Refocusing Meetings and Staying on Topic: Best Practices | Cloud Kicks

Best Practices for Refocusing Meetings and Staying on Topic

Question

During the requirements gathering workshops at Cloud Kicks, the project team and subject matter experts bring up new ideas to incorporate into the current project.

Which best practice should the consultant use to refocus the meeting and stay on topic?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

A

The best practice that the consultant should use to refocus the meeting and stay on topic is to select answer choice A: Remind the team of the purpose and scope of this project.

When new ideas are brought up during requirements gathering workshops, it is important to ensure that the team stays focused on the original purpose and scope of the project. By reminding the team of the project's purpose and scope, the consultant can effectively steer the conversation back to the intended objectives and prevent the discussion from derailing.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

A. Remind the team of the purpose and scope of this project: By reminding the team of the purpose and scope of the project, the consultant reestablishes the context and sets a clear direction for the discussion. This helps the team understand that while new ideas may be valuable, they need to be evaluated in the context of the project's objectives. The consultant can clarify the goals, deliverables, and timelines of the project, ensuring that everyone understands the boundaries within which the team should operate. This approach enables the consultant to refocus the meeting on the original requirements and keep the conversation aligned with the project's objectives.

B. Tell key stakeholders that the team is focused on other ideas: This answer choice is not the best practice because it does not address the need to refocus the meeting and stay on topic. Simply telling key stakeholders that the team is focused on other ideas may create confusion and leave the new ideas unaddressed. It is important to ensure that all ideas are properly evaluated and discussed, but within the context of the project's purpose and scope.

C. Invite only the subject matter experts to subsequent workshops: This answer choice does not directly address the issue of refocusing the meeting. While it may be helpful to limit the number of participants in subsequent workshops to subject matter experts, it does not guarantee that the discussions will stay on topic. Ideas from various stakeholders, not just subject matter experts, can often contribute to a comprehensive solution. Therefore, it is essential to involve the right stakeholders while effectively managing the discussion to stay on track.

D. Incorporate the new ideas into the solution design: While incorporating new ideas is important, doing so without refocusing the meeting and staying on topic can lead to scope creep or a loss of focus on the original project requirements. Incorporating new ideas should be done after evaluating their relevance and alignment with the project's objectives. The first step should be to refocus the meeting and then evaluate if the new ideas are valuable additions to the solution design.

In summary, the best practice is to choose answer choice A: Remind the team of the purpose and scope of this project. By doing so, the consultant can refocus the meeting, set clear boundaries, and ensure that the discussions align with the project's objectives.