Complete taxonomy and technical reference for domain modeling experts
Meeting Blueprint is a meeting design system built on the Lucid Meetings 16 Types Framework, a research-based taxonomy developed through analysis of over 30,000 business meetings.
The framework recognizes that different meeting purposes require fundamentally different structures, leadership approaches, participant interactions, and success criteria. Rather than treating all meetings the same, it provides a principled classification system that matches meeting structure to business intent.
Core Principle: Every meeting has six defining characteristics: Category, Ritual Level, Surprise Tolerance, Audience Type, Leadership Style, and Interaction Pattern. Understanding these characteristics enables precise matching of meeting structure to business need.
System Capabilities:
The Lucid Meetings framework solves a fundamental problem in organizational life: most meetings fail because their structure doesn't match their purpose. A brainstorming session run like a status meeting kills creativity. A decision meeting run like a discussion kills momentum.
Developed by Lucid Meetings through systematic analysis of meeting patterns across industries, the framework identifies 16 distinct meeting types that cover the full spectrum of business needs. Each type has proven structures, facilitation approaches, and success criteria.
Meetings fall into three categories based on their scheduling pattern and participant stability:
Each meeting type is defined by six characteristics that determine how it should be structured and led. See Section 3 for complete definitions.
Meetings exist to produce specific business outcomes. The framework defines 11 fundamental outcomes across three domains: Work, Connection, and Learning. See Section 5 for the complete taxonomy.
Every meeting type in the framework is defined by six characteristics. Understanding these dimensions is essential for proper meeting design and facilitator training.
| Characteristic | Possible Values | Definition & Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Category |
cadence catalyst context |
Defines scheduling pattern and participant stability. Cadence: Recurring meetings with stable teams. High ritual, relationship maintenance focus. Catalyst: Assembled as needed. Creates change or work product. Context: Transfers information between groups. Learning and influence focus. |
| Ritual Level |
low medium high variable |
How much structure and formality the meeting requires. Low: Flexible, conversational, adaptive structure. Medium: Some structured elements mixed with flexibility. High: Strict agenda, formal procedures, documented decisions. Variable: Depends on context and maturity of practice. |
| Surprise Tolerance |
unwelcome neutral welcomed |
How unexpected information is received in this meeting type. Unwelcome: Surprises indicate failure (progress checks, status meetings). Neutral: New information is acceptable but not the goal. Welcomed: Discovery and unexpected insights are the point (brainstorming, sensemaking). |
| Audience |
known_team assembled us_vs_them |
The nature of participant relationships. Known Team: Stable group with established relationships and shared context. Assembled: Brought together for this purpose, may not know each other well. Us vs Them: Distinct groups with different interests (client/vendor, board/management). |
| Leadership Style |
manager facilitator requester flexible |
Who leads and how they lead. Manager: Leader with formal authority makes decisions and directs. Facilitator: Neutral process guide, doesn't drive content or decisions. Requester: Person who called the meeting leads (could be anyone). Flexible: Leadership can rotate or be shared. |
| Interaction Pattern |
collaborative conversational structured broadcast |
How participants engage with each other. Collaborative: Working together to create something (plans, ideas, solutions). Conversational: Open dialogue, exploring topics through discussion. Structured: Formal turns, specific roles, documented processes. Broadcast: One-to-many communication, limited interaction. |
Design Principle: These characteristics are not arbitrary. They emerge from how work actually gets done in organizations. Violating a meeting's characteristic requirements (e.g., running a high-ritual decision meeting with low structure) creates dysfunction and failure.
The 16 meeting types are organized into three categories. Each category serves different organizational rhythms and purposes.
Regular, recurring meetings with established teams. These meetings maintain organizational rhythm, track progress, and sustain relationships. Characterized by high predictability, known participants, and relationship maintenance.
Examples: Weekly team sync, Sprint retrospective, Monthly 1:1s, Quarterly business reviews
Typical Ritual Level: High to Variable
Surprise Tolerance: Generally unwelcome or neutral
One-time or occasional meetings scheduled to create change or produce work. These meetings generate plans, make decisions, solve problems, or create tangible outputs. Assembled as needed with the right expertise.
Examples: Strategic planning session, Problem-solving workshop, Product launch decision, Annual offsite
Typical Ritual Level: Low to High (varies by type)
Surprise Tolerance: Often welcomed (discovery-oriented)
Meetings that transfer information, knowledge, or influence between different groups or stakeholders. These meetings bridge organizational boundaries, teach new skills, or navigate relationships between distinct parties.
Examples: Client presentations, Training sessions, Board meetings, Stakeholder demos, Vendor negotiations
Typical Ritual Level: Medium (structured transfer)
Surprise Tolerance: Variable (depends on type)
| Category | Meeting Types | Primary Purpose | Typical Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadence | Team Cadence, Progress Check, One-on-One, Action Review, Governance Cadence | Maintain organizational rhythm and relationships | Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly |
| Catalyst | Idea Generation, Planning, Workshop, Problem Solving, Decision Making | Create change, produce work, make decisions | As needed, project-driven |
| Context | Sensemaking, Introduction, Issue Resolution, Community of Practice, Training Session, Broadcast | Transfer knowledge, bridge groups, influence outcomes | Varies widely by type |
Users begin by selecting what they want to accomplish. The system recognizes 11 fundamental business outcomes, organized into three domains: Work (operational outcomes), Connection (relationship outcomes), and Learning (knowledge outcomes).
Operational outcomes that drive business execution: planning, decisions, status, problem-solving, and information sharing.
Relationship outcomes that build trust, alignment, and team cohesion through regular interaction and one-on-one dialogue.
Knowledge outcomes that develop skills, transfer expertise, and drive continuous improvement through reflection and training.
The system uses a two-stage NLP approach to interpret user intent:
This table shows every phrase the system recognizes and its mapping strength. Higher weights indicate stronger signal for that outcome.
| Outcome | Kind | Intent Phrases | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create plans | work | "plan" (1), "planning" (1), "create plan" (1), "strategy" (0.9), "roadmap" (0.8) | 5 |
| Make a decision | work | "decide" (1), "decision" (1), "choose" (0.9), "select" (0.8), "approve" (0.8) | 5 |
| Share status | work | "status" (1), "update" (0.9), "progress" (0.9), "check-in" (0.8) | 4 |
| Resolve issue | work | "negotiate" (1), "resolve" (1), "fix" (0.9), "conflict" (0.8), "escalation" (0.8) | 5 |
| Share information | work | "announce" (1), "inform" (1), "broadcast" (0.9), "communicate" (0.8) | 4 |
| Generate ideas | work | "brainstorm" (1), "ideas" (0.9), "creative" (0.8), "innovate" (0.8) | 4 |
| Solve problem | work | "problem" (1), "solve" (1), "troubleshoot" (0.9), "debug" (0.8) | 4 |
| Build relationships | connection | "team building" (1), "get to know" (0.9), "connect" (0.8), "bond" (0.7) | 4 |
| Learn and develop | learning | "learn" (1), "training" (1), "onboard" (0.9), "teach" (0.9), "workshop" (0.8) | 5 |
| Review and improve | learning | "review" (1), "retrospective" (1), "lessons learned" (0.9), "improve" (0.8) | 4 |
| One-on-one conversation | connection | "1:1" (1), "one-on-one" (1), "coaching" (0.9), "feedback" (0.8) | 4 |
Design Note: The intent phrase database is intentionally limited to high-confidence phrases. The AI interpretation layer handles ambiguity, context, and variations. This hybrid approach balances precision with flexibility.
Each outcome maps to multiple meeting types with different weights. These weights drive the ranking algorithm that suggests the best meeting structure for a given set of outcomes.
| Meeting Type | Category | Primary Outcomes (Weight) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Action Review | cadence | Review and improve (1.00) | 1 |
| Broadcast | context | Share information (1.00) | 1 |
| Community of Practice | context | Learn and develop (0.80), Build relationships (0.70) | 2 |
| Decision Making | catalyst | Make a decision (1.00) | 1 |
| Governance Cadence | cadence | Share status (0.80), Make a decision (0.70) | 2 |
| Idea Generation | catalyst | Generate ideas (1.00) | 1 |
| Introduction | context | Build relationships (0.90) | 1 |
| Issue Resolution | context | Resolve issue (1.00) | 1 |
| One-on-One | cadence | One-on-one conversation (1.00), Build relationships (0.90) | 2 |
| Planning | catalyst | Create plans (1.00) | 1 |
| Problem Solving | catalyst | Solve problem (1.00) | 1 |
| Progress Check | cadence | Share status (1.00) | 1 |
| Sensemaking | context | Share information (0.80) | 1 |
| Team Cadence | cadence | Build relationships (0.90), Share status (0.80) | 2 |
| Training Session | context | Learn and develop (1.00) | 1 |
| Workshop | catalyst | Learn and develop (0.80), Create plans (0.70) | 2 |
When a user selects outcomes, the system:
score = Σ(outcome_confidence × outcome_weight)Complete reference for all 16 meeting types in the taxonomy. Each entry includes characteristics, quality criteria, success indicators, and common failure patterns.
Here's the complete user journey from intent to calendar template:
The system uses Laravel session storage to maintain workflow state across all 4 steps. Session key:
meeting_blueprint. State includes: step number, user intents, AI suggestions, selected
meeting type, refinement details, and final template.
All AI calls use OpenRouter API with openai/gpt-5-nano model and are logged to external_service_calls table.
Domain Model Version: Based on Lucid Meetings 16 Types Framework
Last Updated: 2025-11-04
Data Completeness: 16/16 meeting types, 11/11 outcomes, 48 intent phrases