What's the point in daily scrum?

A few days ago my peer Scrum Master mentioned her team complaining about daily Scrums (Stand-ups). The team members believe that the ceremony is a complete waste of time and they would rather focus on something else.

I am afraid she is not the only one who faces such a problem. Any team can end up in a similar situation when daily Stand-ups seem pointless.

Therefore, every Scrum Master should make sure that such meetings bring value and work for the team. Otherwise, complaints will only grow.

The effectiveness of the daily Scrums depends on various factors, so it's important for a team to understand WHY they have such a meeting and identify with what it helps.


It's not only about 3 questions

It should be clear to the team that answering three classic questions is not a goal itself but rather a way to achieve it.

The goal for daily Scrum is to:
1. Update each other with the current progress of commitments;
2. Call out blockers.

The goal for after Scrum/parking lot is to:
1. Decide next step for removing blockers and who can help.
2. Discuss questions/topics identified during Scrum which require some actions.

If the defined goal was not achieved by the end of the meeting, the team just wasted 15 min+ of their time.


No common goal

Every team should have a goal. No common goal means no team. No team - no point in daily Scrum.

The team's goal can be to deliver all the commitments by the end of the sprint. Then, the responsibility for carried over items would be on the whole team. Everyone will need to take prompt actions to help.

Usually, people care only about items for which they are responsible. Having a shared responsibility brings people together as there will be a goal they all want to achieve. Team members will cooperate, listen and help each other more.

No blockers is not always a good thing

There are times when no blockers are mentioned, everything goes so smooth and then BOOM… The team just carried over half of the commitments. How did that happen?

Two common reasons:
1. The team members don't feel comfortable to admit they need help. It could be due to lack of safety and openness on the team.
2. The team members are not specific about being blocked. Very often people are not very good at communicating their issues to others and calling out for help.

Possible solution - there should be two words in your team’s vocabulary when calling out issues: BLOCKER and HELP.

Both words scream for actions. The team may need some time to get used to it. As a Scrum Master, ask your team if there are any blockers or who needs help. Do that as many times as needed till the team starts speaking for themselves.

Colocation matters

The whole point of 'Stand Up' is to achieve a short and focused meeting. While standing, people tend to talk less. They also have no distractions such as laptops, cell phones, etc.

With dislocated teams though, it's usually tough. For example, even the name of the ceremony may have no sense as people would usually sit in such a case.

For that reason, it's good to consider taking some extra efforts:

- A big TV: the collocated team is standing in front of the TV and more engaged as a result; distributed members get to see a little more than just a tiny head talking on the screen. Of course, that means everyone should turn on the video camera. Besides, you get a better team building as well.
- A visual board of work: it is a must that the whole team has access to it. I’ve been to Scrums when dislocated members had no idea what others were talking about, and that’s not acceptable.
- Time works for everyone's timezone: some team members may dislike Stand-up simply because it is scheduled at the end of their work day or too early instead.

Skipping Stand-ups will not kill us

OMG, did I say it out loud?

Of course, that's not a rule but rather an exception. Having Scrums daily is important, but they need to make sense. There may be times when Stand-up is not necessary on that day. Here are some examples:

- The team just ended a sprint and will have Planning in 2 hours. There is no point to give updates for today because things can drastically change on Planning.

- The team has been working together for the last 2 years and is quite mature, or there are only three people on the team. They are constantly communicating, and blockers get mentioned as soon as they appear. The updates may be just the repetition of what's already been discussed. So, if sometimes the team would like to skip a Stand-up, the world will not end.

- The sprint length matters. With 1-week sprint, there is a big risk to skip even one Scrum call. However, for teams who work in 3 or 4-week sprints, it's totally different. Usually, skipping a Stand-up in the middle of such iterations should have the least impact.

Obviously, if skipping Stand-ups has a negative impact on the team's performance, it should be avoided by all means.


Bring some humor

The last but not least - don’t forget about fun. 15 min time frame and everyone answering three questions can make the meeting boring and very robotic. Humor and positive atmosphere is always a plus.

For example, while waiting for everyone to join, tell a joke, so people get more relaxed. It’s always better than just a weird silence. Also, if you want to compliment someone or express your appreciation, Scrum call is perfect timing because everyone gets to hear that as well.

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Hope you find this article helpful and may use some tips when your team starts questioning their Stand-up.