STEP 12
Daily Scrum
1
MYTHIt’s fine for the Daily Scrum to last up to 45 minutes.
The Daily Scrum is timeboxed to 15 minutes, is always in the same place, and always happens at the same time. The Scrum Master is responsible for helping ensure this meeting stays in its allotted timebox. In-depth conversations that are brought about due to the Daily Scrum can be done in a sidebar directly after the Daily Scrum. That way, only interested parties need stay for the conversation.
2
FACTPeople from outside the team may attend, provided it’s okay with the team and they don’t interfere.
This meeting is for the team, but it can be helpful for others to attend. Visitors do not take part in answering the 3 questions, but may partake in sidebars after the Daily Scrum if needed.
3
FACTThe Daily Scrum is one of the 3 important Inspect and Adapt loops in Scrum.
The Daily Scrum, the Sprint Review, and the Retrospective are all points at which teams review progress and make adjustments as needed. In the Daily Scrum, we Inspect and Adapt our work. In the Sprint Review, we inspect and adapt our product/release plan. In the Retrospective, we inspect and adapt our process.
4
FACTThe Daily Scrum is sometimes referred to as the “Standup” or “Daily Standup”
Regardless of the name, the meeting is the same.
5
FACTThe 3 questions answered in a Daily Scrum are:
- What did you do since our last Scrum?
- What do you plan to do until our next Scrum?
- Do you have any impedments?
The goal of answering the 3 questions is to facilitate synchronization of work across the team. Any long conversations, though important, should be done as a sidebar after the Daily Scrum.
6
FACTDiscussions of how to resolve issues should be done during a sidebar after the Daily Scrum.
Without moving longer conversations to a sidebar, it can be very hard to keep the Daily Scrum in its timebox. While the whole team should work to ensure this happens, it’s the Scrum Master’s job to facilitate this.
7
MYTHTeams usually don’t benefit from this daily sync up.
Provided teams are not using this meeting simply as a status report meeting, and are instead using it as a way to coordinate their work for the day, the meeting is invaluable.
8
FACTIt’s helpful for the Daily Scrum to be in the same location, at the same time every day.
Since this meeting is so short, most teams find it useful to start the meeting in the same location every day. Having to find or remember the meeting location for a given day can cut into the 15 minute timebox. Likewise, confusion over a variable start time can be an issue as well.
9
MYTHManagers should attend the Daily Scrum to help ensure everyone is doing enough work.
Scrum relies on teams self-organizing to complete work. Managers should have no need to “check up” on people doing their work. Trusting a team is essential in Scrum, and transparency (openness) in the framework helps ensure everyone is pulling their weight.
10
MYTHThe Daily Scrum shouldn’t start until all participants arrive.
Daily Scrums start and end at the same time every day. Be there, or miss part of the Scrum.