Have you ever had a brilliant idea in a meeting, but it ended up never being brought up or discussed because everyone just forgot about it? In meetings, sometimes it gets hard to stay on track and choose the most relevant topic to talk about. Especially if there are many people involved, ideas get thrown a lot. Some may even be forgotten and never brought up again. To make sure these ideas are captured for future discussion, you can use the Idea Parking Lot Matrix.
The Idea Parking Lot Matrix was developed by Jack Moran and Harry Lenderman from Public Health Foundation (PHF). It’s a Quality Improvement (QI) tool designed to streamline meetings by minimizing distractions and irrelevant discussions. Every comment or idea voiced out by a participant in the meeting is written down, so it can be researched further or brought up later in the next meeting.
In the board template above, we have implemented the Idea Parking Lot Matrix in Kanban Zone, with clear explicit agreements under each column to ensure a smooth flow of cards. Just like with a physical board and Post-it notes, you get to visualize your categories and put your ideas in these categories.
- Look for Opportunities to Use: The idea has a high potential for improving the issue being discussed, and is easy to implement.
- Keep on the Radar: The idea has a high potential for improving the issue being discussed, but is difficult to implement.
- Consider Later: The idea has a low potential for improving the issue being discussed, but is easy to implement.
- Do Not Consider: The idea has a low potential for improving the issue being discussed, and is difficult to implement.
What’s included in the Idea Parking Lot template?
This board template includes the following:
- Six columns: Look for Opportunities to Use, Keep on the Radar, Consider Later, Do Not Consider, Issues Under Discussion, and Done.
- Explicit agreements in each column, explaining what each category is about.
- Collaborating with your team in real-time by sharing this board with them.
All of the above can be customized to your needs, using our Board Designer.
We hope that this template can help your meetings to be more effective. Start using it and never lose an idea ever again!
