I was recently having a conversation with an engineering leader at another company, and he was curious about standups. His company wanted to be agile, so his product leader set up standups for the team as well as the accompanying ceremonies to round out the Scrum experience, but he was concerned that it seemed like a waste of time. He wanted to know what it was like for other companies.
Note: standups aren’t agile by definition. They’re an aspect of Scrum called a ceremony. Scrum is agile, but agile isn’t Scrum. Standups are pervasive
Anyways, he was only a few months into the process rollout, but he was already pretty jaded. He wanted to know if this is “how it is” at other companies too. He also wanted to know if other companies were “simply ok with wasting some time each day”.
I noted that yes, it can be a pretty polarizing topic. He asked how we run standups at my current company. I told him it depends on the team. That, like in golf, you play it as it lies. By this, I mean you need to talk to your people. That’s the true agile way. People over process. Engineers aren’t stupid and most will actively resist participating in any process/activity they feel is a demonstration of management oversight.
I then shared some notes I had written up for a coworker previously. They’re copied here below:
Classic standup structure is 1) what I did yesterday 2) what I’m doing today and 3) blockers
I recommend framing that with the 20/80 rule or 10/10/80 rule. The first two can easily be surmised by commits, tickets, or async comments somewhere. Digging into the blockers and dependancies for your team or between teams is the most efficacious use of your team’s time. It’s also the hardest. When people have known dependencies they can ask questions and/or surface concerns. When there are unknown dependencies, you need to use your court vision to see or anticipate where things might go. It’s also on you to use your best judgment to keep up with what’s going on around you. Your teammates can bail you out, but you should try to put yourself in a position where it’s not necessary.
Most importantly, really think about the cost of standup. You’re pulling all of your engineers, PMs, and designers together, so there’s the implicit cost of everyone’s time. There’s also the opportunity cost of not doing or builing something else. And lastly, there’s the context switching cost. Truth be told, these costs aren’t limited to standups as they are present for any meeting.
Find what works for your team and what your team needs to be product. Don’t get caught in the trap of assuming that you’ll become a high-performing team just because you roll out Scrum in all its glory.
Last, the title is referencing the occasional practice of mixing an exercise into the fold. I’m not saying it’s totally dumb, but it’s pretty dumb. People have plenty of opportunities to voluntarily do physical activities, so no need to pressure or shame them.
Note: COVID adds a wrinkle as some teams can benefit from the camaraderie of seeing each other in a semi casual environment. Previously that could have been waiting in line at the cold brew or sitting on a couch during company lunch.