Bulb The daily standup is one of the most necessary ceremonies of Agile. It is an informational grind that gives presenters and attendees an intimate view of the happenings of a team / organization. As a developer, I love grinds, learning about the going-ons and roadblocks of my teammates is paramount.

This enables me to be a better teammate and to be a better developer.

The standup at a high level

  • What did I do yesterday?
  • What am I doing today?
  • What are my impediments?

These are critical questions to help team members be successful and to get-things-done. Were you successful yesterday? A quick generalization of what was accomplished yesterday can be very informative. It is also important to reflect on your work; where it was – and where it is going.

In the case of both of the first two questions:

  • What area(s) of the system(s) were you working in?
  • Be general and/or specific
    • What sub-module?
    • A specific page?

How does one be general and/or specific? That is the difficult part; it really depends on system architecture and sprint planning. If a system has multiple areas with each having a search i.e. I am working on the search of X area; adding a new filter. Sometimes it is very specific I am working the search manager page constructor for X area. This gives your team enough information to know what you are working on without going through an entire feature.

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Speaking in generalizations or key domain specific language can help trigger other teammates memory if they are working on something related. I personally have been saved many times by this when a fellow developer was working on an area closely related to my work. We were able to get on the same page and make the project a success!

Make it Quick, Keep it Short

There is always value in verbosity, but in regards to the standup it is better to get in and out. Be direct and concise and stay focused and on topic(s). If the standup is getting longer than 15 minutes – changes need to take place in your ceremony!.

I was once in a standup for over an hour with no end in sight. Once you reach that point there is no value to gain or victories to be won.

Tips

  • Be considerate of time regarding your teammates
  • Do not use ticket numbers are longer string to denote work
    • I look at a lot of ticket numbers and they all blur together
  • Speak clearly and slow down (this is one I need to remember)

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