The Daily Scrum
The Daily Scrum is perhaps the most important daily event for a Scrum team. This is the time when people come together and report what they have achieved up to that point and what they plan to do next.This is also an opportunity for Scrum team members to update their backlog.
The Daily Scrum or Daily Standup is an integral part of the Scrum process. It allows the Scrum team to ‘inspect and adapt’ on a daily basis and exposes any barriers or obstacles the team may face. This is a time boxed event limited to fifteen minutes. The Scrum Master conducts the Daily Scrum and makes sure that team members stick to the agenda and that the meeting does not go over fifteen minutes.
Time, place, duration
The Daily Scrum is held at the same place and time every day. This makes it easier for everyone to remember and mark their calendar. Team members are expected to be punctual and be there for the entire fifteen minutes. Many teams encourage attendance by enforcing some fun penalties on slackers. The team stands in a circle while discussing the prior day’s events.
The Daily Update
Each Scrum team member gives an update outlining what they did the previous day, what they plan to do that day and mention any barriers or obstacles they may have. The Scrum Master notes down the barriers on the barriers/issues section of the board. This might result in another team member prioritizing what they will do that day. For Example, if a developer mentions that he cannot write a certain piece of code because a database feature is not designed, another developer can make completing database design a priority. Some barriers might be related to external factors and the Scrum Master works to remove them.
The Scrum Master makes sure that team members stick to the three points and wards off any detailed discussions. The time after the Daily Scrum is reserved for any in-depth analysis that might result from the daily updates.
Updating the Backlog
The Daily Scrum is also used to update the Sprint Backlog. Although some teams may use online tools to maintain the Sprint Backlog, this is still an effective visual aid. Team members move the cards that they have finished to the ‘Completed’ section, or reduce the effort remaining for any particular task to reflect the work done. This gives the team members a sense of satisfaction about work they completed and is encouraged. At the end of the Scrum, the Scrum Master counts the remaining hours on the Sprint Backlog and updates the Sprint Burndown Chart accordingly. The updated burndown chart gives the team an indication of their progress. It is possible to have a flat line or an upward line, and this will indicate that things are not going as planned.
Distributed Scrum teams also need to have the Daily Scrum. If only one or two members are in a remote location, they can dial in or email their updates to the Scrum Master. The Scrum Master will let the team have these updates during the Scrum. If there are more people in each location, everyone can have their own Scrum and just send the updates to the Scrum Master. Technological gadgets also aid remote teams making it easy to have video conferences using Skype and similar tools.
The Daily Scrum is meant to encourage open communication between the team members. The team members should feel comfortable to give honest updates even when they were not able to achieve what they planned.
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