Thread by @LogRocket

In #Agile, the daily scrum (aka daily standup), is a #scrum ceremony that occurs once each day of the sprint.

The daily scrum is a time-boxed event (15 mins) in which the team syncs & plans its activities for the day. #agilecoach #productmanagement

blog.logrocket.com/product-manage…

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The purpose of the daily standup is to inspect the progress being made toward the sprint goal and to adapt the work where necessary.

This ensures that the team’s work and progress is visible to all team members and provides a regular feedback loop for the team.

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Effective daily scrums promote collaboration and self-organization.

For PMs, this is a game changer: rather than having to liaise, track, and manage work across the team, the daily standup encourages team members to self-organize and hold each other accountable.

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As a result, there is no set facilitator for a daily scrum meeting. In attendance, at minimum, should be the product team, including the PM & scrum master or delivery manager.

Other stakeholders are welcome, but any attendees outside of the team should be observers only.

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There is no set way to run a daily scrum, but the most common meeting agenda template is known as the three questions format:

1. What did I achieve yesterday?
2. What do I plan to achieve today?
3. Are there any impediments to achieving that?

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The daily scrum is best held at the same time and place each day.

It is common for teams to hold the daily scrum at the start of the day. However, if your team is distributed or has part-time team members, you may need to consider what time of day is best for everyone.

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An alternative daily scrum format is known as walking the wall (also called walking the board).

Rather than having each team member talk about what they did yesterday & what they plan to do today, you walk through the team’s kanban or task board & give updates on each item

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When done incorrectly, the daily scrum can provide little value to the team.

Keep an eye out for anti-patterns. Anti-patterns are behaviors that act against the original intent of the daily scrum. Without correction, anti-patterns can render the daily scrum ineffective.

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Some anti-patterns that could derail your daily scrum:

• Lack of coordination/collaboration
• Lack of communicate outside daily scrum
• Siloed workflows
• Poor attention in meetings
• Lack of accountability
• Redundant updates
• Vague or evasive updates

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Remember, the daily scrum is not a replacement for continuous communication. Product teams often identify the need for deeper and more detailed discussion during the daily standup, but it shouldn’t be the only place where communication happens.

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Some best practices for running an effective daily scrum:

• Hold it at the same time & place each day
• Set aside time for offline discussions after the meeting
• Rotate the facilitator
• Meet in front of the team’s kanban board
• Set a timer & make it visible

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Quick etymological aside: The terms daily standup & daily scrum are often used interchangeably. Technically, the ceremony is a daily scrum, which is typically held in a 15-minute stand-up meeting. This distinction matters because some team members may be unable to stand.

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The term daily scrum is inspired by the idea that modern product development should be more like a rugby team, moving in unison across the field, than a relay race.

Like in rugby, the daily scrum ensures team members are progressing as a unit toward the sprint goal.

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The daily scrum is a great tool for promoting self-organization, accountability, & adaptability

Over the years, new agile methods have gained wide adoption. It's easy to see the benefit in meeting daily to ensure everyone is abreast of the latest trends & on the same page

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