Section 1.1: The Dreaded Three Questions

As the team convenes, a palpable tension fills the room, as they brace themselves for the notorious trio of questions:

1. What did you accomplish yesterday?
2. What are you planning to tackle today?
3. Are there any obstacles or blockers?

These seemingly harmless inquiries, once designed to promote collaboration and transparency, have turned into a source of frustration for team members.

This section will delve into the inherent flaws and constraints of the traditional Scrum stand-up. Prepare to uncover the inefficiencies, wasted time, and misplaced priorities that plague these meetings. It's time to challenge the norm and find a fresh approach that fosters focus, motivation, and substantive progress in your daily rituals.

Subsection 1.1.1: The Monologue Effect

Amidst the collective groans, it’s evident that the traditional Scrum stand-up has lost its appeal. What was once an excellent opportunity for collaboration has devolved into lengthy monologues where members share every minute detail of their previous day’s activities. It resembles a theatrical performance where each participant recounts their tale, leaving others to wait patiently for their turn.

As the team expands, so does the time spent in these meetings. Once a brief and focused session, it now drags on, consuming valuable minutes that could be spent on productive tasks. Like a never-ending marathon, the stand-up stretches endlessly, leaving team members yearning for release and their minds drifting to the work at hand.

Not to mention, the focus has shifted away from critical sprint goals towards individual achievements. While team members share their updates, the collective impact on sprint objectives fades into obscurity, as everyone fixates on their personal agendas.

Additionally, the repetitive nature of the traditional stand-up can negatively affect engineers' mental well-being. Imagine the pressure of having to come up with something new to report daily, regardless of any significant progress. This daunting challenge can leave engineers scrambling for something to say, even if it means embellishing the truth or discussing trivial matters.

However, there is a more effective way to reclaim the essence of the stand-up. It’s time to break free from the mundane routine and embrace an approach that invigorates collaboration, inspires motivation, and drives meaningful progress. By shifting our focus from the individual to the work itself, we can transform the stand-up and restore its purpose.

Section 1.2: A New Approach to Stand-ups

Instead of dwelling on past accomplishments or setbacks, let’s pose a single, impactful question that cuts through the noise and propels us toward meaningful actions:

"What is preventing the team from advancing the highest priority work item to the next workflow stage?"

By directly addressing impediments and blockers, we direct our attention to the most pressing issues, paving the way for progress.

The Team Should Focus on Answering ONE question: "What is stopping the team from pulling the highest priority work item to the next workflow state?"

This slight shift in the stand-up paradigm may seem minor but can significantly enhance your meeting efficiency.

I intentionally phrase it as "the team from pulling" rather than "me from pulling," thereby transferring ownership and accountability from individuals to the team as a whole.

Let me pose this question: “Are you focused on the work or the worker?” I contend that the goal should be to follow the work, not the worker. Transitioning from the tedious format of asking each person the dreaded three questions to "What is blocking the team from advancing the highest priority work item?" brings the focus back to the work itself.

The backlog should be prioritized, ensuring the highest priority item is always at the top. Discussions should center around that specific item, without diverging into other stories, even if team members have been working on them. We may address those later based on their priority, or we might not discuss them at all.

In Scrum, you may have only three columns: TODO, IN PROGRESS, and DONE. Begin conversations with the highest priority item currently in progress, as it is closest to completion. The goal should be to finish ongoing tasks rather than to initiate new ones. Continue down the IN PROGRESS queue until there are no more critical items to discuss. If there are urgent stories that haven’t been started, address these next, even if there are other in-progress stories. If time permits, return to those, but if not, conclude the meeting regardless.

If you're using Kanban, there may be multiple workflow states beyond TODO, IN PROGRESS, and DONE. In this approach, you should still start with the most critical items closest to completion and then progress through the workflow states, discussing each critical item as defined by your classes of service. Once all critical stories are covered, you can address the next highest class of service.

The Benefits of This Approach Include:

• Reduced micromanagement
• Decreased time spent by each engineer
• Better scalability as the team grows
• Shortened lead and cycle times
• A focus on the most important work
• An emphasis on completing tasks rather than starting new ones
• Enhanced psychological safety for engineers