HOW TO RUN A REMOTE DAILY SCRUM MEETING
What is a Daily Scrum Meeting ?
It is simply a process inherent to the agile method.The concept is to meet every day to review the progress on different tasks. It normally takes place using a table that gathers all the tasks, a process that makes the meeting lively and dynamic. A practice that has become complicated with the adoption of remote working, but which has found an alternative thanks to software such as Zoom, Discord or even Google Meet!
Use a visuel management tool.
The primary goal of the Daily Scrum meeting is to share the progress of the project. The exercise may seem repetitive, so it is crucial to make the meeting vibrant!
To do this, it's possible to use a board (Kanban) on which you put sticky notes for each thing to be done to reach a first goal. During the Daily Meeting, the tasks defined on the sticky notes are meant to be moved around. The people who realize them, according to their progress, can move them. This is an important exercise since it makes a first visual link between what remains to be done and the team.
If the meeting is held at in remote, there are still ways to find this team spirit and these visual cues. Indeed, to mitigate this isolation, it is useful and almost essential to add a playful side to it. The Kanban flow is a good idea.
The Kanban Flow has advantages, it allows you to visualize the different tasks to accomplish and their places: to do - in progress - done. The optimal process during this debriefing is to start with what has been done and end with what remains to be done. Several free tools can help you build Kanban boards, such as Trello, Asana, Github project or Notion.
It allows it, regardless of where you are, in a coworking space or at home...
A boxed Daily meeting time
This term refers to a better organized and optimized conference call. The duration should not exceed 15 minutes. This 15-minute benchmark gives each member an equal amount of time to speak. The second purpose is to remain proactive and not to "waste" time.
Wasting time is not the right word since communication is necessary if there is difficulty to arrive at a solution. Each member must be able to express themselves, but the DNA of this meeting must be kept — It is nothing more than a moment to share information with all the members of the team.
The duration is important and so is the planning. In order for everyone to get used to the Daily Scrum Meeting, organize it so that the time is convenient for all participants and so that they really get involved.
Prep the meetingn
This meeting is scheduled on you own schedule or on the community These apps. Organising the talking points is not only a time saver, but also simplifies communication.In the first instance, prepping is done through setting a fixed meeting. This meeting is scheduled on you own schedule or on the community agenda.You can use Outlook, Google calendar or Doodle. These apps allow you to set a fixed meeting and common task. Organising the talking points is not only a time saver, but also simplifies communication. In the first instance, prepping is done through setting a fixed meeting. This meeting is scheduled on you own schedule or on the community agenda. You can use Outlook, Google calendar or Doodle. These apps allow you to set a fixed meeting and common task.
When speaking, it is useful to list your progress. The subject being what you did the day before and what you are going to do to reach the goal. It is then wise to write down throughout your day what you have done or your various obstacles.
As for the presentation, we advise you to follow these 3 questions that can help you structure your thoughts:
a- What did I do yesterday ?
b- Do I have any struggles?
c- What is planned for today?
Another alternative is to set aside time during the Daily Scrum Meeting to conduct this reflection.
A casual Daily Scrum Meeting
Atmosphere is an important concept during this meeting. In fact, the objective is to achieve a team that shares and understands each other. The group as a whole must make it easier to share. Open discussion is good for productivity. A member who is facing an obstacle will talk about it more easily in front of a team that is open to help.
The respect of a framework in the Daily Scrum Meeting is fundamental for its good execution. However, they should not be applied as strict and rigid rules. The key is to test and apply a soft approach. Giving a human touch will ease the understanding within the group.
Organizing the Daily Scrum Meeting is necessary, timing is important, and so is speaking time, but don't take them as strict and rigid rules. The goal is the opposite, the speaking floor is there to allow you to confide in each other, the timing and the time are yours. Finally, a Daily Meeting is a time to discuss blockages, find solutions and build group cohesion.
Bonus :
What to avoid
Errors by their empirical side have an important place in the agile method. The bonus that is given to you simply serves as a reference point. It is sometimes easier to know what's wrong or what you don't want - rather than what to do!
Le Daily Scrum Meeting n’est pas une réunion à proprement parler, puisqu’il ne sert pas de moment de contrôle (reporting). Justifier son travail et son avancée n’est pas le bon axe.
Regarding time, it's not a good moment to wast it, but to gain in efficiency in action!
A good team spirit implies a constant investment, not without fault. Being absent, late, or not knowing your progress can be detrimental to the rest of the group. Imagine your colleagues depending on you to do their part of the work. I'm not talking about the occasional alarm clock failure or a drop in connection, but it can be frustrating for others.
