The Daily Scrum is a planning event very similar to a huddle in team sports. A daily scrum is a time-boxed event in which developers adjust the sprint backlog to meet the sprint goal. Sharing 5 things most people don’t know about the daily scrum.
Status Updates
The Daily Scrum is not a status update meeting. The purpose of the Daily Scrum is for developers to discuss their progress toward the Sprint Goal and identify any obstacles or challenges they are facing. Additionally, it is a time for team members to coordinate and plan their work for the next 24 hours, unlike a status meeting.
Time Box
The Daily Scrum is a time-boxed event, for up to 15 minutes. Can a sports team speak to the referee during a short timeout and extend it? If not, why do many teams have a daily scrum for 30 or 45 minutes? It does not make sense. In these teams, the scrum master teaches the daily scrum to be a way to adjust the plan to meet the sprint goal, rather than a status meeting.
Impediments
The Daily Scrum is not a problem-solving event. Developers use this time to coordinate and plan their work. Developers do not make major decisions or solve complex problems. After the daily scrum event is complete, developers discuss or resolve the impediments that affect them. Developers not involved with the impediments leave the meeting.
Format
The three questions format is used to facilitate Daily Scrum by most teams are
What did I do yesterday?
My plan for today?
Any obstacles or impediments in carrying out the work I plan?
These questions are used to teach a new team how to facilitate the Daily Scrum. Over time developers find better ways to achieve the purpose of the daily scrum. The three questions are removed from the Scrum Guide 2020. Please see my blog on facilitation ideas for the Daily Scrum.
Participants
For this event, developers are mandatory, while scrum masters and product owners are optional. Yes, you read that right. It is mandatory for players on a sports team to be in the huddle. No one can add to the sprint backlog without speaking to the developers. Furthermore, the developers own and protect the Sprint Backlog consisting of the sprint goal and the plan for the sprint. Earlier in sprint planning, the sprint goal and the sprint backlog were created. Once 24 hours go by, the plan might change. The developers look at the sprint goal and adjust the sprint plan in the Daily Scrum.
The daily scrum is one of the misunderstood events in Scrum and the 5 things most people don’t know about the daily scrum sheds light on some common myths.
