Stand-up

Team meets 15min about: What have you done, what are you going to do today, any blocking issues? The team reviews the progress towards the sprint goal.

Why

The team has a standup every day in order to synchronize and to plan for the best possible day towards the Sprint Goal.

Prepare for success

  • Agree on a time that all team member can be available every day. This makes it possible for everyone to be on time.
  • Have the Sprint Backlog (PivotalTracker) available.
  • Use the same location every day. If team members are distributed: use the same online location every day.
  • Invite the Product Owner.

How

  • Be on time.
  • If you can’t participate: share your input with the team before the standup.
  • Be prepared: know what you need to share with the team.
  • Be transparent.
  • Focus on the Sprint Goal.
  • Identify impediments.
  • Work as a team: align activities and help each other.

Definition of Done[1]

  • Teamwork for the day has been planned.
  • Sprint Backlog is up-to-date.
  • The Product Owner[2] knows if he has to accept/reject delivered user stories.

Real Life Example

At 9:00 in the morning all team members for the project gather in Zebra (one of the meeting rooms at Kabisa in Weert). One of the developers has already connected his laptop to the big screen and webcam. One remote team member and the Product Owner join the daily standup via Google Hangout. Pivotal Tracker is shared on the screen. Each team member tells what he has achieved yesterday, what he has planned for today, and what he needs from other team members. The Product Owner gives insight in his availability for the team today, and asks what he can test today. A discussion arises whether one of the stories is ready for testing or not. The Scrum Master suggests to finish that discussion with two developers and the Product Owner after the standup. Another developer says he could pickup a new story, but is not sure whether they will be able to finish that during this sprint. He offers to help out with a story that has been started already instead. The team agrees that this is a good idea. The standup is then ended. Most of the team leaves, but the two developers and the Product Owner stay to finish the discussion.

Notes

  1. Definition of Done - A shared understanding of expectations that the Increment must live up to in order to be releasable into production. Managed by the Development Team.
  2. Product Owner - The Product Owner plays a crucial role in the development of a great software product. He or she is responsilble for maintaining the Product Backlog.