# Action Item Patterns Reference Common patterns found in meeting notes and how to parse them. --- ## Pattern Categories ### Category 1: @Mentions (Highest Confidence) **Format:** `@Name [action verb] [task]` **Examples:** ``` @john to update documentation @sarah will create the report @mike should review PR #123 @lisa needs to test the feature ``` **Parsing:** - Assignee: Text immediately after @ - Task: Everything after action verb (to/will/should/needs to) - Confidence: Very High (explicit assignment) --- ### Category 2: Name + Action Verb (High Confidence) **Format:** `Name [action verb] [task]` **Examples:** ``` John to update documentation Sarah will create the report Mike should review PR #123 Lisa needs to test the feature ``` **Parsing:** - Assignee: First word(s) before action verb - Task: Everything after action verb - Confidence: High (clear structure) **Action verbs to detect:** - to, will, should, needs to, must, has to, is to, going to --- ### Category 3: Structured Action Format (High Confidence) **Format:** `Action: Name - [task]` or `AI: Name - [task]` **Examples:** ``` Action: John - update documentation Action Item: Sarah - create the report AI: Mike - review PR #123 Task: Lisa - test the feature ``` **Parsing:** - Assignee: Between "Action:" and "-" - Task: After "-" - Confidence: High (structured format) **Variants:** - Action: - Action Item: - AI: - Task: - Assigned: --- ### Category 4: TODO Format (Medium Confidence) **Format:** `TODO: [task] (Name)` or `TODO: [task] - Name` **Examples:** ``` TODO: Update documentation (John) TODO: Create report - Sarah [ ] Review PR #123 (Mike) - [ ] Test feature - Lisa ``` **Parsing:** - Assignee: In parentheses or after "-" - Task: Between TODO and assignee - Confidence: Medium (format varies) **Markers to detect:** - TODO: - [ ] - - [ ] - To-do: - Action item: --- ### Category 5: Colon or Dash Format (Medium Confidence) **Format:** `Name: [task]` or `Name - [task]` **Examples:** ``` John: update documentation Sarah - create the report Mike: review PR #123 Lisa - test the feature ``` **Parsing:** - Assignee: Before ":" or "-" - Task: After ":" or "-" - Confidence: Medium (could be other uses of colons/dashes) **Detection:** - Look for name-like word before ":" or "-" - Followed by action verb or imperative - Usually in bulleted lists --- ## Complex Patterns ### Multiple Assignees **Format:** `Name1 and Name2 to [task]` **Examples:** ``` John and Sarah to update documentation Mike, Lisa to review PR ``` **Handling:** - Create separate tasks for each person - OR create one task, ask user who should be assigned - Include both names in description --- ### Conditional Actions **Format:** `Name to [task] if [condition]` **Examples:** ``` John to update docs if approved Sarah will create report pending review ``` **Handling:** - Include condition in task description - Note that it's conditional - User can adjust later --- ### Time-Bound Actions **Format:** `Name to [task] by [date]` **Examples:** ``` John to update docs by EOD Sarah will finish report by Friday Mike to review before next meeting ``` **Handling:** - Extract deadline and add to task description - Could use due date field if available - Include urgency in task --- ## Anti-Patterns (Not Action Items) ### Discussion Notes **Not an action item:** ``` John mentioned the documentation needs updating Sarah suggested we create a report Mike talked about reviewing the code ``` **Why:** These are discussions, not assignments --- ### General Statements **Not an action item:** ``` Documentation needs to be updated Someone should create a report The code requires review ``` **Why:** No specific assignee --- ### Past Actions **Not an action item:** ``` John updated the documentation Sarah created the report Mike reviewed the code ``` **Why:** Already completed (past tense) --- ## Context Extraction ### Meeting Metadata **Look for:** ``` # [Meeting Title] - [Date] Meeting: [Title] Date: [Date] Subject: [Title] ``` **Extract:** - Meeting title - Date - Attendees (if listed) --- ### Related Information **Look for:** ``` Related to: [project/epic/initiative] Context: [background info] Decision: [relevant decision] ``` **Include in task:** - Links to related work - Background context - Relevant decisions --- ## Name Extraction Tips ### Full Names **Preferred:** ``` @Sarah Johnson to create report Sarah Johnson will create report ``` **Extract:** "Sarah Johnson" --- ### First Name Only **Common:** ``` @Sarah to create report Sarah will create report ``` **Extract:** "Sarah" (will need to lookup) --- ### Nicknames or Short Forms **Handle carefully:** ``` @SJ to create report Sara (no h) will create report ``` **Strategy:** Ask user or try multiple lookups --- ## Priority Indicators ### Urgent/High Priority **Detect:** ``` URGENT: John to update docs HIGH PRIORITY: Sarah to create report ASAP: Mike to review code ``` **Handling:** - Note priority in task description - Could set priority field - Highlight in presentation --- ### Low Priority **Detect:** ``` If time: John to update docs Nice to have: Sarah create report Eventually: Mike review code ``` **Handling:** - Note as lower priority - Could defer creation - User can decide --- ## Confidence Scoring When parsing, assign confidence: **High Confidence (90%+):** - @Mentions with clear action - "Name to do X" format - "Action: Name - X" format **Medium Confidence (60-90%):** - Name: task format - TODO with name - Name without action verb but clear task **Low Confidence (<60%):** - Ambiguous wording - No clear assignee - Could be discussion not action **Handling:** - Present all to user - Flag low-confidence items - Let user confirm or skip --- ## Special Cases ### Group Actions ``` Everyone to review the document Team to provide feedback ``` **Handling:** - Ask user who specifically - OR create one task unassigned - Note it's for the whole team --- ### Optional Actions ``` Sarah could create a report if needed Mike might review the code ``` **Handling:** - Flag as optional - Ask user if should create - Include "optional" in description --- ### Delegated Actions ``` John will ask Sarah to create the report ``` **Handling:** - Assign to Sarah (the actual doer) - Note John is requestor - Include context --- ## Testing Patterns Use these to validate pattern matching: ``` ✅ @john to update tests ✅ Sarah will write docs ✅ Mike: review code ✅ TODO: Deploy (Lisa) ✅ Action: John - fix bug ⚠️ Maybe John can help? ⚠️ Documentation needs work ⚠️ We should test this ❌ John mentioned testing ❌ Tests were updated ❌ Someone needs to deploy ``` --- ## Regular Expression Examples **@Mention pattern:** ```regex @(\w+)\s+(to|will|should)\s+(.+) ``` **Name + action verb:** ```regex ([A-Z][\w\s]+?)\s+(to|will|should)\s+(.+) ``` **Action format:** ```regex Action:\s*([A-Z][\w\s]+?)\s*-\s*(.+) ``` **TODO format:** ```regex TODO:\s*(.+)\s*\((\w+)\) ``` **Note:** These patterns use `[A-Z][\w\s]+?` to match names flexibly: - Starts with a capital letter - Matches one or more word characters or spaces - Non-greedy (`+?`) to stop at action verbs - Handles single names ("Sarah"), two-part names ("Sarah Johnson"), and longer names ("Mary Jane Smith")