The minutes of a meeting (also called meeting notes) refer to the written record of that meeting. The basic idea for the minutes is that you will have recorded the key elements of the meeting, which typically include:
Date and time
Location
Participants
Topics discussed
Decisions made
Action items (Who? What? When?)
The writing of meeting minutes serves three purposes: firstly, it communicates to those who were not able to attend the results of the meeting; secondly, it documents decisions and action items, which meeting participants can refer to after the meeting; and thirdly, it serves as a record for posterity (especially useful if the project is later audited, or new people are assigned to it and have to understand its history).
Good meeting minutes will have the following characteristics:
Succinct: There is no need to capture everything that was said in the meeting, only the key topics and decisions need to be covered.
Action-oriented: It should be action-oriented so that someone...