What is a daily Scrum meeting and how to run one

What is a daily Scrum meeting?

A daily Scrum meeting, also known as a daily stand-up meeting, is a 15-minute time-boxed event. As the name suggests, it happens every day of the sprint.

The meeting allows the Agile team to discuss and confirm the work they’ll do over the next 24 hours. The team reviews what they’ve worked on the previous day, what they plan to do today, and any obstacles or issues they’re facing.

By having this meeting, everyone in the Scrum team is up-to-speed with sprint progress. It also allows the team to make any adjustments to the sprint (or the product backlog) to achieve the sprint goal.

For example, let’s say one of the team members requires access to a password-protected document to complete their tasks for the day ahead. They don’t have the password, so they bring it up during the daily Scrum.

One of the other team members grants them access to the document. As a result, the team member can complete their work and ensure the sprint progresses on time.

Why is the daily Scrum only 15 minutes?

15 minutes doesn’t sound like a long time to cover everything you need in the daily Scrum — but that’s the point.

The 15-minute time limit encourages team members to provide only a status report. It helps them focus on the most important details without getting bogged down by other information, ensuring everyone is focused and on-topic throughout the meeting.

A short timeframe also ensures it doesn’t take too much of everyone’s time. If the meeting was an hour every day, it could cause productivity to take a hit. A short, 15-minute meeting doesn’t impact the day in the same way.

What happens in a daily Scrum meeting?

During the meeting, the project team gets together at the beginning of the day to answer the following daily Scrum questions:

• What was done yesterday?

• What’ll be done today?

• Are there any obstacles?

The project team sets the structure of the event. They base it on the priorities of the sprint and what's already happened throughout the day.

For example, if there’s a particular challenge preventing the team from delivering the sprint, this likely will take priority during the meeting. If there aren’t any challenges, the team will discuss their tasks in relation to the sprint goal and update other team members on their progress.

Ultimately, there’s no right or wrong way to run the meeting. As long as you cover all the topics you need to and it stays within the time limit, you can run the meeting however you want.

Who is required to attend the daily Scrum?

All of the core team members attend the daily stand-up meetings. This includes the following:

Product owners

The product owner maintains the product backlog and ensures it aligns with the project goal. They understand customer needs and business requirements and have a clear vision for each sprint's value.

Project team

The project team involves everyone doing the work in each sprint. Together, they are a self-organizing team that make decisions about how to achieve the goal of the sprint.

Scrum master

The Scrum master is the glue that holds the Scrum team together. They're responsible for ensuring the Scrum principles are followed, helping the project team work more efficiently and effectively.

Who starts the daily Scrum?

The Scrum master is in charge of making sure the daily meetings happen. They set a time and a place (whether online or in-person) and ensure that the entire team attends.

Scrum masters also ensure the meeting stays within the 15-minute time box for the daily Scrum (using a timer comes in handy here). If the discussion goes off-topic or starts to run over the timeframe, it’s the Scrum master’s job to get things back on track.

Although the Scrum master guides the daily Scrum, the project team is responsible for conducting it. As a self-organizing team, they perform the work and ensure the sprint is delivered on time and to the required standard.

What are the benefits of running daily Scrum meetings?

Let’s review some of the benefits of having a daily Scrum when working through a sprint.

To keep on top of the sprint progress

A daily Scrum meeting allows Agile teams to keep tabs on how the sprint is going and whether it’s on track to reach the sprint goal. It ensures everyone’s on the same page and the sprint will be delivered as planned.

To overcome obstacles

If there are any roadblocks or obstacles in the sprint, daily stand-ups will bring them to light. Then, the team can implement measures to overcome them and get the sprint back on track.

To improve collaboration

The daily stand-up encourages the entire project team to come together and collaborate. It’s a chance for the team to share vital updates and ask for support or solutions when facing challenges.

Are there any challenges to be aware of?

Yes, there are challenges to face when hosting a daily Scrum meeting. Take a look at some of the challenges you might encounter:

Sticking to the time limit

15-minutes is a small amount of time, meaning it can be tricky to ensure the meeting stays within the time limit. Using Miro’s timer can help with this as it allows the Scrum master and the rest of the project team to track their meeting time as it’s happening.

Making sure everyone has a say

With such a time-sensitive event, it can be hard for everyone to have their say. Having someone lead the meeting (like the Scrum master’s role) is helpful in this situation. They can step in and make sure that every team member has a chance to share their updates and ask any questions.

Keeping the conversation on track

There isn’t much flexibility to go off-topic or provide lengthy answers with a daily Scrum. Everything has to be relevant and concise, which can be tricky to manage. Again, this is where the Scrum master can step in and make sure that the discussion stays on relevant topics and is always to the point.

How to host a successful daily Scrum meeting

Now that you know the ins and outs of a daily Scrum meeting, let’s walk through the steps you can follow to run a stand-up of your own.

These steps are for the Scrum master when they’re planning and overseeing daily meetings every day.

Use the right platform

Start by finding the right platform to host your stand-ups. The platform should allow you to run an effective stand-up as efficiently as possible. For example, an online workspace that’s easy to use, collaborative, and enables you to track the meeting as it’s happening.

This is where Miro can be helpful for Scrum teams.

With Miro, you can easily host meetings with your team and ensure everyone (even remote workers) can take part in the meeting from wherever they are. You can even add Jira cards directly to your board, so everyone can keep track of what’s being worked on and the current status.

Set an agenda

Daily Scrum meetings are concise, so you don’t need an agenda with lots of detail. Keep it brief and cover the three daily Scrum questions,, making sure everyone on the team has a chance to say their piece. Ultimately, the team will identify the top-priority issues.

Try our Meeting Agenda Template to create an agenda for your daily stand-ups. You can then update the template daily to reflect the new topics, saving you time when you're running these meetings every day.

Confirm the time and place

Let your team know when the meeting will occur, including start and end times. The team should know that it'll end 15 minutes after the start time, but it's a good idea to reiterate an end time. It reminds the team that they only have a short time to cover vital information.

When arranging the daily stand-ups, it helps to use the same time and place every day. That way, it’s easier for everyone to attend. They don’t have to think too hard about when the meeting happens or where they need to be. Instead, they know it's at the same time and place daily.

This also makes it easier for them to plan their work. If they have meetings cropping up at different times every day, it’s harder to schedule their day.

If you’re running the meeting online, be sure to provide everyone with access details. You can use the same information for each meeting to make it easier. For example, if you use Miro’s workspace, you can ask the team to join the video chat at a specific time each day.

Host the meeting

The next step is to run the meetings. Consider using our Daily Stand-up Meeting Template to ensure you record and track everything that takes place. Then, you have a record of all the sprint progress for future use.

By recording all the meeting notes, you won’t lose track of what’s been discussed and where you’re at for the next meeting. It’s all recorded in one place, and everyone can access it, making it easier to get everyone on the same page before each meeting.

Keep track of time

Keep the meeting on track to avoid running over 15 minutes. You can use Miro’s timer to keep the meeting on schedule or set a stopwatch on your computer to ensure you're following the timeframe in real time.

It’s also a good idea to ensure the team can see how the meeting is progressing alongside the 15-minute timer. That way, they’re less likely to go off-topic. As a result, it’ll be easier for you to keep the meeting within the time limit.

Incorporate any changes

If there are any actions from the meeting, you can help the team implement them before the work begins.

Exactly how you do this will depend on what support they need and what challenges they might be facing. It is important to ensure that the project team can complete their work and that the entire Scrum team is working effectively together.

Use Miro to run your next daily Scrum meeting

The goal of a daily sprint meeting is to review progress and ensure the project team is on track to reach the sprint goal. The daily Scrum will bring it to light if they're not on track or have obstacles to overcome.

Sign up for Miro to run a collaborative daily stand-up with your Scrum team. Our digital workspace makes it easy for Agile teams to work together, share updates, and keep track of sprint progress in a central location.