Capturing info during meetings with SMEs?

["Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Nathalie Granier wonders: <<What is the better way to capture info exchanged
during meetings with SMEs when taking notes is not fast enough? Is the use
of a voice recorder useful? Are people comfortable with that? What are your
tips and experiences?>>

The best way is whatever works for you _and for them_; ask what they'll be
comfortable with. A recorder is a standard tool used by reporters and other
interviewers precisely because it works so well. But reviewing tapes takes 1
minute per minute of recorded material, which is time-consuming. Moreover,
audiotapes dosn't capture visual things (e.g., drawings on a whiteboard), so
you'll have to arrange to get copies of that information somehow--or
consider using a video camera. If there'll be lots of onscreen stuff going
on, consider using the video capture features of tools such as SnagIt.

If you're taking huge amounts of handwritten notes, consider doing as much
prep work as possible beforehand. For example, negotiate the use of a laptop
at meetings so you can type rather than handwrite. If an agenda is
distributed beforehand, copy that into your word processor so you can add
text within this framework rather than having to type the framework at the
meeting; if no agenda is distributed, request one. Ask everyone listed in
the agenda what they plan to talk about so you can enter this information
too, and plan your questions in advance.

Develop and practice some shortcuts (e.g., typing NG instead of Nathalie
Grenier) for things you have to type regularly; add these to the
"autocorrect" dictionary if you're using Word, and this will be even more
productive because Word will expand the abbreviations automatically. If you
don't have to retype headings, and if you can type short versions of words
and phrases rather than the whole thing, you'll have less need for the
recorder (i.e., you'll need to refer to it less often).

--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada 

"Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the
earth's surface relative to other matter; second, telling other people to do
so. The first is unpleasant and ill-paid; the second is pleasant and highly
paid."--Bertrand Russell

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