Braided Meetings Use Cases

Stand-up meetings are used to drive and maintain momentum within a team. They are ideally short, sharp, focussed sessions held regularly (daily or weekly) in which team members share recent and planned progress and identify and resolve any blockers. The sweet-spot for Braided stand -ups is teams of up to ~ 6 or 7 team members. It still works for larger teams, but certainly works best for small and medium sized teams.

Why is Braiding so good for stand-up meetings?

1. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format a Braided Stand-up can easily be done in 15 minutes or less and will always finish on time.
2. Everybody contributes: Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so you always get input from all team members
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated

So how do I set one up?

Our example here is for a team of 4 people:

• We suggest starting with a meeting duration twice as long in minutes as the number of people in the team. With 4 people, we create an 8 min long Braided Meeting.
• Then set the number of Braids and the number of participants to be 4
• Set the number of rotations to be 1, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins
• Each Braid is named with the team member who starts on that Braid. Eg “Tina’s Braid”
• The description gives instructions: eg “Tina will start this Braid by sharing the usual “what I did before”, “what I plan to do next”, “what help I need?” Other participants please offer help where you can and ask questions if you need to.”

1-2-1 meetings are a regular part of most people’s work. A “working” 1-2-1 is used when you are working with someone else on a project or task and need to check in and make sure you are both aligned and working effectively together. You may find yourself in multiple working 1-2-1 meetings with different people at different times.

Why is Braiding so good for a working 1-2-1 meeting?

1. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format a working 1-2-1 can easily be done in 10 minutes or less and will always finish on time.
2. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated.

So how do I set one up?

• We suggest starting with a meeting duration of 10 minutes. You may find you prefer a different (probably a shorter) duration, but that is a good place to start.
• Then set the number of Braids and the number of participants is simply 2
• Set the number of rotations to be 2, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins 30 secs
• Each Braid is named with the team member who starts on that Braid. Eg “Tina’s Braid”
• The description gives instructions: eg “In this Braid Tina will start with an update on progress in the last week and plans for the week ahead, Eric can then ask clarifying questions to which Tina can respond.”

1-2-1 meetings are a regular part of most people’s work. A “formal 1-2-1” is typically used by a manager and a team member to review progress against objectives on a regular basis, perhaps monthly or quarterly.

Why is Braiding so good for a formal 1-2-1 meeting?

1. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format a formal 1-2-1 can easily be done in less than 20 minutes and will always finish on time.
2. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated.

So how do I set one up?

• We suggest starting with a meeting duration of 18 minutes. You may find you prefer a different (probably a shorter) duration, but that is a good place to start.
• Then set the number of Braids to 3. The number of participants is simply 2
• Set the number of rotations to be 2, which means the Braid duration will be 3mins
• Braid titles will typically be (1) Goals for next month (2) Achievements in this month and (3) Challenges and learnings this month. 
• In the mock up shown below Eric is the manager and starts on the “Goals for next month” Braid. Tina, who works for Eric, starts on the “Achievements in this month” Braid. She will also then be the first person to contribute to the “Challenges and learnings: Braid.

Working as a team and bringing together the power of diverse minds is the best way of solving a problem. Braided Meetings is a powerful tool to help you solve problems and works really well when you follow the “Situation Analysis” ⇒ “Generates Solutions” ⇒ “Select Solution” approach.

Why is Braiding so good for a Situation Analysis meeting?

1. Everybody contributes: Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so all the best ideas always emerge. The no distractions first rotation feature maximises this benefit.
2. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format an effective Situation Analysis session can easily be done in less than 20 minutes and will always finish on time.
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated.

So how do I set one up?

• A small but diverse team is good here. We suggest a team of 4 (if you have a large team split into smaller sub-teams to maximise efficiency) and a meeting duration of 20 minutes.
• Set the number of Braids and the number of participants to 4.
• Set the number of rotations to be 2, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins 30 secs
• Braid titles will be (1) Potential causes (2) Possible help (3) External lessons and (4) The impact, each of which is expanded on in the Braid description as shown.
• With the “No distractions first rotation” activated each person gives their views on each Braid before they see input from anyone else.

Working as a team and bringing together the power of diverse minds is the best way of solving a problem. Braided Meetings is a powerful tool to help you solve problems and works really well when you follow the “Situation Analysis” ⇒ “Generates Solutions” ⇒ “Select Solution” approach.

Why is Braiding so good for a Solution Creation meeting?

1. Everybody contributes: Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so all the best ideas always emerge.
2. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format an effective Solution Creation session can easily be done in just 12 minutes and will always finish on time.
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated.

So how do I set one up?

• Keep the same team of 4 (again if you have a large team split into smaller sub-teams to maximise efficiency) and set the meeting duration to 12 minutes.
• Set the number of Braids and the number of participants to 4.
• Set the number of rotations to be 1, which means the Braid duration will be 3mins
• Braid titles will be named for each of the participants.
• Each person starts by sharing their ideas for a solution, then asks clarifying questions on the ideas that others have shared.

Working as a team and bringing together the power of diverse minds is the best way of solving a problem. Braided Meetings is a powerful tool to help you solve problems and works really well when you follow the “Situation Analysis” ⇒ “Generates Solutions” ⇒ “Select Solution” approach.

Why is Braiding so good for a Solution Creation meeting?

1. Everybody contributes: Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so all the best ideas always emerge.
2. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format an effective Solution Selection session can easily be done in just 20 minutes and will never over run.
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated.

So how do I set one up?

• Keep the same team of 4 (again if you have a large team split into smaller sub-teams to maximise efficiency) and set the meeting duration to 20 minutes.
• Set the number of Braids and the number of participants to 4.
• Set the number of rotations to be 2, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins 30 secs
• Braid titles will be each of the four best solutions that emerged from the previous “Solution Creation” session.
• With the “No distractions first rotation” activated each person gives their views on each possible solution before they see input from anyone else. They then review and rank the solutions.

Effective project management is a critical business skill and Braided is a great way of holding many project management meetings. This example shows a “workstream check-in” session.

Why is Braiding so good for Project Management?

1. Everybody contributes: Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so all progress and all the risks / issues always emerge.
2. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format an effective Project Management session can easily be done in less than half an hour and will never over run.
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated.

So how do I set one up?

• We suggest you start with a duration that is 5 minutes multiplied by the number of people in the project team. In our example that is 25 minutes.
• Set the number of Braids and the number of participants to the team size, 5 in our example.
• Set the number of rotations to be 2, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins 30 secs
• Braid titles will be work-stream names.
• Each work-stream lead starts on their workstream initially sharing progress and issues.

The most successful and admired organisations are those in which creativity and innovation flourishes. Braiding can help you achieve that within your organisation

Why is Braiding so good for Creativity & Innovation?

1. Everybody contributes: One of our favourite phrases here at Braided is Great minds do not think alike. Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so all the good ideas emerge.
2. Idea evolution & time efficiency: Braiding is a really efficient meeting format which also encourages deep thinking and allows for effective idea sharing and idea development as team members built on each other’s contributions.
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated.

So how do I set one up?

• We suggest you start with a duration that is 6 minutes multiplied by the number of people in the team. In our example, with a small team of 3, that is 18 minutes.
• Set the number of Braids and the number of participants to the team size, 3 in our example.
• Set the number of rotations to be 3, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins. The 3 rotations will allow for multiple idea evolution steps.
• Each person starts by sharing their ideas then as the carousel rotates then can build on each other’s ideas. 

Post sprint retros are a crucial activity for all agile development teams and the unique design of Braided Meetings makes it particularly well suited to creating effective retro meetings. Simply pick a retro format that aligns with the number of people in your dev team.

Why is Braiding so good for Post Sprint Retro meetings?

1. Everybody contributes: Getting inputs from everybody is one of the toughest challenges in a retro. Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so all issues progress always emerge. 
2. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format a Braided retro is fast and will always finish on time.
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated

So how do I set up a three-person simple post sprint retro?

• A simple retro is perfect if you have 3 people in the team (for a larger team simply use a different format – check out our other templates for suggestions). So set the number of Braids and the number of participants to the team size, 3.
• For duration you only need 5 minutes per person, so go for 15 minutes.
• Set the number of rotations to be 2, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins 30 secs.

Post sprint retros are a crucial activity for all agile development teams and the unique design of Braided Meetings makes it particularly well suited to creating effective retro meetings. Simply pick a retro format that aligns with the number of people in your dev team.

Why is Braiding so good for Post Sprint Retro meetings?

1. Everybody contributes: Getting inputs from everybody is one of the toughest challenges in a retro. Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so all issues progress always emerge. 
2. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format a Braided retro is fast and will always finish on time.
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated

So how do I set up a four-person, 4 Ls post sprint retro?

• A 4 Ls retro is perfect if you have 4 people in the team (for different sized teams simply use a different format – check out our other templates for suggestions). So set the number of Braids and the number of participants to the team size, 4.
• For duration you only need 5 minutes per person, so go for 20 minutes.
• Set the number of rotations to be 2, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins 30 secs.

Post sprint retros are a crucial activity for all agile development teams and the unique design of Braided Meetings makes it particularly well suited to creating effective retro meetings. Simply pick a retro format that aligns with the number of people in your dev team.

Why is Braiding so good for Post Sprint Retro meetings?

1. Everybody contributes: Getting inputs from everybody is one of the toughest challenges in a retro. Braiding is specifically designed to ensure that everybody has an equal opportunity to contribute so all issues progress always emerge. 
2. Time efficiency: Because Braiding is a really efficient meeting format a Braided retro is fast and will always finish on time.
3. Full written record: A full written record is automatically generated

So how do I set up a five-person, Starfish post sprint retro?

• A Starfish retro is perfect if you have 5 people in the team (for different sized teams simply use a different format – check out our other templates for suggestions). So set the number of Braids and the number of participants to the team size, 5.
• For duration you only need 5 minutes per person, so go for 25 minutes.
• Set the number of rotations to be 2, which means the Braid duration will be 2mins 30 secs.