Ah, the Daily Scrum—the meeting that’s supposed to keep your team laser-focused and moving forward. It’s only 15 minutes, right? Wrong. Somehow, you’ve turned it into a recurring nightmare of status reports, therapy sessions, and awkward silences. Let me help you stop the madness. Here’s how to actually run a Daily Scrum without it feeling like you’re herding cats through molasses.
Top 5 Common Mistakes That Will Ruin Your DSM (And Your Sanity)
- Turning It Into a Status Update for Management
Ah yes, nothing like turning a collaborative team event into a “performance review lite” for your bosses. If you’re using your Daily Scrum to report to the higher-ups, congratulations—you’ve missed the point. This is supposed to be a team meeting. Save the status report for the bureaucrats.How to avoid this: Politely remind management this isn’t their show. Let the team speak to each other, not up the chain. If they want a status report, send them a spreadsheet and spare the team the pain. - Dragging It Out Like a Netflix Series
You’d think keeping a meeting to 15 minutes would be simple, but no—teams love to turn Daily Scrums into mini sprint planning sessions. Spoiler alert: No one has ever enjoyed a sprint planning session.How to avoid this: Cut the waffle. Three questions: What did you do yesterday? What will you do today? Any blockers? If people start talking about “strategy” or giving soliloquies, bring out the metaphorical hook and yank them off stage. - Letting Blockers Become TED Talks
If one person starts discussing their blockers for 12 minutes straight, congratulations, you’ve invented the Extended Scrum of Death. It’s a Daily Scrum, not “60 Minutes.” Blockers should be quick and to the point, not long and painful.How to avoid this: Encourage follow-up after the meeting. If someone’s explaining a complex blocker for more than a minute, it’s time to suggest a separate discussion. - Ignoring the Actual Goal of the Scrum
Scrum Masters: your job is to ensure things don’t spiral into chaos. The Daily Scrum isn’t a therapy session or a “let’s chat about life” meeting. It’s to figure out how the team is progressing toward the sprint goal. If you’re talking about anything else, congrats—you’re doing it wrong.How to avoid this: Set a strict agenda and stick to it. Three questions, sprint goal in mind, done. Keep the team focused on how to move the sprint forward, not how they feel about it. - Being Late and Then Complaining About Time
If you’re the person who rolls in 10 minutes late, then complains about the meeting going long, the problem might just be…you. Yes, you. Showing up late to a 15-minute meeting is the fastest way to derail everything.How to avoid this: Be on time. It’s 15 minutes. You can live without your coffee for that long.
Top 5 Elements to Keep the DSM Valuable (Or At Least Less Painful)
- Keep it Focused on the Sprint Goal
I know, revolutionary, right? This is the time for the team to align on their sprint goals, not their weekend plans. If the conversation strays from the work at hand, it’s your job to snap everyone back to reality. Blockers are important, but do we need to deep-dive into them during the Scrum? No. Take it offline. - Encourage Transparency
Here’s a wild idea: Use a visible, interactive board (like a Kanban or sprint board) to keep the team engaged. This way, people can actually see the sprint’s progress instead of staring at their shoes and let’s actually talk about blockers. Not just nod and smile and pretend everything’s fine when it’s clearly not. Make it a safe space (without the soft music and candles) for people to admit they’re stuck. - Rotate Who Speaks First
Avoid that awkward silence where everyone waits for the same poor soul to kick things off. Rotating the speaking order keeps it fresh and avoids turning this into a predictable bore-fest. - Reinforce Accountability
Let’s not forget why we’re here. Everyone should leave knowing what they need to do. If people walk away from the Daily Scrum more confused than when they arrived, you’ve failed. Own it. - Make It the Team’s Meeting, Not Yours
You’re not the Daily Scrum Dictator. This meeting is for the team. If you find yourself dominating the conversation, you’re doing it wrong. Let the team talk to each other; you’re just there to facilitate, not monologue.
Bonus Tips for Distributed teams
- Use Asynchronous Updates: Have team members post brief updates in a shared chat or collaboration tool before the scheduled Daily Scrum. This allows everyone to review others’ progress at their convenience, reducing the time needed for live updates.
- Set a Flexible Daily Scrum Time: Pick a recurring time that covers the most overlapping hours across time zones. For those unable to join, encourage them to review the asynchronous updates and add comments or questions.
- Focus on Key Information: Limit live discussions to critical blockers, dependencies, or issues requiring team input. Routine status updates can be shared asynchronously to keep the live meeting short.
- Timebox Each Update: Assign a 1-minute limit per team member to discuss only new developments or blockers. This keeps the focus on essential information and reduces the chance of lengthy discussions.
- Use a Facilitator or Rotating Lead: Assign a team member to keep the meeting moving by timeboxing updates, prompting for concise contributions, and guiding off-topic discussions offline.