meetings-admin-guide.rst

Meetings Admin Guide

This guide describes the concepts of the membertility Meetings Module, and gives guidance on how to achieve the meeting work flow.

The general work flow for meetings <meeting> is

• meeting admin creates meeting, indicating who would be invited, date, time, location, and purpose of the meeting
• meeting admin generates invitations <invite> for the meeting

• in the invitation <invite>, the member is given a link to click

  • member is shown any outstanding action items <action item> they're responsible for
  • member clicks link and can indicate if attending <rsvp> the meeting
  • member should also give their status report for each position they're responsible for
  • member can update action item status and record comments about the action item
  • member can add any discussion items <discussion item> for meeting

• as members <member> add discussion items <discussion item>, the meeting agenda is being built, with each discussion item turned into a meeting agenda item

• when ready, the meeting admin can generate status report and agenda documents

  • this will go to a Google Workspace drive location. In a future releases support will be added to create a Word doc
  • once a Google Workspace file is created, it is updated nightly as members <member> continue to add or update status reports <status report>. Alternately, the meeting admin can cause it to be updated on demand
  • the Google Workspace documents are initially generated to a configured folder, but can safely be moved to any desired folder

• additional emails can be sent to the meeting invite list if needed, e.g., with links to documents which should be read to prepare for the meeting

• during the meeting, the admin can do the following, which forms the minutes for the meeting

  • update attendee list (who actually came)
  • add discussion about any agenda item
  • add an action item under an agenda item
  • add a motion under an agenda item, and tally its votes <vote>
  • create a new agenda item (e.g., for unplanned discussion)

• after the meeting, the admin can make any adjustments to the notes which were taken, and when satisfied, generate the minutes document (again to a Google Workspace drive location)

  • when minutes from the last meeting are voted on, changes are rarely required. But if changes are required, the admin can go into the last meeting's <meeting> view, make the changes, and generate the minutes again
  • Google Workspace minutes are generated to configured location but can safely be moved to the desired folder

• action items <action item>, motions <motion> / votes <vote>, minutes are available to the members <member> through the system immediately after the meeting
• members <member> receive reminder emails about outstanding action items <action item>

Meeting Data Model

digraph records {

graph [fontname = "helvetica"]; node [fontname = "helvetica"]; edge [fontname = "helvetica"]; "member 1" -> "position report 1"; "member 2" -> "position report 1"; "member 3" -> "position report 2"; "member 4" -> "position report 3"; "member 4" -> "ad hoc report 4"; "meeting admin 1" -> "agenda item 4"; "position report 1" -> "discussion/agenda item 1"; "position report 1" -> "discussion/agenda item 2"; "position report 2" -> "discussion/agenda item 3"; "discussion/agenda item 1" -> "action item 1"; "discussion/agenda item 2" -> "motion 1"; "motion 1" -> "motion vote tally 1"; { rank=same; "member 1", "member 2", "member 3", "member 4", "meeting admin 1" }; { rank=same; "position report 1", "position report 2", "position report 3", "ad hoc report 4" }; { rank=same; "discussion/agenda item 1", "discussion/agenda item 2", "discussion/agenda item 3", "agenda item 4" }; { rank=same; "action item 1", "motion 1" };

}

Prepare for Meeting Module use

The following needs to be set up in the database before using the meeting module. These require the indicated role to achieve. Full documentation of this is TBD.

• create positions <position>, with proper Has Status Report configuration [organization-admin]
• assign members <member> to their position(s) <position> [organization-admin]
• create tags <tag> which will be used to invite members <member> to meetings <meeting> and to indicate the voting members <voting member> [meetings-admin]
• set interest defaults for Meeting Invite Tags, Meeting Vote Tags, Google Workplace folders [super-admin]

Use cases for before the meeting (for when you want to...)

These sections describe what an meeting admin might want to do when planning a meeting.

create a meeting

When a meeting is being planned, the first thing to do is create it.

• bring up Meetings view

• click New

• click Create

To access the meeting you just created, select the new row and click View Meeting. You'll see that there is an action item agenda item which was automatically created.

If the Meeting Type has an Automatic Agenda Item Title, an agenda item with the indicated title is created.

renew a meeting

If a previously held meeting needs to be created again, an easy way is to renew it.

• bring up Meetings view

• click Renew

  Note

  all of the fields are filled in based on the meeting being renewed, but you'll want to change the Date to be the date of the new meeting

  • Renew Options are defaulted based on Meeting Type. These can be changed for this renewal, but if you find yourself changing these each time, it would probably be best to set them as you'd like in the Meeting Types view.

• click Renew

To access the meeting you just renewed, select the new row and click View Meeting. You'll see that there is an action item agenda item which was automatically created, and any agenda items which were meant to be copied based on the Renew Options will also be there.

If the Meeting Type has an Automatic Agenda Item Title, an agenda item with the indicated title is created.

invite members to a meeting (in-person / virtual)

In order to invite members <member> to an in-person or virtual meeting, you must be in the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view. To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• click Send Invitations
• there will be a popup with the list of members <member> who will be invited, and you will be given the option to change the Subject, add a Message, and update the From address
• click Send Invitations

The invitations <invite> are sent to the members <member> who resolve to the Invite Tags specified for the meeting.

If the Meeting Type is has the option RSVP Required, an agenda item with title Attendees is created. As invited <invite> members <member> rsvp to the meeting, their RSVP will show whether they plan to come to the meeting.

invite member discussion for a meeting (Online Motion/Votes)

In order to solicit discussion for a meeting with Online Motion/Votes, you must be in the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view. To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• click Send Discussion Request

• there will be a popup with the list of members <member> who will be invited, and you will be given the option to change the Subject, add a Message, and update the From address

  Hint

  the Message should include what the discussion is about, and when the discussion should be completed. The meeting Date is the last day for voting on any motions <motion> which come out of the discussion

• click Send Discussion Request

The discussion request is sent to the members <member> who resolve to the Invite Tags specified for the meeting. The intention is that discussion will be held on the email thread. Once the discussion has run its course, motion text should be proposed and the motion moved and seconded.

This electronic voting process continues at create online motion.

check to see if status reports are missing, and send reminders

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting Status view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click Meeting Status.

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting Status view,

• to determine which status reports <status report> are missing, set the Status filter on the top to missing

• select one or more positions <position> you'd like to send reminders to

  Note

  to see all the positions <position>, you may need to show additional entries (top left of the table)

• click Send Reminders
• there will be a popup with the list of members <member> to whom reminders will be sent, and you will be given the option to change the Subject, add a Message, and update the From address
• click Send Reminders to send the reminder emails

on behalf of a member, enter RSVP and status reports

If a member isn't able to use the system to RSVP <rsvp> and/or enter their status reports <status report>, the meeting admin can use the Their Status Report view to enter the information provided outside the system.

To access the meeting's <meeting> Their Status Report view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click Their Status Report. An empty view is displayed.

To enter the member's <member> RSVP <rsvp> and/or status reports <status report>, select the member in the table heading. From there, you can proceed as if you were the selected member, using the instructions from My Status Report view.

review the agenda

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting. The current agenda is displayed.

As members <member> add discussion items <discussion item> to their status report, these get added as agenda items <agenda item> for the meeting.

Once most of the status reports <status report> have been received, you may want to update the agenda item titles, or update the headings which will be used to outline the agenda items <agenda item> in the agenda and minutes documents.

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• if the agenda item title chosen by the member is unclear, you can make updates here.

  • select the agenda item, click Edit, then update the Title

    Note

    discussion item titles shown in the status report document will show the member's <member> original text

• each position has a default agenda heading, but if this needs to be changed

  • select the agenda item, click Edit, then select the Agenda Heading (new agenda headings must be created first using the Agenda Headings view)

• Summary captures what the member said in the discussion item. If necessary, this can be edited for clarity

  • select the agenda item, click Edit, then update the Summary

    Note

    this overwrites the words written by the member when they created their status report and will be reflected into the status report document, so should be done only when needed

reorder agenda items

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting. The current agenda is displayed.

As each discussion item/agenda item is collected, it is automatically added to the end of the agenda. Once most of these are collected, it may be desired to reorder them.

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• use the reorder icon () to grab an agenda item and place it where desired in the agenda order

  Note

  for best results, agenda items <agenda item> with the same agenda heading should be grouped together

create a new agenda item

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

The meeting admin may want to add specific agenda items <agenda item> related to the meeting, such as Call to Order, Next meeting <date>, or such.

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• click New
• enter Title
• (optional) enter Summary
• (optional) select Agenda Heading (new agenda headings must be created first using the Agenda Headings view)
• click Save
• reorder as needed

generate meeting documents

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• click Generate Docs
• select the documents to be generated (e.g., Agenda)
• click Submit
• the documents are generated and the popup disappears
• the link(s) to the documents can be found using the Meetings view

Note

the status report document is automatically updated as members <member> update their status reports, after a slight delay

send email to meeting invitees

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• click Send Email
• there will be a popup with the list of members <member> to whom the email will be sent, and you will be given the option to change the Subject, add a Message, and update the From address
• click Send Email

Use cases for during the meeting (for when you want to...)

This section describes what the meeting admin might want to do during the meeting.

update the attendance list

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• select the agenda item entitled Attendees
• click Edit
• under the Invites table, on the member row, click the cell under the Attended and/or In person/Virtual columns to change

• click off the selected cell to save -- when select widget disappears, the entry is saved

  Important

  if you don't click off the selected cell, this change won't be saved

Note

if someone comes to the meeting who isn't in the Invites table, this can be recorded in the Discussion field -- use a bullet list for best formatting in the minutes document

add discussion about an agenda item

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• select the agenda item to be discussed
• click Edit
• add discussion text under Discussion
• click Save

add an action item

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• select the agenda item being discussed which relates to the action item
• click Edit
• under Action Items, click New
• enter a concise, specific description of the action item under Action
• generally the Comments section should be left blank at this point (but see the Note below)

• select an Assignee who is responsible for the action

  Note

  a single Assignee is responsible for any action item. If the Assignee should be working with others and the names need to be captured, this can be done within the Action, or within the Comments

• click Create

record a motion, its discussion, and vote tally (in-person / virtual)

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• select the agenda item being discussed which relates to the motion
• click Edit
• under Motions, click New
• enter a clear, specific description of the motion under Motion (see the references for best practices for wording motions)
• select the person who made the motion as the Mover
• select the person who seconded the motion as the Seconder
• optionally record any comments about the motion which come out during the discussion
• if the wording of the motion needs to be changed due to the discussion, change this now

• click Create

  Note

  the motion can be created as above, and then updated by clicking Edit under Motions

After creating the motion the motion's Votes table is created. The votes <vote> are initialized to approved if the member is recorded as attending the meeting and novote if not.

To edit the votes <vote>,

• select the motion
• under Motions click Edit
• under Votes, on the member row, click the cell under the Vote column to change

• click off the selected cell to save -- when select widget disappears, the entry is saved

  Important

  if you don't click off the selected cell, this change won't be saved

  Note

  if a member comes to the meeting and votes after the motion was created, their default novote can be changed accordingly without immediately updating their Attendee status

• in the motion Edit form, select the resulting Status (approved, rejected, tabled) as appropriate
• click Save

References

• How to Make a Motion at a Board of Directors Meeting
• How to Write a Motion for a Board Meeting

record a motion, its discussion, and vote tally (Online Motion/Votes)

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• select the agenda item being discussed which relates to the motion
• click Edit
• under Motions, click New
• enter a clear, specific description of the motion under Motion (see the references for best practices for wording motions)
• select the person who made the motion as the Mover
• select the person who seconded the motion as the Seconder
• optionally record any comments about the motion which come out during the discussion
• if the wording of the motion needs to be changed due to the discussion, change this now

• click Create

  Note

  the motion can be created as above, and then updated by clicking Edit under Motions

After creating the motion the motion's Votes table is created. The votes <vote> are initialized to novote.

To send a link for voting on the motion to the voting members <voting member>, select the motion and click the Send eVote Requests button. The voting members <voting member> will be displayed, and the meeting admin will have the opportunity to change the Subject, Message, and From Address. The text of the motion will automatically be included in the email.

The voting members <voting member> will receive an email with a link they can click to record their vote. All votes <vote> must be recorded by the Date set for the meeting.

Note

if additional time is required for the voting, simply update the Date set for the meeting using the Meetings view.

References

• How to Make a Motion at a Board of Directors Meeting
• How to Write a Motion for a Board Meeting

Use cases for after the meeting (for when you want to...)

These sections describe what an meeting admin might want to do after a meeting.

generate meeting minutes

To access the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view, from Meetings view, select the meeting and click View Meeting

From the meeting's <meeting> Meeting view,

• click Generate Docs
• select the documents to be generated (in this case Minutes)
• click Submit
• the minutes are generated and the popup disappears
• the link to the minutes can be found using the Meetings view

add Google Workspace documents to a meeting folder

Prior to any meeting being created, the super admin must use the Interest Attributes view to configure the system with a folder to store the Google Workspace documents which will be created. There's a separate folder configuration for each type of document.

Note

the folders for the types of documents can be the same or different as desired

If it is desired to have the documents accessible from some other folder (e.g., one which was created specifically for the meeting), manual intervention is needed.

The file(s) must be "Added" rather than "Moved" to the specific meeting folder. This allows meeting documents to be found in a well known place for ease of review across meetings, as well as in the folders for each meeting. But more importantly, membertility only has permission to write to certain folders, so if the file is moved that will cause problems with the access, and there will be unpredictable results.

Using Google Workspaces,

• open the folder where the file was created
  • to find this folder, click on the file's link in the Meetings view, then in the browser address box, change "preview" to "edit" and reload the page
  • then click on the folder icon to the right of the filename, which opens a pull-down
  • then click on the square/arrow icon to the right of the folder name in the pull-down to open the file's folder
  • again please don't move the file
• click on the file you want to add to another folder
• on your keyboard, press Shift + z
• choose the destination folder you want to add the file to
• click Add here

Now the same file(s) can be found by navigating to the well known folder, or by navigating to the meeting folder, and any changes to the file(s) will happen in both folders.

Also see Organize your files in Google Drive, click on Create a shortcut for a file or folder

Warning

do not copy the file and save it somewhere else, as this would prevent the system from managing the file contents

Warning

do not edit any of these files directly as the system may overwrite what you've changed. Rather, use the system to make any changes you want captured in the file. Then Generate Docs can be used to make the update to the agenda or minutes. Status report <status report> will be updated automatically.

download images from the meeting report

To access the meeting status report (or newsletter items), navigate to Meetings > Meetings. Under the Report column click the link (the naming of the link depends on the meeting type).

A google doc should open in another tab.

Google docs does not allow you to right click on the image and save. It gives you a way to copy the image but there doesn't seem to be a way to paste the image locally. How to Download All the Images From a Google Doc or Microsoft Word Document (and others) suggest downloading as html. This creates a zip file that includes the original images (named as image1.jpg, etc).

In order to see the download menu, you need to manually change the "/preview" to "/edit" at the end of the URL in your browser's address bar.

Warning

do not edit this file directly as the system may overwrite what you've changed. Rather, use the system to make any changes you want captured in the file. Changes can be made to other member's <member> reports by navigating to Meetings view, selecting the meeting, then clicking Their Status Report button, which will bring up Their Status Report view.

References