The Daily Scrum is also known as the stand-up because teams tend to stand during the meeting. It is a meeting timeboxed for no more than 15-minutes per day. It should occur daily, and its purpose is for the Scrum team to coordinate the work for the next 24 hours.
The three-question format is the most common one to facilitate the meeting. Each development team member gets an opportunity to answer three questions centered around making progress toward achieving the Sprint Goal.
Daily Scrum Three Question Format
1- What did I work on yesterday to accomplish the Sprint Goal?
2- What will I work on today to accomplish the Sprint Goal?
3- Do I have any impediment that is standing in the way for us to accomplish the Sprint Goal?
Remote Daily Scrum Tips
The Daily Scrum can be held in a remote setting. There are, however, a few considerations to keep in mind in order to maximize the event’s value. Consider the following tips during your next remote Daily Scrum:
1- Have a team working agreement – Working in a remote Scrum team requires a new set of considerations and rules that the team should co-create and agree to. Video sharing, recording, and artifact updates are but a few of the considerations. Be sure to discuss and agree on the new team rules.
2- Allow for Social Time – We all miss the water cooler conversations. It’s one of the few things that is difficult to replicate in a remote setting. Try to encourage social time by setting up your meeting so participants can join before the host. This allows team members to join early and have a short social conversation before diving into business.
3- Use a digital project management platform – Physical Sprint boards are difficult to update if you are remote so be sure to go digital. Choices include Jira or Rally, among others.
4- Real-time updates – An outdated Sprint Backlog is as good as not having one. Make sure the team is updating the Sprint Backlog in real-time. Not doing so in a distributed team can create a lot of confusion and unnecessary work. As team members sign up or complete tasks, they should signal it in the artifact.
5- Use Video - Have all participants attend from their computer and share video. This gives them the opportunity to focus on the session and reduce multitasking.
6- Share the Burndown - Share your Sprint burndown chart before ending the meeting for all to see and ask one question: how are we tracking to complete the Sprint goal? Team members can get caught in completing their features and lose sight of the big picture. By sharing the burndown, they are reminded that the objective is not to complete their own feature but to have all the features completed as a team.
7- Timebox - Run a desktop clock to keep the meeting timeboxed. Nothing kills momentum like a daily meeting that consistently goes over schedule. Be sure to keep it at no more than 15 minutes. It is easy to lose track of time while working remotely. Sharing a desktop timer is an effective way to keep the time commitment.
8- Record meetings – Ask if it is all right to record for those who were not able to attend. Post the recordings in the team Slack channel or in a Confluence page. Even if everyone is present, sometimes technology gets the best of us and we drop off or can’t understand what was said. A recorded meeting can be an effective way to catch up.
Working remotely can be lonely and lead to team members feeling left out or disconnected. A remote Daily Scrum meeting can be an effective way to ensure that no one goes dark. These tips can help you have a well-connected and engaging remote Daily Scrum.
