Rules For The Daily Scrum Meeting – What Every Member Should Do To Make The Sprint Successful

The daily scrum meeting rules
The daily standup or the daily scrum meeting is very important while implementing scrum. The purpose of the daily standup is to initiate the sprint activity for the particular day, with a little bit of discussion pertaining to what was done in the sprint the day before i.e. yesterday, and what the team plans to do on the particular day i.e. today. It is imperative for the team members to follow rules which can help to implement scrum in a successful manner. Moreover, the team members are also required to maintain a certain decorum while participating in the daily standup.
 

The important rules required to conduct a beneficial standup and implement scrum in a healthy manner can be briefly summarized:
 

1. Held in the same place

Ideally, the daily scrum should be held in the same place, and at the same time every day. The best time to hold the meeting is in the morning, before the development team initiates the actual daily sprint. The potential of the team can be best tapped when members are fresh, and open to ideas. 

2. Should be time boxed

The meeting should be time boxed and not extend beyond the stipulated 15 minutes allotted for it.

3. Encourage active participation

The scrum master should encourage active participation and ensure the members are collaborating during the meeting, as well as during the sprint.

4. Attend the daily standup

All team members, including the product owner and the scrum master should ideally attend the daily standup. In case of a distributed team, the remotely working team members should participate using online media and tools .

5. Maintain timings and must be prompt

The members attending the meeting should maintain timings and must be prompt. They should be mentally prepared with their brief presentations and what questions they need to ask, if required, during the meeting.

6. Each member gets a chance to talk and discuss

The scrum master should ensure each member gets a chance to talk and discuss without any inhibitions. Irrespective of the process you follow about which member should speak first, each individual should disclose what work was done in the prior sprint, and what he or she plans to do on that day.

7. Three important questions

The three important questions:

• What activity was done the day before?
• What activity is planned for today?
• Are there any issues or problems which impede the sprint process?

Should be discussed in the meeting by each development team member participating in the daily sprint.

8. Should refrain from asking questions other than those mentioned

The team members should refrain from asking questions other than those mentioned in point 7. The discussion should not include topics pertaining to designing, trouble shooting, fixing bugs, project analysis, etc.
 

9. Not indulge in gossip

Team members should not indulge in gossip or carry out any other discussion not pertaining to the daily scrum.
 

10. Only one individual speaks at a time

When the meeting is being conducted, only one individual speaks at a time. All other members should listen carefully, and make notes if required.
 

11. Address the team as a whole

The member should address the team as a whole, and not just focus or concentrate upon the scrum master while providing the feedback.
 

12. Query or problem is solved as soon as possible

During the meeting, if any team member requires help or guidance regarding a particular point or problem faced by the individual, the scrum master should ensure that the query or problem is solved as soon as possible.
 

13. Stakeholders should remain quiet and not intervene

Non-team members and the stakeholders can attend the meeting if they desire to do so, but they should remain quiet and not intervene during the meeting. They should not indulge in any activity which can distract the team members from carrying out the meeting in a proper manner.
 

14. Provide ample of room

Non-team members should provide ample of room to the development team so they have enough space to conduct the meeting, and make notes.
 

15. Scrum master holds the right

The scrum master holds the right to prevent any non-team member from attending the meeting if he or she deems fit to do so.
 

16. Any member not supporting the rules should be asked to leave

Any member, team or otherwise, not supporting the rules and regulations can be asked to leave the meeting and the vicinity by the scrum master.
 

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Conducting The Daily Scrum Meeting Or The “Daily Stand Up”

The daily scrum or standup meeting
One of the primary responsibilities of the scrum master is to hold the daily scrum meeting, or the “daily stand up”, as it is commonly referred to by scrum professionals. The person is required to get the product owner and the team members together for the meeting. The objective is to avail information pertaining to three important aspects of the daily scrum:

• Which tasks have been completed in the sprint carried out the day before, or yesterday?
• What tasks are to be taken up for development for the particular day, or today?
• Did any team member face any hurdles or impediments during the sprint? If so, what were they?

Duration of the daily standup
The daily scrum meeting is time boxed to last for a maximum of 15 minutes, and should not extend this period.

Purpose of the daily scrum
The main purpose of the standup is not to resolve issues or provide solutions to problems. The aim is to apprise the team members regarding the current status of the project, and ensure they collaborate and contribute jointly as a team during the development activity. If any team member faces a problem, and it is mentioned during the daily standup, it is the scrum master’s responsibility to ensure that the issue is resolved at the earliest. The solutions to such problems are provided by the scrum master and the product owner.
 

Holding stand-ups for non-collocated or distributed teams
One of the major concerns, and also a probable problem at times, for the scrum master is to hold the daily standup when teams are not located in the same office or geographical area. Many companies now use and implement scrum methodology, and in certain cases, the entire development team may not be located in the same place. With off-shoring activities becoming popular by the day, soon it would be common scenario to hold meetings with team members residing in different states and even different countries. Scrum advocates that the daily scrum should include all the team members. In fact, the term “scrum” is akin to the scrum huddle often practiced in rugby, or “rugger”. With large distances separating the team members, it may not be possible to hold a daily scrum in which all team members can be physically present.
 

A possible way out is to use electronic media and facilities to decrease the geographical distances.   Team members can use Skype and videoconferencing tools to participate online in the meeting. The scrum master has to instruct every remotely located team member to log on at a particular time when the daily scrum is to be held, and explain that the members should make sure the hardware and software tools are properly functional at the time of the meeting.
 

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