Daily Standup

Scrum ceremonies such as daily standup, backlog refinement, sprint planning, review, and retrospectives are critical parts of the scrum process. These meetings play a crucial in enhancing focus, openness, transparency, and commitment among the scrum team. However, among all the ceremonies, daily standup also known as daily scrum stands out the most as it sets the context for the agile team’s workday. 

In this scrum guide article, we will discuss what the Daily Scrum is, its purpose, and how to run a successful daily standup to keep your team productive and aligned throughout the workday. 

So, let’s get started!

What is daily standup?

In the Scrum framework, a daily scrum (a daily standup meeting) is a short, time-boxed meeting where the Scrum team discusses progress and identifies blockers. This 15-minute meeting is held at the same place and time every day. The team shares status updates while standing to keep it short and to the point. This is also why this meeting is called a “daily standup” meeting.

It is important to note that daily standup is very similar to rugby team huddles, where players come together to strategize and coordinate their next moves before each play. Similarly, software developers also come together to asses team progress and coordinate their effort toward the sprint goals before starting each day.  

Who attends the daily scrum meeting?

The whole scrum team including the development team, scrum master, and product owner participate in the daily scrum. The main purpose of the daily scrum is to share the progress and discuss impediments to enhance transparency, openness, and courage among the team members. Hence the whole development team must participate in the meeting. That’s also why Stakeholders are typically not invited to this scrum meeting. 

How to run a daily standup?

Running a daily standup meeting is simple yet challenging at the same.  if it is not planned carefully, it risks turning into a typical status-sharing meeting without any value. It has a straightforward format where the development team shares their progress by answering three typical questions:

1. “What did you do yesterday?”
2. “What you will do today?”
3. “What are the roadblocks in your progress?”

This approach ensures that everyone has a chance to speak in a specific order, without turning the meeting into a free-for-all discussion. By following this structured approach team can foster transparency, encourage openness, and address potential roadblocks to smoothly achieve the sprint goals. 

Let’s have a look at each question to understand its purpose and what to look for in response:

Question 1. What did you do yesterday?

The first question serves several important purposes apart from telling what was completed yesterday. For instance, it fosters transparency among the team members by providing insights on the completed work and preventing duplication of tasks. 

Additionally, it can help to highlight task allocation inefficiencies. For example, there might be instances where one team member has nothing to do while others are flooded with tasks, pointing toward poor task distribution among team members. 

Finally, discussing what was completed yesterday can help the team track velocity and progress toward the sprint goal. 

Question 2. What you will do today?

Since the daily standup is held at the start of the working day, its main purpose is to set clear priorities for the day. Second helps you to get insight into each team member’s focus of the day and align it with the sprint goals.

For example, you might find a bug that needs urgent fixing and you find one of your team members to be working on a low-priority task, you can ask that team member to work on the bug.

Similarly, talking about the upcoming work can also help to identify work dependencies and prevent task overlap, if two team members are planning to work on the same thing. 

Question 3. What are the impediments?

The final question of the daily scrum meeting is crucial in identifying any potential impediments or blockers that are hindering the team’s progress. It creates an opportunity for the scrum team to raise concerns and difficulties they are facing such as:

• Delays in decision-making
• Asking access for to the important tools or information that is crucial for completing task.
• Asking for approval  

Discussion blockers and resolving issues quickly can significantly enhance team velocity and productivity. Additionally, it can reduce burn-out and eliminate the need for back-and-forth meetings to discuss issues. 

Tips for successful daily Standup

Running a short meeting like stand-up where every minute counts, requires efficiency and proper planning. Below we have listed some actionable tips and tricks that can save valuable time and ensure your standup remains productive and focused.  

Tip 1. Choose a time that works for everyone

The first and foremost thing you should do is select a time that works well for everyone, specifically when you are working with remote teams. This will ensure everyone can attend the meeting without feeling overwhelmed. The ideal time for the daily standup is early in the morning, typically between 10 AM and 11 AM so that the team can discuss the daily agenda before starting the work. 

Tip 2. Keep it time-boxed

One of the most important factors that lead to unfocused daily standups is not keeping the meeting timeboxed. When the daily standup drags on for 30 minutes or even one hour, it loses its effectiveness and the team becomes disengaged. A time-boxed daily scrum, no more than 15 minutes, keeps the team focused and efficient. 

Tip 3. Start on time, every time

As the saying goes, consistency is the key to success. Starting the daily standup at a fixed time can develop predictability and discipline within the team. When the meeting starts promptly it sets a positive tone and signals the team members that their time is valued. On the other hand, delaying the standup can demotivate the team and members might avoid attending the meeting. 

Tip 4. Avoid problem-solving during the meeting

Although team members provide insight into the problems and blockers, daily scrum is not meant to solve those problems. The best practice is to take notes of these problems and resolve them in a separate meeting with relevant people only. This will not only keep the standup focused but also save everyone time.

Tip 5. Establish a clear leader

Before starting the daily standup, assign a clear leader for the meeting who will create an agenda and start the meeting. In the scrum framework, it is usually the “scrum master” who facilitates the meeting like daily standup. If you don’t have a scrum master in your team settings, you can assign this task to the product manager or any other leader. 

Tip 6. Stick to the goal

Every team member should know the purpose of the standup and structure their updates accordingly. This will ensure that the discussion remains relevant and every standup provides an insight into how much closer you are to the sprint goal.

Your standup leader is in charge of moderating the conversation during meetings. So he should ensure that everyone answers these three questions. This will save everyone’s time and make the standup more efficient.

FAQs

What not to discuss during the standup meeting?

To run a successful daily standup it is crucial to avoid discussing problems directly during the standup. This can disengage the team members and drag the meeting time. Always make sure to discuss problems outside the daily standup with relevant people only.

Do daily standup meetings lead to micromanagement?

No, when planned and conducted properly, daily standup meetings will not lead to micromanagement. The purpose of daily scrum is to enhance transparency, openness and collaboration within the scrum team. However, when leaders ask overly detailed questions, the team members might feel micromanaged. In such circumstances, you should reflect on the meeting format and adjust it accordingly.

What if someone cannot attend the daily standup?

If a team member is unable to attend the meeting, he should share his updates with the scrum master beforehand. This will ensure that their progress is shared with the team without any delay. 

Are daily standups necessary for remote or distributed teams?

Yes, daily standup is one of the most important ceremonies in the scrum framework and it is even more critical for remote teams. In a remote setup, where face-to-face interaction is limited, daily standup can bridge the communication gap and foster collaboration.

Can non-Scrum teams benefit from daily standups?

Certainly, daily scrum is a tool to keep your team in sync and share progress on a daily basis. EVen if your team is not following scrum framework, implementing daily standup can significantly increase your team productivity and progress.

Conclusion

Getting skilled in running a successful daily standup can significantly boost your team’s productivity and efficiency. A well-executed standup can alleviate your team’s energy and make them 20% more productive throughout the day. It can also promote accountability and give them a sense of achievement as they regularly share their progress and see the impact of their work.

So, are you ready to transform your team’s daily standups? Start implementing these strategies today and take your team’s productivity to the next level!