4 min lecture • Guide 218 of 877
Standups Waste Developer Deep Work Time
Daily standups interrupt developer deep work, costing 30+ minutes of recovery time per meeting. GitScrum's Team Standup provides the same visibility asynchronously—developers update status by moving tasks, and the dashboard automatically shows yesterday's work, today's focus, and blockers without a single meeting.
The True Cost of Standups
Meeting Math for Developers
STANDUP COST ANALYSIS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ REAL TIME COST PER DEVELOPER │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ DIRECT COSTS: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Meeting duration: 15 minutes ││
│ │ Pre-meeting prep: 5 minutes ││
│ │ Post-meeting chat: 5 minutes ││
│ │ Walking to/from meeting: 5 minutes ││
│ │ ─────────────────────────────────── ││
│ │ Subtotal: 30 minutes ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ HIDDEN COSTS (CONTEXT SWITCHING): │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Recovery to deep work: 23 minutes (avg) ││
│ │ Lost momentum: Unquantifiable ││
│ │ ─────────────────────────────────── ││
│ │ Total per standup: ~53 minutes ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ WEEKLY IMPACT (5-person team): │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Per developer: 4.4 hours/week ││
│ │ Per team: 22 hours/week ││
│ │ Per month: 88 hours = 2+ dev weeks ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Async Standup with GitScrum
Team Standup Dashboard
| Tab | What It Shows | Replaces |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | Completed work by team | "What did you do?" |
| Today | Active tasks per person | "What will you do?" |
| Blockers | Stuck tasks with duration | "Any blockers?" |
| Weekly | Activity patterns | Progress reviews |
| Contributors | Productivity trends | Performance check-ins |
Implementation Steps
Moving to Async Standups
- Announce the change - Explain the productivity benefits to team
- Train on board hygiene - Tasks must be current for async to work
- Set check-in expectations - "Review standup dashboard by 9 AM"
- Keep sync meetings for blockers - 2x/week for complex issues only
- Measure improvement - Track velocity increase over 4 sprints
Making Async Work
SUCCESS FACTORS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ WHAT MAKES ASYNC STANDUPS EFFECTIVE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ✅ BOARD DISCIPLINE: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Move tasks as soon as status changes ││
│ │ • Update before end of day (not next morning) ││
│ │ • Add comments for context on blockers ││
│ │ • Keep task titles descriptive ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ✅ BLOCKER PROTOCOL: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Mark blockers immediately when discovered ││
│ │ • Add blocker reason in comments ││
│ │ • Tag person who can unblock ││
│ │ • Set expectation: respond to blocks within 2 hours ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ✅ LEADERSHIP BUY-IN: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Managers check dashboard, not Slack ││
│ │ • Trust the board as source of truth ││
│ │ • Resist "quick sync" meetings ││
│ │ • Address issues in comments, not calls ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘