{"id":2885,"date":"2016-03-31T00:01:48","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T04:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terrencemetz.com\/?p=2885"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:36:33","slug":"meeting-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/meeting-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Unstructured Meeting Costs Rise:  Use a Proven Structured Technique"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Meeting costs to American businesses as a result of poorly run meetings (typically unstructured) continue to rise. Surveys indicate that on average managers waste:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">8.5 hours per week for low-level management<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">10.4 hours per week for middle-level management<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">11.5 hours per week for senior-level management<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">As a strong and effective <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/facilitative-leadership\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">facilitator<\/a>, you need to use a <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/executive-presence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">structured<\/a> technique such as <i>MGR<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">USH<\/span><\/i> that wraps around RAD (Rapid Application Development), Lean, Scrum, and all other <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/team-members\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">structured<\/a> methodologies to reduce meeting costs. In <i>Joint Application Development<\/i>, Jane Wood and Denise Silver cite the following testimonials on the benefits of structured meetings and reduced meeting <a href=\" https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/indirect-meeting-costs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">costs<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Structure Minimizes Meeting Costs<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_2886\" style=\"width: 526px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img wpfc-lazyload-disable=\"true\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2886\" class=\"wp-image-2886 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/structure-your-meetings-for-consistent-outputs.png\" alt=\"Unstructured Meeting Costs Rise: Use an MG RUSH Structured Technique\" width=\"516\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/structure-your-meetings-for-consistent-outputs.png 516w, https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/structure-your-meetings-for-consistent-outputs-300x288.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 516px) 100vw, 516px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2886\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Structure Your Meetings to Reduce Meeting Costs<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Capers-Jones states,<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>&#8220;A study of over 60 projects &#8230; showed that those projects that did not use structured meetings missed up to 35% of required functionality resulting in the need for up to 50% more code.&#8221; <\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The Capers-Jones study determined that projects\u00a0using structured meetings missed only 5 percent to 10 percent of required functionality with minimal impact on the code and overall reduced meeting costs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">A survey conducted by the Index Group of Cambridge Massachusetts concluded that<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>&#8220;Systems developers are operating amid turf battles, historical bickering, low credibility and the difficulty in pinning down ever-changing systems requirements.&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Their survey of 95 information systems development directors found that:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">64% say that they cannot get users in different departments to cooperate in <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/strategy-execution-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cross-functional<\/a> systems projects,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">78% say that coordinating efforts between end-user developers and professional systems developers is a major challenge even though the number of end-users developing their own systems is on the rise,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Less than 29% say they have any long-range plans for retiring obsolete systems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">David Freedman states,<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>&#8220;How do you design a system that users really want? &#8230; You can&#8217;t. What you\u00a0can do is help users design the systems they want.&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>&#8220;The successful use of structured meetings has pushed its use beyond traditional applications of the process. Structured meetings are being used successfully for strategic systems and data planning, as well as for projects outside the information technology community.&#8221;<\/em>\u2014General Electric<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Data-Modeling-Handbook-Best-Practice-Approach\/dp\/0471052906\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The Data Modeling Handbook<\/em><\/a>, Michael C. Reingruber and William W. Gregory stress the importance of involving the customer, stating the following:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><em>&#8220;If you do not engage business experts, your modeling efforts will fail. While there is no guarantee of success when business experts get involved, there is no chance of success if they do not.&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>Secondary Sources Stress the Rise of Meeting Costs<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Numerous articles, case studies, and studies have shown structured meetings to be &#8220;best practice.&#8221; Published benefits include:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Avoids bloated functionality, and gold-plating, and helps designers delay their typical &#8220;solution fixation&#8221; until they understand the <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/requirements-gathering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">requirements<\/a> better [Whi].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It prevents the requirements from being too specific and too vague, both of which cause trouble during implementation and acceptance [Str].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">By properly using transition managers and the appropriate users, typical cultural risk is mitigated while cutting implementation time by 50% [Eng].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Cultivate ownership, easier acceptance (buy-in), and stronger commitment by users. The involvement of business end-users is no longer advisory or consultation. It is the participation and contribution in the project development life-cycle. The more users contribute to the system, the easier for them to accept it and commit to it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Enhanced <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/stop-saying-i\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">communication<\/a> and relationships between business end-users and information technology personnel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Enhanced education for participants and observers. By participating in structured meetings and being the medium between other users and information technology, the business end-users will be kept fully informed about the progress of the system development.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Improved system quality and productivity. Much of the system\u2019s quality depends on the requirements gathered. Structured meetings involve users in the development life cycle, let users define their requirements, and thus ensure that the system developed satisfies the actual activities of the business.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Tertiary Sources Stress the Rise of Meeting Costs<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Lays the foundation for a framework of mutual education, productive\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/facilitate-innovation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">brainstorming<\/a>, binding <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/facilitative-leader\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">negotiation<\/a>, and progress tracking [Whi].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">One of the best ways to reduce function <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/scope-creep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">creep<\/a>, most of which results from incomplete initial requirements [Ant]. Capers Jones states that structured meetings reduce function creep by 50%, and when used with prototyping, creep is reduced by another 10-25% [Str].<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Reduced system cost. Most of the system development costs are man-hours for both system developers and business users involved. Reduced development time reduces the labor cost for developers, as well as users. Important steps like requirement gathering compel the involvement and commitment of business area experts. The cost of taking them away from their daily operation is very high. <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/structured-meetings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Structured<\/a> meetings can reduce the involvement time of these business experts and hence reduce the cost further. Reduce costs by catching errors, misunderstandings, and mistakes early in the development phase. Studies show that a majority of system errors result from early analysis errors, and the earlier these errors get corrected, the less they will cost. \u00a0Structured meetings let designers and users work together in the very early of the development cycle, defining the scope, and requirements of projects, and <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/meeting-conflicts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">resolving conflicts<\/a> among different user groups. Structure puts efforts early in the life cycle in order to improve the quality increase productivity and reduce cost.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Reduced system development time. In structured meetings, information can be obtained and validated in a shorter time frame by involving all participants (or at least a representative set of participants) who have a stake in the outcome of the session. Structured meetings eliminate process delays and reduce application development time between 20% to 50%.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Saves time, eliminates process delays and misunderstandings, and improves system quality [Hol].<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Here are some of the sources:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">[Eng] Engler, Natalie. &#8220;Bringing in the Users\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">[Fin] Fine, Doug. &#8220;Information Technology Staff Move into Business Units\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">[Gar] Garner, Rochelle. &#8220;Why JAD Goes Bad\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">[Hol] Hollander, Nathan, Naomi Mirlocca. &#8220;Facilitated Workshops: Empowering the User to Develop Quality Systems Faster\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">[Kno] Knowles, Anne. &#8220;Peace Talks: Joint Application Development\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">[Lev] Leventhal, Naomi. &#8220;Using Groupware Tools to Automate Joint Application Development\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">[Str] Strehlo, Kevin. &#8220;Catching Up with the Joneses and &#8216;Requirement&#8217; Creep\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">[Whi] Whitmore, Sam. &#8220;Readers Shed Development Woes\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>______<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Don\u2019t ruin your career by hosting <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/bad-meetings\/\">bad meetings<\/a>. Sign up for a <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/public-facilitation-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">workshop<\/a> or send this to someone who should. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260106090117\/https:\/\/mgrush.com\/\">MGR<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">USH<\/span><\/a><\/em> workshops focus on meeting design and practice. Each person practices tools, methods, and activities every day during the week. Therefore, while some call this immersion, we call it the road to building high-value facilitation skills.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meeting costs to American businesses as a result of poorly run meetings (typically unstructured) continue to rise. Surveys indicate that on average managers waste: 8.5 hours per week for low-level management 10.4 hours per week for middle-level management 11.5 hours per week for senior-level management As a strong and effective facilitator, you need to use [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[453185969,453185952,453185953,13289],"tags":[453190785,67714808],"class_list":["post-2885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication-skills","category-facilitation-skills","category-managing-conflict","category-meeting-agendas","tag-meeting-costs","tag-structured-meetings"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Unstructured Meeting Costs Rise: Use a Structured Technique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meeting costs to American businesses as a result of poorly run meetings continue to rise. 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