---
name: cab-minute-taker
description: Turns raw CAB meeting notes into clean, governance-grade minutes with decisions, dissent, conditions, and follow-up actions captured per agenda item.
version: 1.0.0
author: VantagePoint Networks
audience: IT Managers, Change Managers, Service Managers, PMO Leads
output_format: Formatted Markdown CAB minutes with per-RFC decisions, attendance, actions register, and circulation-ready summary.
license: MIT
---

# CAB Minute Taker

Paste what came out of the CAB meeting - messy Teams transcript, handwritten notes, a shared doc full of side-comments - and get a clean, defensible minutes document that stands up to audit.

## How to use this skill

1. Download this `SKILL.md` file.
2. Place it in `~/.claude/commands/` (macOS/Linux) or `%USERPROFILE%\.claude\commands\` (Windows).
3. Run `/cab-minute-taker` in Claude Code. Paste the raw notes / transcript / agenda. Answer a few questions about attendance and the governance process in place. Receive the minutes.

## When to use this

- You've just come out of a 90-minute CAB and need minutes circulated before close of day.
- You're auditing last quarter's CAB meetings and need to convert inconsistent notes into standard minutes.
- You're preparing evidence for an ISO 20000 / ITIL audit and need clean governance artefacts.
- You're handing over CAB secretariat duties and want every meeting to come out the same shape.
- You want change decisions in a structured form for the change tool (one decision record per RFC).

## What you'll get

- **Header block** - date, chair, secretariat, attendees, apologies, quorum confirmation.
- **Standing business** - prior minutes, outstanding actions, KPIs / change calendar review.
- **Per-RFC decision block** - for every RFC considered: presenter, decision (Approved / Conditionally Approved / Deferred / Rejected / Withdrawn), conditions, dissent recorded, notes.
- **Emergency changes since last CAB** - review of retrospective approvals.
- **Actions register** - numbered, owned, dated.
- **AOB** - any other business that isn't an RFC.
- **Circulation-ready summary email** - short version for stakeholders who don't read minutes.
- **Metrics deltas** - if you provided input numbers, a KPI section (changes by type, by outcome, by success rate).

## Clarifying questions I will ask you

1. **Meeting date, start time, end time, and chair?**
2. **Who attended, who sent apologies?** (Role + name; names can be initials if you prefer.)
3. **Was quorum met?** (Quorum threshold from your Change Policy - e.g. "5 voting members inc. Change Manager".)
4. **How many RFCs were reviewed, and what's on the agenda?** (Reference IDs if possible.)
5. **For each RFC, what was the decision, and by whom was it moved / seconded?** (Some CABs vote, some use chair's discretion - tell me your model.)
6. **Were there any conditions attached to approvals?** ("Approved conditional on security sign-off by Friday.")
7. **Any dissent to record?** (Explicit "I do not agree" positions are governance-relevant.)
8. **Any emergency changes since the last CAB that need retrospective review?**
9. **Outstanding actions from last meeting - status?**
10. **Any AOB raised?**

## Output template

```markdown
# CAB Minutes: <YYYY-MM-DD>

**Meeting ID:** CAB-<YYYY-MM-DD>
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Time:** HH:MM - HH:MM <timezone>
**Location:** <physical / virtual>
**Chair:** <name, role>
**Secretariat:** <name, role>
**Minutes status:** Draft for approval at next CAB / Approved

## 1. Attendance

### Present (voting)
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| <name> | <role> |

### Present (non-voting / observers)
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| <name> | <role> |

### Apologies
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| <name> | <role> |

**Quorum:** Met / Not met (threshold: <N voting members inc. Change Manager>)

## 2. Opening
- **Minutes of previous meeting:** Approved as correct / Approved with amendments / Deferred
- **Conflicts of interest declared:** None / <declarations>

## 3. Review of Outstanding Actions
| Action ref | Description | Owner | Due | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAB-YYYYMMDD-01 | <action> | <name> | YYYY-MM-DD | Closed / In progress / Overdue |

## 4. Standing Items
- **Change calendar review:** <significant upcoming windows, freezes, dependencies>
- **Open incidents affecting change landscape:** <any P1/P2 still live>
- **Last period KPIs:** <change volume, success rate, emergency rate>

## 5. Emergency Changes Since Last CAB (retrospective review)
| RFC ID | Title | Implemented | Outcome | CAB comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHG-NNNN | <title> | YYYY-MM-DD | Successful / Rolled back | <comment> |

**Lessons:** <if any pattern - e.g. "two emergency changes this period arose from missed vendor advisories - action A-1 created">

## 6. RFCs Reviewed

### RFC 1 - CHG-NNNN - <title>
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Submitter | <name / team> |
| Type | Standard / Normal / Emergency |
| Risk | <L x I score / band> |
| Window requested | YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM - HH:MM <TZ> |
| Rollback | <yes, tested / yes, untested / no> |

**Discussion:**
<Summary of debate. Note concerns raised and by whom. Capture evidence cited - e.g. "Submitter confirmed lab test passed 2026-04-10. QA Lead noted similar change last quarter caused minor routing flap.">

**Decision:** **Approved** / Conditionally Approved / Deferred / Rejected / Withdrawn

**Moved by:** <name>
**Seconded by:** <name> (if applicable)

**Conditions (if any):**
- <condition 1>
- <condition 2>

**Dissent:**
- <name> dissented: <reason> / None

**Action(s) generated:** <links to section 8>

---

### RFC 2 - CHG-NNNN - <title>
<same structure>

---

<repeat for each RFC>

## 7. Any Other Business (AOB)
- <Item 1> - raised by <name> - action / noted
- <Item 2> - raised by <name> - action / noted

## 8. Actions Register (new this meeting)
| Action ref | Description | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAB-<YYYYMMDD>-01 | <action> | <name> | YYYY-MM-DD |
| CAB-<YYYYMMDD>-02 | <action> | <name> | YYYY-MM-DD |

## 9. KPIs / Metrics Reported
| Metric | This period | Previous period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change volume | N | N | +/- |
| Success rate | %  | %  | +/- |
| Emergency change rate | %  | %  | +/- |
| Changes rolled back | N | N | +/- |
| SLA-breach changes | N | N | +/- |

## 10. Close
- **Next meeting:** YYYY-MM-DD at HH:MM
- **Standing agenda items:** Minutes, outstanding actions, standing items, RFCs, emergency reviews, AOB
- **Minutes to be circulated by:** YYYY-MM-DD to <distribution list>

---

## Circulation Email (short version, attach minutes)
> **Subject:** CAB <YYYY-MM-DD> - decisions and actions
>
> All,
>
> CAB met on <date>. Full minutes attached. Key outcomes:
>
> - **<N>** RFCs reviewed. Approved: <N>. Conditional: <N>. Deferred: <N>. Rejected: <N>.
> - Notable approvals: <CHG list + one-liner>
> - Deferrals / rejections with follow-up required: <CHG list + reason>
> - New actions for owners: <N> (see attached minutes, section 8)
> - Next CAB: <date>
>
> Thanks,
> <secretariat name>
```

## Example invocation

**User:** "/cab-minute-taker - here's the raw transcript from today's CAB. We reviewed 6 RFCs, 2 emergency changes, and approved 4 with 2 deferred. Chair was Priya Desai, 9 people attended, 2 apologies."

**What the skill will do:**
1. Ask for attendance names + roles, quorum threshold, exact decisions per RFC (the transcript might be ambiguous), and any conditions attached.
2. Reconstruct the discussion summary per RFC from the transcript, flagging where the notes were unclear ("decision captured as approved; no explicit vote recorded - confirm with chair").
3. Produce the full minutes + a circulation email.
4. Surface governance issues: if no quorum was recorded, if conditions weren't tracked, if an emergency change was approved retrospectively without a risk comment - the skill calls these out for the next meeting's standing items.

## Notes for the requester

- **Record dissent.** A governance artefact is only credible if it captures disagreement. "Approved unanimously" is suspicious to auditors unless you really did have no dissent.
- **Conditions must be trackable.** "Approved subject to security sign-off" creates an action with an owner and a due date. If it isn't in section 8, it doesn't exist.
- **Retrospective emergency review matters.** Every emergency change gets reviewed at the next CAB. Skipping it is an audit finding waiting to happen.
- **Names vs initials.** Some orgs use initials in minutes for privacy. Pick one style and stick with it across the quarter.
- **Transcripts are noisy.** Don't paste the whole transcript if it's 10k lines. Paste: agenda, decisions-per-RFC, AOB, and any notable quotes.
- **"Good" looks like:** an auditor reads the minutes and can answer "was this RFC approved, by whom, under what conditions, and was the condition honoured?" without emailing anyone.
