Action items

Action items carry the work agreed during a meeting. Every item has a title and meeting reference; an assignee, project, priority, start date, due date and hours can add delivery context. Status moves among Backlog, in progress, in review, Blocked and Done. The Task Board by Status gives the project team a compact way to see work by status, while My Action Items puts each assignee’s work in one list.

• Set the context. Start from the project and use its named team members to make the owner of each record clear.
• Keep the handoff visible. Move the work through the existing status values and record who took the next step.
• Review exceptions. Open the relevant saved list when a date slips, an approval waits or a follow-up needs verification.

Agree when a meeting item is specific enough to assign, who changes its status and when in review may become Done. Decide how priorities are used, how due dates are chosen, and who intervenes when an item is Blocked. Keep the meeting link on the item so a reviewer can recover the discussion that created it.

Map the project’s real operating language to the record names before importing history. Have the Project Manager and Delivery Lead rehearse the same case with ordinary team accounts. If a role sees too much or cannot complete its assigned step, correct access before the first live cycle. Preserve the project reference and the person responsible when records are moved or corrected.

Suppose a review meeting identifies a documentation change. The organizer creates an action with a clear title, assignee and due date. The assignee moves it from Backlog to in progress, records actual hours if appropriate, and then changes it to in review. The manager can compare estimated and actual hours on the action and inspect the meeting that originated it. If approval is delayed, move the item to Blocked and review it in Blocked Action Items. Completion is a separate status change after the work is reviewed.

Open the source record again after the handoff. Compare its status, owner, project and dates with the list used by the receiving person. The team should be able to explain the next action from the record itself, including a blocked or failed attempt. Rehearse the correction path with the same roles who will use it in ordinary work.

• Action Items In Flight — Work under way or in review, with assignee, meeting and due date.
• Blocked Action Items — Assigned work that needs intervention before it can progress.

See the related process and review the data model.