01 · Purpose
Why and when to use it
Why?
It exposes different interpretations early and turns a project announcement into a practical agreement about how work will begin.
When?
Hold it after a draft mandate exists and before coordinated investigation begins; use a follow-up when key uncertainties remain.
Who takes part? The leader facilitates, the sponsor confirms the mandate, and team members and key interface owners contribute.
02 · Application
How to apply it
Start with: Draft charter, scope, proposed roles, initial schedule, dependencies and questions needing agreement.
- Share a concise draft charter and agenda in advance.
- Explain the performance gap and distinguish evidence from assumptions.
- Check scope, objectives, responsibilities and decision authority.
- Discuss working arrangements, availability and initial risks.
- Agree the first actions with owners and dates.
- Circulate decisions and unresolved questions; confirm attendance does not substitute for approval.
03 · Example
A warehouse dispatch project
Original illustrative example. All quantities, targets, roles and timings below are fictional teaching assumptions, not findings from a real project.
| Agenda item | Time | Required result |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose and problem | 10 minutes | Common understanding of the provisional dispatch gap. |
| Scope and roles | 15 minutes | Confirmed boundaries and named responsibility holders. |
| Plan and constraints | 15 minutes | Agreed initial sequence, availability and dependencies. |
| Questions and actions | 20 minutes | Action log with owners, deadlines and unresolved approvals. |
04 · Interpretation
What the result tells you
A successful meeting produces clear next actions and identifies disagreements needing resolution. If the team cannot agree on a measure or scope boundary, record the issue rather than implying consensus.
Completion check: A decision and action record confirming how the project will start.
05 · Judgement
Mistakes and limitations
Common mistakes
- Using the meeting only as a sponsor presentation.
- Allowing immediate solution selection to replace investigation.
- Leaving with actions that have no owner or deadline.
Limits of the tool
One meeting does not secure continuing engagement. People absent from an important decision may need a separate discussion; maintain communication and revisit agreements as evidence changes.
07 · Reading
Sources and further reading
Toolset backbone: Six Sigma+Lean Toolset: Mindset for Successful Implementation of Improvement Projects, second edition, edited by Stephan Lunau, with Renata Meran, Alexander John, Olin Roenpage and Christian Staudter (Springer, 2013). This reference identifies the toolset; the book text was not available for a chapter-level comparison in this development pass. The explanations, application sequence and fictional examples here are original LeanTrainingLab teaching material. Linked readings provide background; they do not prescribe every example or target.