What is a Daily Stand Up?
The Daily Stand Up or Daily Scrum, is a short ceremony where an Agile Team provides a quick update of progress towards goals, impediments, new risks and what each team member plans on accomplishing in the next 24-hours.
What’s the Benefit?
Ensures Team transparency and alignment, the agreement of a short-term action plan and uncovers new impediments needing to be addressed.
When?
Usually 15 minutes, every day, at the same time and same location. Often performed early in the day.
Who attends?
- Scrum Master (May be the facilitator)
- Entire Team (Decision Maker)
- Product Owner (Optional but strongly encouraged)
Inputs
- What work was done yesterday?
- What work is being planned today?
- Impediment or new risks.
- New information on dependencies.
Outputs
- Verification the Team Boards are up-to-date
- Transparency into commitments and alignment of Team
- Team level decision making
- Agreed upon short-term action plan aligned with Sprint or near-term goals
Preparing for success?
Team Preparation
This is often the first time the team communications with each other during the day and it’s helpful if each team member spends a few moments collecting their thoughts.
Facilitator Preparation
Metrics and visual radiators should be updated before the ceremony starts. Remote access should be enabled before start time and if there is a physical room, it should be cleaned and prepped.
Execution
The standup should always start on-time and often a facilitator will announce the start.
Classic
The original Scrum Guide used these questions and asked every team member to answer them.
- What did I do yesterday that helped the development team meet the sprint goal?
- What will I do today to help the development team meet the sprint goal?
- Do I see any impediment that prevents me or the development team from meeting the sprint goal?
Kanban Style
- What obstacles are impeding my progress?
- (looking at the board from right to left) What has progressed?
Value Focused
- Team discusses the highest priority backlog item and what team members can do to move it forward
- Team moves on to the next highest priority item until entire team is focused on moving the highest priority items forward
The team or a facilitator should announce when the standup is over.
Best Practices
- If additional time is needed to discuss issues, it should occur after the standup has been completed and if team members are not needed to discuss the issues, they should be allowed to exit the ceremony.
- Many teams find rotating the facilitator empowering.
- In a physical location, it’s often helpful for the facilitator to stand behind the team and have the team focus on the team board or screen.
- The team should not be giving an update to the facilitator, Scrum Master or leadership during the standup.
- It’s important to ensure every team member speaks in each standup.
- The facilitator should help the team limit Work in Progress (WIP).
- It’s helpful to have some type of clock or timer visible. A Team member can bring a clock or timer into a physical room. It may be helpful to ask remote people to start a timer as well when the ceremony starts.
