Buhata
Login Start for Free

Home › Life Terms

Productivity methods and focus

Daily scrum

The 15-minute Scrum event where the Developers meet each working day to check progress toward the Sprint Goal and adjust their plan.

What It Means

The Daily ScrumScrumA lightweight framework, defined in the Scrum Guide, in which a small team delivers work in fixed-length Sprints of one month or less and adjusts after each one. See more is a short event in Scrum where the Developers look at how the Sprint is going and adjust the plan for the work ahead. Under the 2020 Scrum Guide it lasts 15 minutes and happens at the same time and place every working day of the Sprint, which keeps it simple to show up to. Its purpose is to check progress toward the Sprint GoalSprint goalThe single objective a Scrum Team sets for one Sprint, agreed at Sprint Planning, which gives the team a shared focus while leaving room in the exact work. See more and change the Sprint BacklogSprint backlogIn Scrum, the Sprint Goal, the Product Backlog items chosen for the Sprint and the Developers' plan for delivering them, kept visible and updated daily. See more where needed.

Try It: Run a 15-Minute Daily Scrum Clock

Press start when the team is together. The 2020 Scrum Guide gives the Daily Scrum 15 minutes.

Time left15:00
ClockStopped
Minutes used0

Walk the Sprint Backlog against the Sprint Goal. What moved, and what's stuck?

How People Say It

  • "Standup's at 9:15, don't be late."
  • "Let's take that offline after the daily."
  • "I'm blocked on the login bug, can someone pair with me?"

The Breakdown

How to run a Daily Scrum

  1. Pick one time and one place and keep them for the whole Sprint, so nobody has to ask where it is.
  2. Start on time with the Developers. The Product OwnerProduct ownerThe one person on a Scrum Team accountable for maximizing the value of the product and for managing the Product Backlog, including the order of its items. See more or Scrum MasterScrum masterThe person on a Scrum Team accountable for the team's effectiveness and for Scrum being understood and used as the Scrum Guide defines it. See more joins as a Developer if they're working on items in the Sprint Backlog.
  3. Put the Sprint Goal and the Sprint Backlog where everyone can see them.
  4. Talk through progress toward the goal and anything slowing it down.
  5. Leave with a plan for the next day of work, and update the Sprint Backlog to match.
  6. Stop at 15 minutes. Longer problem-solving can happen right after, with only the people it involves.

A simple agenda (Buhata's own suggestion). The guide lets the Developers pick any format. If the team wants a starting shape, try three prompts: what moved toward the goal since yesterday, what's next, and what's in the way.

Short version to try today. A family packing for a move meets at breakfast for five minutes, looks at the week's goal on the fridge, and decides who takes which room before the day starts.

Where It Comes From

The Daily Scrum is one of the events in the Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland. Earlier editions suggested three set questions for it. According to Scrum.org, the November 2020 edition dropped them because they encouraged a mechanical meeting, and it left the format to the Developers.

Good to Know

The Daily Scrum belongs to the Developers, and the 2020 Scrum Guide asks only that it stay focused on the Sprint Goal and produce a workable plan for the coming day, per Scrum.org's summary of the guide. It's often called a standup, though nothing in the guide says anyone has to stand. When a daily check-in turns into a status report for a manager, the team loses the part the event exists for, which is adjusting its own plan.

FAQ

How long is a Daily Scrum?

Fifteen minutes, according to the 2020 Scrum Guide, held at the same time and place every working day of the Sprint.

What are the three questions of the Daily Scrum?

Earlier editions of the Scrum Guide suggested three questions, and the 2020 edition removed them. Scrum.org explains the Developers can now use any structure, as long as it checks progress toward the Sprint Goal and ends with a plan for the next day.

Does the Scrum Master have to attend the Daily Scrum?

The event is for the Developers. The Scrum Master and Product Owner take part as Developers when they're actively working on items in the Sprint Backlog.

Do It in Buhata

Rhythms (Team X), Focus and Calendar

Set up the Daily Scrum as a standup thread in Rhythms with the Team X add-on, and run a 15-minute countdown in Focus so the check-in ends on time.

Open Buhata

Related Terms and Categories

  • Scrum

    A lightweight framework, defined in the Scrum Guide, in which a small team delivers work in fixed-length Sprints of one month or less and adjusts after each one.

  • Sprint goal

    The single objective a Scrum Team sets for one Sprint, agreed at Sprint Planning, which gives the team a shared focus while leaving room in the exact work.

  • Sprint backlog

    In Scrum, the Sprint Goal, the Product Backlog items chosen for the Sprint and the Developers' plan for delivering them, kept visible and updated daily.

  • Scrum master

    The person on a Scrum Team accountable for the team's effectiveness and for Scrum being understood and used as the Scrum Guide defines it.

  • Sprint planning

    The Scrum event that starts each Sprint, where the whole Scrum Team agrees why the Sprint is valuable, what can be done in it and how the work will get done.

Productivity methods and focus

Sources

Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, The 2020 Scrum Guide (scrumguides.org); Scrum.org, "Scrum Guide 2020 Update: What has been removed"; Scrum.org, "What is a Daily Scrum?"; Scrum.org, "What You Need to Know about the 2020 Scrum Guide"

Last updated .