The Daily Standup

Introduction

The Daily Standup is an integral part of professional Scrum. My experience and thoughts on the standup have evolved over the years. I used to think it was a way for the team to understand what was being worked on and start conversations around challenges before they got large. Now, I see it more as a microplanning time for the day. These two perspectives have some interesting nuances.

Microplanning

Sprints are short. Most of the teams I have been involved with use two-week sprints. In two weeks, these teams take some user stories that still have ambiguity and turn them into working software ready to deploy to a production system. That is a lot! The workday of the people involved can get quite messy and yet the work they produce is clean code that adheres to team and organizational norms. The Daily Standup is a place where devs can raise their head above the chaos and check in to see if they are heading in the right direction.

A friend of mine runs several teams for a landscape company. They build patios, pools, fireplaces, and much more. Everyone there knows their job and the plan for the project. Every morning, they talk about what work will be done that day, where the materials are, and how they will end the day. It is their microplanning for the day. I could easily imagine each person talking about what they would be working on, asking any last-minute questions, and sharing problems from the previous day. This short meeting ensures everybody knows what their teammates are working on and how their work impacts others around them.

The Daily Standup or daily microplanning should accomplish several things

• Timeboxed – This time should be timeboxed. I like to give about a minute per person plus 5 minutes for discussion. For a ten-person team, that is 15 minutes. (1 minute per person x 10) + 5 minutes of various discussion.
• Daily – This meeting should be every day and at the same time/place. The actual place and time should be whatever serves the team the best. I have seen 100% face-to-face, 100% virtual, and hybrid. The point is everyone knows where it is and where to be. We should make it easy for folks to show up.
• Plannable – All the devs should be able to plan what they will say before they get there. In the old days, we used “the three questions” – what I did yesterday, what I will do today, and what blockers I have. Whatever the devs should answer, it should not be a surprise. I have seen questions like “what am I doing to contribute to the sprint goal”, “what can I finish today”, “what worries do I have about completing the sprint goal”. Here is a great resource your team can use to explore Daily Standup questions – https://www.parabol.co/resources/daily-standup-questions/
• Completion Driven – The Daily Standup is a place to take a breath and refocus on getting stories done and completing the sprint goal. This should be the mindset of everyone participating, and the questions should reflect that.
• Collaborative – The additional time in the Daily Standup is for Devs to help each other. Many times, others in the group have experience that may be relevant. If conversation runs too long it should be continued after the standup.
• Transparent – After the standup, everyone on the team should know where the team stands on meeting the sprint goal.
• Engaging and Inclusive – The Daily Standup should be a place where all devs feel welcome to contribute. topics should be relevant to all team members.
• Facilitated – Someone should be responsible for facilitating the standup. This may be a ScrumMaster to begin with. Over time, it is likely that devs can take turns keeping the Daily Standup aligned with the principles listed above.

Wrapup

When viewed through the lens of microplanning, the Daily Standup is more than the status meeting that I used to think it was. Be flexible with your teams. Teams can use retrospectives to reflect on how well the Daily Standups are serving the team, and offer experiments to try to make them more effective.

Do you have Daily Standup horror stories? Did they get better? Let me know in the comments.