W & M weekly planning meeting
B: save time by not wasting it in meetings
D: not implement the weekly planning session
A: exploit the time constraint and get the best use out of the firm's time
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C: save time by avoiding miscommunication and expediting
D': start scheduling weekly planning meetings for the firm
In order to exploit the time constraint and get the best use out of the firm's time I must save time by not wasting it in meetings and in order to save time by not wasting it in meetings I must not implement the weekly planning session. But, in order to exploit the time constraint and get the best use out of the firm's time I must also save time by avoiding miscommunication and expediting and in order to save time by avoiding miscommunication and expediting I must start scheduling weekly planning meetings for the firm. I can't both not implement the weekly planning session and start scheduling weekly planning meetings for the firm.
| Relation | Assumption(s) | Injection(s) |
| D-D' | 1. We cannot both implement the weekly planning session and not implement the planning session. We must choose to do one or the other. 2. Holding the meetings erratically would probably cause confusion. If the meetings are to be held, they should be scheduled for the same time on the same day of the week. | |
| B-D | 1. It may be difficult to find times when all members of the firm are available to meet. 2. Employees already have a list of tasks in the database to complete. 3. If an employee has a question they can ask the attorney directly. 4. Meetings have a bad reputation for being a waste of time. | 1. We will intentionally schedule these meetings at times when everyone is usually available. 2. Before the meeting time is decided, everyone will have an input as to when it should be. 3. Each person should put this time on their calendar so they don't forget. Eventually, these meetings will become a part of the weekly routine. 4. While employees already have a To Do list, it is often necessary to ask clarifying questions about certain tasks. 5. Sometimes it can be difficult to get enough of the attorney's time to ask all needed questions. They are often out of the office or otherwise unavailable. 6. Meetings do have a bad reputation. But we're not talking about an hour long meeting here - only about ten minutes a week. Enough problems could be solved in these ten minutes to save future hours of frustration. |
| C-D' | 1. This will give assistants the chance to ask questions about assignments, and will give attorneys the chance to better describe the most important tasks to be done. 2. Errors in communication are much less common when face-to-face contact is involved. 3. Time spent in this short meeting will prevent a lot of headaches from occurring throughout the week. | |
| A-B | 1. Any time wasted (our constraint) can be equated to throughput wasted. 2. Sitting in meetings prevents people from doing actual work. | 1. If through experience, we found that these meetings cause more harm than good, we will stop scheduling them. We could start this new policy on a trial basis only. |
| A-C | 1. Miscommunication causes work to have to be redone, wasting time. 2. Lapses in communication are more common when there is less face-to-face contact or fewer opportunities for employees to ask clarifying questions. 3. Expediting assignments can be equated to multi-tasking. It is easy to lose focus when abruptly starting and stopping work, or working on too many assignments at once. |