Meetings

The SciComp Garage zoom

We have one zoom room, the SciComp garage zoom room, which is used for most of our meetings. This reduces the friction to start talking when people want to get together. There’s always one default place for meeting, and if multiple people need it, they will spontaneously intersect (which, after all, what our management tells us we need to be on campus for) before going to breakout rooms.

Even customer meetings or external collaboration meetings often happen in the garage room by default (if we propose a room). The same as above applies: sometimes people intersect, but these intersections are considered good.

You can idle in the garage room between meetings and see if you can find someone to talk to. We often idle there for long periods during the afternoon.

Quick collaboration meetings

Whenever team members want to talk and propose Zoom, it’s understood to join the garage zoom by default (unless something else is said). This way it’s as quick as “zoom?” to get a chat and talk with each other. And it’s always in our Zoom history. (https://scicomp.aalto.fi/zoom is a shortcut that takes you there, too).

Weekly meetings

Weekly meetings are a time we come together for things that need to be discussed - for example, issues where hearing everyone’s opinion is useful. For example, some change to Triton that will have far-reaching effects.

  • One weekly meeting for RSE and one for all Science-IT.

  • Ways to sync with whole team and raise things where we want to make sure we get everyone’s thoughts before making a decision.

  • The point is to focus on discussion and not status reports.

  • As the team grows, meetings have a tendency to get long and off-the-point. Bring important matters to the meeting, but specific discussions may be pushed to happen afterwards.

  • There is limited time for voice, but there are multiple channels you can use:

    • Voice

    • Write your thoughts/questions (prefixed by initials, or not) in agenda document

    • Meeting chat

  • Use this to let everyone get their thoughts in!

Agenda documents

We have running agenda documents (internal links) - every meeting gets a new section at the top. This means it’s always easily available in people’s history, and it is easy for people to add something to be discussed in the next meeting (or a reminder to themselves to fill it out later).

The agenda documents also serve as a live chat (just like in CodeRefinery teaching).

  • People should pre-fill agenda items with info for the meeting, so the meeting time can be used for discussion, not reporting.

  • People can ask questions about that info even before we get to the point, and it can be answered even before.

  • The agenda document is also good for questions where someone doesn’t quite know what is going on (say, a new person), who wants more background but doesn’t want to delay the meeting. You should not feel bad here, ask away and people will be happy to explain more (and it won’t slow us down).

Customer meetings

Customer meetings can often be in the garage zoom, if overlaps are OK. If customers have their own place to meet/prefer to meet in-person, we should use/do that instead.