Figuring out how to get the most from Scrum and it's events can be a daunting task. If you've ever sat in a 'Scrum Meeting' and wondered "Why am I here?", you'll probably be very aware of how easily we can fall into old habits and forget the value and purpose of specific events. The Daily Scrum is probably the event that's most commonly challenged, and not just because it's the one we do the most often!
So here are 3 guiding principles to help you re-evaluate the purpose of your Daily Scrum, and hopefully turn it into the most productive use of time in your day.
1. The Daily Scrum is a planning session
For some this might go without saying, but it's all to common for the Daily Scrum to become a status update meeting, where a group of developers come together to tell us what they worked on yesterday. Now that may be a useful topic of conversation, but it doesn't necessarily help achieve the purpose of the Daily Scrum which is to create a plan for the next 24 hours to achieve the sprint goal. So yes, knowing what we've done so far might be a useful thing to talk about, but our focus
is the sprint goal and how we achieve it, so if your Daily Scrum feels like we're just providing status updates, try instead asking the team "What do we need to do to achieve the sprint goal today?
2. It's about the work, not the people This might sound like a strange one so let me clarify that I'm not saying the people aren't important, just that the Daily Scrum is our chance to move toward our sprint goal. We don't need to know everything that every person in the team is doing. This one is often a hangover from older style team environments where everyone feels the need to justify their time by sharing how busy they are. So try to ask yourself the question "What am I doing that will impact the team or our ability to deliver the sprint goal?" Have respect for the team and assume we're all doing our best, and keep our focus on the most important commitment of the sprint; the sprint goal.
3. It's okay to have fun
15 minutes doesn't sound like a lot, so sometimes we feel like we have to keep to the point and not let ourselves stop to celebrate the wins and enjoy the work. Remember though, there's nothing stopping us from meeting after a Daily Scrum for detailed conversation, so as long as we are able to come up with our plan for the day, there's no reason we have to rush through the event.
Great teams are great because they work together well and enjoy talking to each other. Jokes, games and off-topic conversation aren't a bad thing as long as they aren't getting in the way of our plan, and a healthy team culture is vital to actually being able to achieve the plan.
if your Daily Scrum feels a bit stale, introduce a daily challenge or question, or a synching exercise like a circle clap. It might sound silly, but falling asleep in a status update is definitely not going to make us better!
So there you have it. Hopefully these help to improve your Daily Scrum, or maybe you're already doing all these things in which case, let me know what other great ideas you have for making it a more valuable session.
Good luck!
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