The Daily Scrum is time-boxed to 15 minutes and allows the Development Team to synchronise their activities and create a plan for the next 24 hours.
The Daily Scrum should be held at the same time and place every day – the consistency reduces complexity.
Only the Development Team participates in the Daily Scrum. That is, only they talk. Other people are allowed to attend the meeting.
Should the Product Owner attend the Daily Scrum?
There are arguments both for and against the PO attending the meeting.
For
- It increases Transparency, so the PO can keep up to date with the progress of the increment.
- The Development Team can question the PO about Product Backlog Items in order to clarify them.
Against
- The invisible gun effect – even if the Product Owner doesn’t try to influence the meeting, the presence of someone with power and status can negatively affect the self-organisation of the team. Team members may be less likely to say what they really think.
The Three Questions
At the Daily Scrum, the Development Team members each answer three questions:
- What did I do yesterday?
- What will I do today?
- What impediments do I face?
The Daily Scrum allows the Development Team to Inspect their progress towards the Sprint Goal. The team are only reporting to themselves, not a Boss, and it’s a great way to monitor this. It also highlights areas where a team member may be struggling and enables the team to Adapt to this.
The Scrum board can be updated before or during the Daily Scrum. It is interesting how an action as simple as moving a card on a board, can motivate the team and provide a real feeling of ownership of the work and the resulting Increment.
The team can additionally meet after the conclusion of the Daily Scrum, in order to discuss any issues or plan in more detail.
Duncan Halley is a certified Scrum Master (PSM I). You can read his blog here.
Follow him on Twitter: @duncanhalley
