5 Tricks To Make The Most Out Of Your Daily Scrum Standup

According to the Scrum Guide, the Daily Scrum (also referred to as Stand-Up Meeting) is a 15-minute, at which the Development Team plans work for the upcoming 24 hours. Consequently, meetings are held every single day during each Sprint.

This well-known agile method is used by 86% of Agile Teams based on the findings of The State of Agile Report. Although the aim of the Daily Scrum is to sustain progress towards the Sprint Goal while supporting transparency and eliminating impediments that could block the optimal workflow, sometimes things jump the tracks. What are these factors and how can you rule them out to improve the efficiency of your meetings? We’ll fill you in on the 5 most significant best practices to follow!

1. Have a Seasoned Scrum Master Conduct The Daily ScrumAn experienced Scrum Master is indispensable for effective Daily Scrum meetings. They make sure that the Team utilizes Scrum in accordance with Agile techniques and strive to eliminate obstacles that come forth throughout the Sprint.
   Problems arise from such simple factors as Team members not having a proper grasp on the philosophy, practices and values of Scrum. This starts a chain reaction of misunderstanding, confusion, disorganization, loss of focus, bad time management and worse quality product.
   A skilled Scrum Master who reviews the Team’s performance regularly can identify and neutralize barriers to maintain a productive workflow.

2. Make The Subject and Priorities of The Daily Scrum ClearMaking the most out of your Daily Scrum meetings involve setting up the topics and priorities to be covered beforehand. As a result, that 15 minutes of conversation remain focused and disciplined. Also, keep the discussion universal. Getting lost in reports and details that only a couple of Team Members understand might be a major setback of the meeting. Instead, put emphasis on talking through tasks with imminent due dates.

3. Minimize Backlog Disturbance
   
   It is unadvised to alter the backlog subsequent to what has been determined during the Sprint Planning. Naturally, urgency can override this theory, but it comes with a risk of the Team not being able to release product development by the final deadline of the Sprint.The best way to prevent this is to have a skilled Product Owner who can reduce interruptions to a minimum and handle the backlog effectively.

4. Set Daily Goals During Daily Scrum Standup During Daily Scrum meetings, devote time to setting goals to be achieved in the next 24 hours. The Scum Master can make up their mind to either determine universal goals for the entire Team to work towards, or specific ones only applicable to the developers for example. This helps keeping the Team focused on tomorrow’s deliverables.

Related: Agile Quick Tip: Using a Shared Daily Goal to make Your Sprint more Valuable

5. Manage Assignments In The Task BoardWithout the use of project management tools the Team might be more prone to getting lost in details, missing deadlines and prioritizing inappropriately. Therefore, make sure to add all tasks with their respective assignees, deadlines and details to a task board. It’s a handy tool to track progress on assignments and identify which area needs extra attention.

Related: Agile Quick Tip: Conduct your daily scrums in front of the board

Wrapping Up

Semi-productive Teams are not a rare phenomenon in organizations. However, it’s easy to cure dysfunctions with a handful of simple practices. Having experienced professionals on your Team, preparing clear-cut Daily Scrum topics and priorities, creating daily goals, reducing backlog disruptions and using project management tools are all excellent methods to make the most out of your meetings.

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