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I have been working on a project. Sometimes, the requirements will simply change, or some previous decision would be inadvertently "overturned".

As an example; suppose we are making a site. We decide that we will not add any animations until we complete x, y, and z. The next week, before we finish y and z, I see animations on every page. I ask the team "why is there animations if we haven't finished these things?". Surprisingly, they reply they have been working on animations for a while now and have finalized everything.

I feel baffled because I have never even heard them mention this once. Clearly, it sounds like the rest of the team was informed, it is only me who wasn't. I check my calendar, my messages, my email, any place where this could be mentioned, but come up empty. I was certainly not invited to these meetings, nor did I even know they happen. I didn't even receive any sort of summary/update of what they were about.

I started to get a little suspicious, and noticed that one teammate was having meetings with the other two teammates on a regular basis, but I was not invited nor informed. I asked him why, and he seemed pretty evasive in answering. I felt uncomfortable pushing the question, because I had an underlying feeling there was something I didn't know that was going on.

Honestly, I am perplexed as to what to even make of this. I almost feel like these meetings are kept secret from me, given that I had no clue they were ever happening and the results of them were never shared with me.

What's the best way to handle this situation?

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    What is your role with this project team?
    – Neo
    Apr 18, 2017 at 17:07
  • What's your role in the team? Are you most recent member of the team? Have there been any warning signs that they want to get rid of you? As always, update your resume...
    – Mołot
    Apr 18, 2017 at 17:08
  • Do the animations being there have an impact on y and z? Apr 18, 2017 at 18:01

2 Answers 2

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What's the best way to handle this situation?

I'm guessing that this isn't a self-directed group that can decide what to build on their own. So someone must be leading these meetings.

Go to the meeting leader and ask if there are meetings occurring to which you aren't being invited. Point out that this makes it difficult for you to keep up with the changes. Ask that you be invited from now on.

You may find that this was an accident. It might have been a one-time occurrence. Or your boss might be invited with the assumption that you would learn of the changes from your boss. Dig in and find out.

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A proper response to you question will depend on your role with the team. If you are a regular non managing team member ( or a worker bee if you will ), you likely don't need to be in every meeting.

If you are a stakeholder or owner, then you have to pick which meetings you are able to attend as this project is most likely not your only responsibility.

In the end if there is a meeting you feel you need to be invited to in order to do your part of the project, just ask.

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