Project Review Meetings

Each project will have a weekly project review meeting. This is an opportunity to share information about the major events, issues, and outcomes of the previous week. It also provides the opportunity to agree upon next steps for the project over the coming week. Students will need to take detailed notes during the meeting.
Check with your PA about the structure of the very first meeting; at subsequent meetings the MBAN students will be (co-)chair(s). Running the meeting includes setting up the meeting room in advance and ensuring that the meeting starts on time. The weekly project report (distributed to students in May) serves as the agenda. Discuss the project report form with your PA as needed.

Project overview meetings

These meetings will be held every other Tuesday morning during project season. At these meetings, the MBAN students from each project team will give a brief report on their projects. Plan to do a Powerpoint presentation no longer than 7 minutes.
For the first overview meeting, you should give the rest of us a brief introduction to your client—who they are, what they do—and the problem you’re trying to solve. Subsequent meetings give you an opportunity to crowdsource particular technical challenges you’re encountering, or else to teach the rest of us about your technical approach by doing a deep dive on a particular technical issue. Make sure that you don’t go into detail about project activities: say enough to orient us, but then focus on the technical side of your work. Show your slides to your PA if you need guidance.

Presentation dry runs

Dry runs are rehearsals before important presentations such as milestone meetings with the industry partner team. Students hold their presentation in the same way they would in the actual meeting. The faculty advisor, managing director and project advisor provide feedback focused on content, language, and communication factors.
The student(s) have responsibility for running the dry runs. This includes setting up the meeting room prior to the meeting and ensuring that the meeting starts on time. A printed copy of the presentation (black and white, printed on both sides) should (usually–check with your PA) be printed and given to everyone at the meeting.

Meetings with industry partner

Get clear on your role in each meeting—early in the summer you’ll likely be expected only to observe, while later you’ll be expected to present and take an active role in discussions. Make sure you and your PA discuss dress code and etiquette for these meetings—they’ll differ in level of formality. It’s essential that you be early for all client meetings. It’s also helpful to go into these meetings knowing something about who will be present: a quick LinkedIn search can be useful.

Periodic updates

These are meetings (typically weekly phone calls) with the contact person of the partner organization to report project progress, collect information, request data and/or coordinate project activities, such as interviews with subject matter experts and site visits. Project advisors coordinate and conduct these meetings, introducing student participation as necessary.

Milestone meetings

These are meetings with the partner organization project team, including executive sponsors, about every four weeks. The project team presents the work to date, confirm that the project is on track, and receive input and direction regarding critical decisions for the next phase of the project. Students do the presentation, as previously reviewed in dry run sessions.