Stand-Ups

The daily stand-up meeting (also known as a "daily scrum", a "daily huddle", a "morning roll-call", etc.) is simple to describe: the whole team meets every day for a quick status update.  We stand up to keep the meeting short.  That's it.  But this short definition does not really tell you the subtle details that distinguish a good stand-up from a bad one.

Given the apparent simplicity of stand-ups, I was quite surprised the first time I saw one that wasn't working. It was immediately obvious to me what was wrong but I realised that it was not obvious to the team. I realised that my team was not aware  of the underlying principles and details that would allowed them to diagnose and solve problems with stand-ups.

...

We stand up to keep the meeting short

The underlying theme is self-organisation

What is the purpose of the daily stand-up meeting?

• share commitment
• communicate daily status, progress, and plans to the team and any observers
• identify obstacles so that the team can take steps to remove them
• set direction and focus
• build a team

Effective daily stand-ups have a particular feel

Patterns of daily stand-up meetings

Who attends the daily stand-up?

• All Hands
• Pig and Chickens
• Attend by Proxy

What do we talk about during the daily stand-up?

• Yesterday Today Obstacles
• Focus on the Backlog
• Blockage Board

When and where are the daily stand-ups held?

• Same Place, Same Time
• Use the Stand-up to Start The Day
• Don't Use the Stand-up to Start the Day

How do we keep up the energy level of the daily stand-up?

• Huddle
• Stand Up
• Fifteen Minutes or Less
• Signal the End
• Time the Meetings
• Take It Offline

How do we encourage self-managing daily stand-ups?

• Last Arrival Speaks First
• Round Robin
• Pass the Token
• Take a Card
• Rotate the Facilitator
• Break Eye Contact

Smells are about when things are going wrong

• Reporting to the Leader
• People are Late
• Stand-up Meeting Starts the Day... Late
• Observers Interrupt
• Socialising
• I Can't Remember
• Story Telling
• Problem Solving
• Low Energy
• Obstacles are not Raised
• Obstacles are not Removed
• Obstacles are Only Raised in the Stand-up

If the feel is good, you're probably okay 

It's Not Just Standing Up: Patterns of Daily Stand-up Meetings