Copyable workflow

Meeting Action Item Tracker

A simple structure for commitments that can be understood, owned, and checked without rereading meeting notes.

Use when

A meeting creates deliverables, investigations, approvals, or communications that must be completed after people leave.

Avoid when

The work already has a well-maintained task system; add the actions there and link back to the decision context instead.

Copy the template

ACTION ITEM TRACKER

Meeting / decision: [Link]
Last reviewed: [YYYY-MM-DD]

| ID | Deliverable | Accountable owner | Contributors | Due date / trigger | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-01 | [Verb + concrete output] | [One person] | [Names] | [Date or condition] | Not started | [Link] |
| A-02 | [Verb + concrete output] | [One person] | [Names] | [Date or condition] | Not started | [Link] |

STATUS RULES
Not started: owner has accepted the commitment
In progress: work has begun
Blocked: blocker and escalation owner are named
Done: deliverable or evidence is linked
Cancelled: reason is recorded

Use one accountable owner

Contributors may be many, but one person must be responsible for moving the item, reporting a blocker, and confirming completion. ‘Team’ is not an accountable owner.

Describe an observable output

Start with a verb and name what will exist when the item is done. ‘Follow up’ is ambiguous; ‘publish the five interview themes in the research brief’ is testable.

Close with evidence

A done status should link to the document, approval, issue, message, or other result. This makes the tracker useful to people who were not in the meeting.

Before you use it

Every row begins with a verb and concrete output
Exactly one accountable owner is named
The date or completion trigger is testable
Blocked items name the escalation needed
Completed items link to evidence