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5 basic rules for Daily Stand-Up

Episode 70 - 01 Feb 2017

Do you do a Daily Stand-up?

(aka the Daily Scrum, aka the Daily Huddle.)

Doing Daily Stand-up well... is easier said than done.

But doing it well starts with getting the fundamentals right.

Just for fun, I've enlisted the help of none other than Brad Pitt to help me lay out the Five Rules of Daily Stand-up.

Looking for Daily Stand-up Meeting Rules?

Start with these five

The Daily Stand-up. There's so much I could I say about the Daily Stand-up.

So many tips. So many anti-patterns.

But not today.

Today, it's just the basics.

The 5 "must-do" Daily Stand-up Meeting Rules.

Brad, could you get us started?

First Rule of Stand-up

“Welcome to Stand Up."

Thanks. Do you have any rules for us?

"The first rule of Stand Up is: 'You must to do Stand-up.'"

Okay. Yeah. Sounds straightforward.

Another one?

Second Rule of Stand-up

"The second rule of Stand-up is: 'You MUST do Stand-up!'"

Ohhh. Okay now I get what you're saying.

Brad's right.

Daily Stand-up is much more important - much more powerful - than most of would give it credit for.

My experience is that even when it's done badly, the benefits outweigh the, err, dis-benefits

So just do it.

Get up. Stand up.

Third Rule of Stand-up

The third rule of stand up is:

"Same time every day."

You want it to become a habit. Like brushing your teeth.

So pick a time that works for your team and stick to it.

Can't decided on a time? Try 10am.

Forth Rule of Stand-up

The fourth rule of Stand-up is:

"Stand-up goes on for as long as it needs to."

Err. Not quite, Brad. Daily Stand-up does NOT go on as long as it needs to.

Unless, that is, it needs to got on for 14 minute and 59 seconds or less.

If your Stand-up is taking more than 15 minutes, then it's a sign that something's not right

We'll get into that another time.

For now: stop at 15 minutes.

Fifth Rule of Standup

Brad, can you help me one last time?

"The fifth rule of stand-up is: if your going to do Stand-up, you have to stand."

He's right. You do have to stand.

Let's not over-complicate this: meetings held standing up tend to be shorter than their seated counterparts.

So get up. Stand up.

Besides, if you follow this rule, it will be abundantly clear

  • to you
  • to the team
  • to the rest of your organisation

that you're following the other four rules:

  1. You stand up every day
  2. at exactly the same time
  3. for a maximum of 15 minutes

and then you get on with your day.

Got more?

So there you have it, the eight rules of Fight... err Stand up.

Oh crap, I'm three short.

Can you help me out?

What are YOUR top Daily Stand-up Meeting Rules?

Let me know in the comments below.

Watch "5 basic rules for Daily Stand-Up" on YouTube.