8 min read • Guide 787 of 877
Daily Standup Optimization
Standups should energize, not drain. GitScrum helps teams track progress so standups focus on collaboration, not status updates.
Effective Standups
Purpose of Standup
STANDUP GOALS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ WHAT STANDUP IS FOR: │
│ ───────────────────── │
│ ✅ Surface blockers quickly │
│ ✅ Coordinate on shared work │
│ ✅ Identify needed help │
│ ✅ Stay aligned on sprint goals │
│ ✅ Brief daily connection │
│ │
│ WHAT STANDUP IS NOT FOR: │
│ ───────────────────────── │
│ ❌ Detailed status reports to manager │
│ ❌ Problem solving (do offline) │
│ ❌ Design discussions (do offline) │
│ ❌ Code reviews (do offline) │
│ ❌ Long explanations of work done │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ KEY QUESTION: │
│ │
│ "What does the TEAM need to know │
│ to make progress TODAY?" │
│ │
│ If only the manager cares → not for standup │
│ If everyone needs to know → say it in standup │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Traditional Format
THREE QUESTIONS FORMAT:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ CLASSIC APPROACH: │
│ │
│ Each person answers: │
│ 1. What did I do yesterday? │
│ 2. What will I do today? │
│ 3. What's blocking me? │
│ │
│ EXAMPLE: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ @alex: ││
│ │ "Yesterday: Finished login API endpoint ││
│ │ Today: Start on password reset ││
│ │ Blockers: None" ││
│ │ ││
│ │ @jordan: ││
│ │ "Yesterday: Code review for login ││
│ │ Today: Continue dashboard components ││
│ │ Blockers: Waiting on design for error states" ││
│ │ ││
│ │ SM: "@designer, can you get those to Jordan today?" ││
│ │ @designer: "Yes, by noon" ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ PROS: │
│ • Simple, familiar │
│ • Everyone speaks │
│ │
│ CONS: │
│ • Can feel like status report │
│ • "Yesterday" often irrelevant │
│ • People tune out others' updates │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Walk the Board
BOARD-FOCUSED STANDUP:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ WALK THE BOARD APPROACH: │
│ │
│ Instead of going person-by-person, │
│ walk through the board right-to-left │
│ │
│ DONE TESTING IN PROGRESS TO DO │
│ ←───────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Start here, work right │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ EXAMPLE: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ SM: "Let's walk the board" ││
│ │ ││
│ │ [Points to TESTING column] ││
│ │ SM: "PROJ-123 in testing - status?" ││
│ │ @qa: "Testing today, should be done by EOD" ││
│ │ ││
│ │ [Points to IN PROGRESS column] ││
│ │ SM: "PROJ-124 - any issues?" ││
│ │ @alex: "On track, need design review" ││
│ │ @designer: "I'll look after standup" ││
│ │ ││
│ │ SM: "PROJ-125 - blocked?" ││
│ │ @jordan: "Yes, waiting on API spec" ││
│ │ SM: "Who can help?" ││
│ │ @alex: "I'll pair after standup" ││
│ │ ││
│ │ [Points to TO DO] ││
│ │ SM: "Who's ready to pull next?" ││
│ │ @qa: "I can take PROJ-126 after testing" ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ PROS: │
│ • Focus on WORK, not PEOPLE │
│ • Prioritizes items closest to done │
│ • Natural for identifying blockers │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Async Standups
Asynchronous Updates
ASYNC STANDUP FORMAT:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ WHY ASYNC: │
│ • Distributed teams across time zones │
│ • Respect deep work time │
│ • Written record for reference │
│ • Flexible timing │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ASYNC UPDATE TEMPLATE: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ 📅 Daily Update - @alex ││
│ │ ││
│ │ FOCUS TODAY: ││
│ │ • PROJ-124: Password reset API ││
│ │ ││
│ │ COMPLETED: ││
│ │ • PROJ-123: Login endpoint (in testing) ││
│ │ ││
│ │ BLOCKERS: ││
│ │ • Need design for error states ││
│ │ @designer - can you help? ││
│ │ ││
│ │ AVAILABILITY: ││
│ │ • Out 2-4pm for appointment ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ RULES: │
│ • Post before 10am local time │
│ • Keep brief (< 100 words) │
│ • @mention for blockers │
│ • Read teammates' updates │
│ │
│ FOLLOW-UP: │
│ • Blockers discussed in thread or quick call │
│ • No meeting required if no blockers │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Common Problems
Standup Anti-patterns
STANDUP PROBLEMS AND FIXES:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ TOO LONG (30+ min): │
│ ────────────────── │
│ Problem: Discussions happen in standup │
│ Fix: "Let's take that offline after standup" │
│ Fix: Strict 2 min per person or per item │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ PEOPLE TUNING OUT: │
│ ────────────────── │
│ Problem: Updates don't feel relevant │
│ Fix: Walk the board instead of round-robin │
│ Fix: "Who needs to hear this?" │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ REPORTING TO MANAGER: │
│ ───────────────────── │
│ Problem: Everyone talks to SM/manager │
│ Fix: Face each other, not the SM │
│ Fix: SM facilitates, doesn't receive reports │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ NO BLOCKERS SURFACED: │
│ ───────────────────── │
│ Problem: People say "no blockers" but are stuck │
│ Fix: Create safe space to admit struggles │
│ Fix: SM asks probing questions │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ALWAYS SAME TIME/FORMAT: │
│ ───────────────────────── │
│ Problem: Standup feels stale │
│ Fix: Try walking the board │
│ Fix: Rotate facilitator │
│ Fix: Change format occasionally │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ NOT STANDING: │
│ ───────────── │
│ Problem: Sitting extends meeting │
│ Fix: Actually stand (in person) │
│ Fix: No chairs, no laptops open │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Optimization Tips
Making Standups Valuable
STANDUP BEST PRACTICES:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ BEFORE STANDUP: │
│ • Update task status in GitScrum │
│ • Review board before meeting │
│ • Know your blockers │
│ │
│ DURING STANDUP: │
│ • Start on time (don't wait for latecomers) │
│ • Use timer (2 min per person/item) │
│ • Park discussions ("offline after") │
│ • Focus on today, not yesterday │
│ • Identify help needed │
│ │
│ AFTER STANDUP: │
│ • Immediately have offline discussions │
│ • Update blockers in GitScrum │
│ • Pair up as needed │
│ │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ STANDUP HEALTH CHECK: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Ask periodically: ││
│ │ ││
│ │ ☐ Did standup take < 15 min? ││
│ │ ☐ Did we surface any blockers? ││
│ │ ☐ Did we coordinate any work? ││
│ │ ☐ Did everyone feel heard? ││
│ │ ☐ Would I miss standup if we skipped it? ││
│ │ ││
│ │ If mostly NO → rethink your standup ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ EXPERIMENT: │
│ • Try async for a sprint │
│ • Try walk-the-board for a sprint │
│ • Survey team: is standup valuable? │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘