep team members on track by reminding them of their role in a project and clearly define what happened in a group session. It also needs to be written off and sent to anyone who attended the meeting for future references. I would also like to add that in order to record and write and efficient meeting minutes, the following steps must be taken into account (if by any chance anyone has to record and write a meeting minute):
1) Create a template for recording the meeting minutes that includes: Date and time of the meeting, the purpose of the meeting, the meeting lead or chair’s name, assigned action items and decisions made.
2) During the meeting, as people enter the room, make sure that they sign their name on the attendance list. An attendee list is important.
3) Record actions and decisions made in the template as they happen and do not wait after the meeting to record it since this could result in mistakes.
4) After the meeting, it is necessary to review the notes to add or clarify what was said and decided.
5) When writing the meeting minutes, focus on action items and decisions and not in discussions, avoid personal observation and be objective.
6) After the minute meetings is properly written send the final copy to all the participants of the meeting.

Hey everyone,

Really interesting discussion with some great points. I just want to add a bit of my personal experience regarding meeting minutes (or a lack thereof). I volunteer for a nonprofit organization and attend weekly meetings. Very quickly, I noticed that meeting minutes were never written. This would always cause some kind of conflict, because at the following meeting, there was always something that should have been completed that was missing. This simple miscommunication could have been avoided by taking meeting minutes and sending them afterwards to those present at the meeting as well as those who could not attend that particular meeting. Something as simple as this keeps everyone on the same page and lowers the risk of conflict.

Although my example does not pertain to the realm of medical devices, I believe there is definitely a degree of applicability. Whether it's for a nonprofit organization, a small medical device company, or a large Fortune 500 company, meeting minutes are an essential way of keeping organized. They help everyone involved keep on top of deadlines and keep note of any important events that are upcoming.

-Murad

As Murad and others have mentioned, meeting minutes are crucial for capturing meetings and holding meeting attendees responsible for decisions and actions. In my opinion, the concept of using meeting minutes is beneficial in every single industry, not just the medical device or pharmaceutical industries. In my experience, meeting minutes are very helpful to record actions required by specific attendees, especially if there are a lot of actions and/or a lot of attendees. Its very easy to walk away from a meeting and forget one small detail or action that could impact the project team.

Similarly, an agenda for every meeting (which can be a part of the meeting minutes) is very helpful for keeping the meeting productive. I've been in meetings where attendees have completely gone down rabbit holes and everyone left the meeting wondering what the point was / what was accomplished. Keeping an agenda helps focus the discussions of the meetings to ensure that what needs to be accomplished is accomplished.

- Laura Wehmeyer

The last thing a manager or an employee wants to do at a meeting is to take the minutes. However, it is an extremely important and necessary task for multiple reasons. A person’s memory is unreliable and it is useful to have a written record of the meeting, including decisions and actions, for those who attended the meeting and for those who were not able to attend. The meeting minutes drive a plan of action for the team because they clarify how, when, why, and by whom decisions were made. They clearly map out a plan of action which helps each team member get their work done. With a public record to refer to, those responsible for their actions will be held accountable and expected to carry out their tasks. By having the record, employees and managers are able to refer back after a significant amount of time has passed and people do not remember who is responsible for the next step of the action plan.

In the procedure of device development, input to output all the steps are well discussed among the departments along with the regular device processes risks are also taken under consideration. Furthermore, there may be necessary changes in the protocol which should be well communicated with the overall team. The department should schedule meetings to inform individuals involved in the development process since several members can have various creative input to aid product protocols.

When I was the president of a club during my NJIT undergrad tenure, the secretary of the club introduced the concept of minutes during our weekly e-board meetings. I didn't really understand the concept of minutes other than just notes being taken. However, she was in a couple of other clubs in which she was responsible for taking minutes. She wrote down an excellent overview of the meetings, noted the time when something important was mentioned, and read back the minutes before the end of the meeting to check and see if anyone wanted to add anything. It was a good experience. It was also very convenient to go back to the notes and see when we thought of something to monitor our progress.

Meeting minutes are important because specific points can be made in a meeting that are important in moving the project forward. If we overlook those points or tasks, it could cost the team the quality and deadline on finishing the project. It can be really easy to forget what was stated and therefore, having meeting minutes is a very useful tool to go back and remember what was stated. Also,as many people on this thread stated, it is a good way to monitor progress. This is especially important in guiding the team to complete deadlines and having everything done on schedule. It can help indicate what has not yet been done and help the team create a plan to achieve missed deadlines so that they are not behind on the complete project.

Hi Roberto,

In addition to the points some people mentioned above, I believe there are some additional benefits to keeping meeting minutes:

1. They offer legal protection.
2. They provide structure.
3. They drive action.
4. They act as a measuring stick.
5. They state ownership.

Source: www.allbusiness.com

Meeting minutes are import as a form of almost quality control for meetings; it’s a form of accountability and covering for everyone. As someone who is taking notes of recording the meeting can reference back to a specific date if for instance, the boss wants to know who was in charge of this item. Or who suggested this idea. It is a form of bookkeeping that allows smooth transition of business flow. It also is a way to keep track of project progress and to keep track of project halts, budgeting problems and so on.

Meeting minutes are used as documentation so that any attendee, or persons not present, that looks at this document can understand the basics of what was discussed and reviewed during that meeting. In most companies there will be an SOP for all general Meeting Minutes (which will usually include: general instruction and a boiler plate template for one to follow) or a Specific SOP will use its own template and instruction for meeting minutes (like Design Reviews, Material Review Board, CAPA, ect.). This streamlines the process and presents most of the facts for anyone reviewing the data or approving a design change, etc.

Roberto,

Meeting minutes may not seem important until you need them. In one case, I was in a meeting where I was aware of what was said and agreed to but did not remember the specific date and person who made an agreement to something. I sorted through emails until I found the set of meeting minutes that would allow me to justify calling someone out on what they agreed to. This was not malicious on my part but rather, I was holding someone accountable for their promises. Meeting minutes can make a huge difference when trying to get something accomplished and serve as historical record of what was said and agreed to by all parties.

As many have discussed previously, meeting minutes are very important when it comes to documentation on when decisions are made, this helps the team know who is held accountable if something were to go wrong. Not only to help one get out of trouble but it also is a history of what is said and discussed if the team needs to reference something said at the meeting. As another mentioned it helps to offer legal protection, and provide structure to the overall meeting. Keeping track of the meeting helps to promote productivity.