IDOARRT Meeting Design
IDOARRT is a straightforward framework for structuring meetings effectively. It helps facilitators clarify the purpose, expected outcomes, and roles at the start to ensure everyone understands the meeting's direction and goals.
Facilitation script
- 1
Before the meeting, prepare a flipchart or slide with the six IDOARRT headings — Intention, Desired Outcome, Agenda, Rules, Roles, Time — and fill in your draft under each.
5 min - 2
Open the meeting by stating the Intention: why this meeting exists, in one or two sentences.
2 min - 3
Present the Desired Outcomes as concrete, checkable results — a decision made, a list produced, a plan agreed — not just topics to discuss.
3 min - 4
Walk through the Agenda: the planned activities and their sequence, so participants can see how the time leads to the outcomes.
3 min - 5
Propose the ground Rules and explicitly invite the group to amend or add to them — co-created rules get followed.
3 min - 6
Assign Roles: who facilitates, who documents, who keeps time. Confirm each person accepts their role.
2 min - 7
Confirm the Time: total duration and any breaks. Ask for questions or objections and get a visible nod of consent before starting.
2 min - 8
Keep the IDOARRT visual visible for the whole meeting and point back to it at transitions or whenever discussion drifts.
2 min
Tips
Encourage participant input on guidelines to enhance ownership.
Keep the visual display visible throughout the meeting for reference.
Remind participants of the meeting goals periodically.
Common pitfalls
Racing through the IDOARRT slide in 30 seconds — participants nod along without absorbing it, and you lose the alignment the framework exists to create
Writing the ground rules for the group instead of with them — rules nobody co-authored get ignored the moment discussion heats up
Stating outcomes as vague topics ('discuss the roadmap') instead of checkable results — at the end nobody can tell whether the meeting succeeded
Taking the poster down or scrolling past the slide after the intro — without the visible reference you cannot point back to it when the meeting drifts
Skipping the Roles element so the facilitator also takes notes and watches the clock — all three jobs suffer and the meeting loses its anchor
Variations
Adapt IDOARRT for virtual meetings by using shared digital documents for visual outlines.
Where it fits
When to use it
Kicking off a meeting with participants who have not worked together and need shared expectations fast
A recurring meeting has drifted and attendees no longer know why it exists or what it should produce
High-stakes sessions such as stakeholder briefings or strategy sessions where misaligned expectations are expensive
Project or team kickoffs where roles for facilitation, documentation, and timekeeping are not yet established
Remote or hybrid meetings, where implicit structure carries even less weight than in a shared room
When not to use it
Quick two- or three-person syncs — presenting a six-part framework adds more overhead than the meeting itself
Open-ended exploratory sessions where a fixed agenda would constrain emergence — Open Space Technology suits self-organizing discussion better
Large multi-round group conversations — a World Café structure handles rotation and cross-pollination that IDOARRT does not address
When the agenda is genuinely non-negotiable — inviting input on rules you will not change reads as theater and erodes trust
Rescuing a meeting that is already derailed — IDOARRT is a start-of-meeting contract, not a mid-meeting intervention
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What does IDOARRT stand for?▾
IDOARRT stands for Intention, Desired Outcome, Agenda, Rules, Roles, and Time — the six elements a facilitator presents at the start of a meeting. Intention is the meeting's purpose, Desired Outcome is what it should produce, Agenda is the sequence of activities, Rules are the agreed behavior guidelines, Roles cover facilitation, documentation, and timekeeping, and Time sets the duration and breaks.
How do you use IDOARRT in a meeting?▾
Prepare a flipchart or slide with the six elements filled in before the meeting, then walk through it in the first 5–10 minutes, inviting input — especially on the rules. Keep it visible throughout the session and refer back to it whenever discussion drifts. The framework works for groups of 2 to about 40 people.
How long does IDOARRT take?▾
Between 5 and 30 minutes in total: a few minutes of preparation before the meeting and roughly 5–10 minutes to present and discuss at the start. For short routine meetings a 2–3 minute walkthrough of a pre-filled template is enough; invest more time when the group is new or the stakes are high.
What is the difference between Intention and Desired Outcome in IDOARRT?▾
The Intention is why the meeting exists — its purpose, for example 'align the team on Q3 priorities'. The Desired Outcome is the concrete, checkable result it should produce, for example 'a ranked list of three priorities with owners'. If you can verify afterwards whether it happened, it is an outcome; if not, it is still an intention.
Does IDOARRT work for remote meetings?▾
Yes — replace the flipchart with a shared digital document or a pinned slide that stays open for the whole call. Present the six elements in the first minutes exactly as you would in person, and collect input on rules and roles in chat or aloud. The explicit structure is arguably more valuable remotely, where implicit cues are weaker.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from SessionLab. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.