Stand-Up Meeting Best Practices

Scrum Framework has gained popularity in recent years as it is one of the easiest Agile frameworks to implement in organizations that want to start with Agile methods. Initially, the instructions and methods of Scrum techniques may seem easy to understand, but as the organizations try out certain methods, there may be obstacles they might face. One of the important parts of developing products using Scrum methods is by conducting Scrum events. These events help the developers plan out how the product is being developed and also help the team communicate with each other efficiently. Sprint Planning, Review, Sprint Retrospective, and Daily Scrum are the main Scrum events that drive the product development process forward.

While each of the events is equally important, the Daily stand-up meetings are the events that help build communication between the team members and help them understand their agenda for the day. For professionals starting initially, planning the Scrum events may be quite challenging. That said, planning out daily Scrum is also a challenge that Scrum Master has to face. One has to be aware of the changes made by the Scrum Alliance, which was released Scrum Guide. To have an effective Daily Scrum organized in the Scrum team, one should follow the Scrum Guide and implement the best practices for Daily stand-up meetings. This article highlights the best practices for the standup meeting, which every Scrum team could follow for a productive and fruitful session that leads to effective product development and delivery.

What is a Daily Stand-up meeting?

Daily Stand up or Daily Scrum is a short meeting that occurs at the beginning of the day, which helps the team become aligned and quickly resolve issues. It is also called daily huddle, morning roll-call, quick sync, daily agile meeting, etc. Usually, the daily Scrum is a 15-minute event where the Developers of the Scrum team meet and discuss the status of their work in the project. The developers meet at the same place and simultaneously to reduce complexity. In self-organizing teams with experience in handling product development, daily Scrum takes place without any Scrum Master or Product Owner. Likewise, new teams require a Scrum Master and Product Owner who work together on items on the Sprint Backlog and participate with the Developers in the Daily Scrum. The main difference between other Scrum events and daily Scrum is that other events are held for a longer time with bigger participation and audience. However, Daily Scrum is about finishing the meetings faster and getting back to developing the product. The main purpose of the daily Scrum is to assess and evaluate the wsrk done towards the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary. 

Daily Stand-Up Meeting Best Practices

The Developers of the Scrum team used to answer three questions: What did you complete yesterday? What tasks will you complete today? What are the impediments that you are facing currently? However, the Scrum Guide stated that the three questions cannot completely address the issues of all the developers, given the lack of time for the meeting. Hence, Scrum Alliance eliminated all the questions asked before and has stated that the Scrum team can have whatever structure and techniques they feel are the best for their team. The main aim of the daily Scrum is to focus on the progress towards the sprint goal and produce an actionable plan for the next day of work. This helps the development team to focus and improve on self-management. Here are a few Scrum daily stand-up best practices that will help your team to effectively use the time in daily stand-ups and progress towards your sprint goal. 

1. Don’t Get Too Comfortable

Daily Standups must be taken literally as people often get too comfortable when the meetings are held in sitting. If you have the opportunity to meet the team every day, then it is advised that the entire team stand up during the meetings so that it gets over faster and does not get dragged daily. However, in work-from-home cases and distributed teams, the Scrum master is advised that everyone is on board and there are no disturbances in the application the team is using for video conferencing. The Scrum Master has to time the meeting and ensure that much of the time is not wasted listening to only a single person. Hence, the main aim of this practice is to ensure that people do not get too comfortable during these meetings and waste a huge amount of time discussing irrelevant topics.

2. Schedule the meetings in a recurring manner

No matter at what frequency the team meets, whether every day or alternate days, the team has to decide on a place and time at which everyone is comfortable and can attend the session. If the team works in a physical space, then a conference room or a hall would be a good place to conduct the meeting. However, in virtual meetings, the meeting time should be decided accurately so that everyone is ready to join the meeting at the designated time. The time should be agreed upon by all the team members as anyone missing the session would not yield a fruitful session. A standard piece of advice is to conduct the daily stand-ups first thing in the morning so that the entire day can be planned accordingly. However, the Scrum Master or team members should also consider people who are working from different time zones and schedule the meeting at a time that is comfortable for everyone.

3. Keep the meeting short 

This point has been emphasized numerous times as the Scrum Guide advises that the daily Scrum should be conducted within 15 minutes. Hence, the team members should prepare the points they want to share about their tasks and be ready before the meeting begins. When the team members talk without preparation, they might lose a few points and spend more time thinking about it during the daily Scrum. It is always good to allot equal time to every member of the Scrum Team so that everyone gets equal time to convey their status of the project. Someone may keep a timer, and the length of the meeting may be shorter or longer based on the size of the Scrum team.

4. Have a clear meeting leadership

Without a leader, the meetings may be haphazard and ambiguous, wasting everyone’s time. Hence, it is always good to have a person in charge who analyzes what the developers say and ensures that everything happening in the meeting is productive. It does not always have to be the Scrum Master, it could be a stakeholder, project manager, or department head who could conduct the Daily Scrum. The main objective of having a leader is to improve engagement and gain various points of view on the project. When everyone gets a chance to lead the sessions, they will be more invested in the meetings and help the team achieve the sprint goal.

5. The Goals of the meeting have to be defined

Before the Scrum Guide was updated, the Scrum team used to answer three questions regarding their project, which would give everyone on the team. However, it was noted that not all the teams could conduct the meetings using only the three questions. More critical points could be added to the meeting. Hence, the Scrum Guide states that the Scrum team can follow any methods and techniques to help the team members express their work status during the daily Scrum. The meeting should only address the important points of the developers, and if more discussion is required, the Scrum team should meet up and discuss the issue after the daily Scrum.

6. Avoid unwanted and unrelated discussions

Even if the team is productive and focused, they may discuss topics unrelated to product development and waste time at the daily stand-up. It is the meeting leader's responsibility to keep the focus of the meeting towards the development of the product. This could be done in several ways, such as posting topics that are not related to the shared channel where individuals can discuss them after the meeting. A team member could also be assigned to conduct a separate meeting to discuss the unrelated topic such that it would not be addressed in the daily Scrum.

7. Taking Notes of the Meeting

Someone from the stand-up other than the team leader can take notes about the progress of all the members, which could be helpful for everyone present at the meeting and even those who could not attend. This helps the team know about other people's tasks and possibly anticipate if they are also connected to their tasks. These notes could be shared on a common platform every day such that everyone has a written note of the session, which could be referred to while planning their day. 

Further Readings: 

Conclusion

When teams follow these practices, they become disciplined and effective, which leads to productive stand-up meetings and builds an efficient Scrum team. Teams benefit immensely from short, focused sessions, which aid the members in aligning their tasks, overcoming obstacles, and achieving their goals. A productive environment is created as the members collaborate, and a place of creativity and problem-solving is built in the office space. The main benefit of daily Scrum is that it improves communication between the team members, identifies any obstacles in the development process, and promotes quick decision-making. This eliminates the requirement for other meetings, saving developers a lot of time. The daily Scrum is a brief period where the developers meet each other; however, if they face any issues, they often meet numerous times throughout the day and discuss their concerns in depth. Hence, daily Scrum is essential for the team members to plan their sprint goals and adjust their tasks according to progress and performance. At SimpliAxis, we believe in the power of effective Scrum practices to drive productivity and innovation. Join us to enhance your team's performance with our specialized training programs!