Daily Standup
A brief daily team meeting (typically 15 minutes) where each member shares what they completed, what they plan to do, and any blockers preventing progress.
In-Depth Explanation
The daily standup (also called daily scrum) is a short synchronisation meeting held at the same time each day. Its purpose is to keep the team aligned, surface blockers quickly, and maintain momentum toward the sprint goal.
Standard format (three questions):
- What did I complete since the last standup?
- What will I work on before the next standup?
- Are there any blockers or impediments?
Effective standup practices:
- Timeboxed: Strictly 15 minutes maximum
- Same time, same place: Consistency builds habit
- Team-focused: Updates are for the team, not a status report for managers
- Sprint goal oriented: Frame updates in relation to the sprint goal
- Blocker resolution: Note blockers but resolve them after the standup
- Visual aids: Reference the sprint board during updates
Common anti-patterns:
- Status reporting to management rather than peer synchronisation
- Problem solving during the standup instead of after
- Running over 15 minutes
- Disengagement - team members not listening
- Skipping when the team is busy
Alternatives:
- Async standups: Written updates in Slack for distributed teams
- Walking the board: Moving through the board column by column
- Round-robin vs voluntary: Structured vs freeform speaking order
Business Context
Daily standups keep teams aligned and unblock progress quickly, preventing issues from sitting unresolved for days.
How Clever Ops Uses This
Clever Ops holds daily standups for active project teams, including check-ins with Australian client stakeholders as needed. This ensures blockers are surfaced and resolved within hours, not days.
Example Use Case
"During a standup, a developer mentions they are blocked waiting for API credentials. The Scrum Master escalates immediately, and credentials are received by lunchtime instead of potentially sitting unresolved for days."