Daily Scrum (Daily Stand Up or DSU) is a reoccurring event to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary, adjusting the upcoming planned work. Daily Scrum provides at least one daily opportunity to synchronize work and plan for the day ahead. The Scrum Master ensures that a Daily Scrum takes place, but the Developers are responsible for conducting the meeting. It is an opportunity to

• Build trust and communication.
• Talk about your collective work and progress toward the sprint goal.
• Ask for help, collaboration, or support if you need it.
• Let each other know about roadblocks in your way.

Daily Scrum Meeting

Prerequisites

• Sprint Goal should be up-to-date and visible.
• Current progress toward the Sprint commitment in the form of completed work, remaining work, and what is in progress.
• Current Sprint Burndown chart indicating progress toward the Sprint Goal and ideal effort needed to reach the goal.

Attendees a Daily Scrum

While the primary purpose of this Scrum event is for the developers to inspect and adapt their work, the Scrum Master and Product Owner can attend. However, their attendance is required if they play an active role in the development of the increment. This isn’t for a scrum master, manager, or stakeholder to see who is on schedule and who is behind. The Scrum Master can play various roles in the Daily Scrum to ensure its effectiveness:

• Ensures the Daily Scrum takes place and fosters a positive and productive environment by coaching developers about the purpose and significance of this event.
• Coaches the team on the importance of good practices, such as daily synchronization, which enhances team focus, communication, and prompt decision-making.
• Protects the team’s concentration by shielding them from external disruptions that may arise during the Daily Scrum.

Ground Rules and Tips

The following ground rules and tips are helpful to make the Daily Scrum more effective (as Scrum Master – Scrum Guide):

• Reiterate the purpose of the Daily Scrum: at the start, and take a neutral stance during the Daily Scrum.
• Try to ask open-ended questions: to help the team but don’t try to force your solution. You may use open-ended questions related to transparency, inspection, and adaptation. e.g. What can we do today to resolve this issue & achieve the Sprint Goal?
• Same time and place daily: The Meeting should be held for a maximum of 15 minutes at fixed locations at fixed times, and should not be late, leave early, or be absent. The advantage of doing this is that it allows everyone to form a habit, making communication more natural and smooth. A team member who cannot join needs to be represented by a teammate.
• Stick to the timebox: Everyone should state their work status in a concise and appropriate manner, and not go into details. The discussion of details can be discussed offline. We only pay attention to the status and problems encountered in the meeting.
• Find the right format: The Scrum Master should ensure that the meeting starts on time, keeps moving reasonably, and stays on goal. Everyone in the meeting takes turns to speak to each member of the team about the status so that everyone can understand your work, progress status, or require assistance from others. Teams may choose an informal conversation. They may choose a series of questions to inspect progress. Another technique is to “walk the board,” in which the team goes item by item in the sprint backlog on a task board. Mature teams may have a short conversation to adjust the plan. 
• Discuss impediment management separately: During the Daily Scrum, the team often devotes all of its attention to problem-solving. To address this, many teams schedule an informal gathering right after the Daily Scrum, involving the individuals directly involved in resolving blockers or adapting backlog items and tasks. The Scrum Master is also responsible for making sure that identified impediments are recorded and addressed by the responsible person or him.

You are free to choose any format. A traditional option for the daily scrum format involves each team member sharing the following information:

• What did you do yesterday to support the team’s progress toward the sprint goal?
• What will you do today to support the team’s progress toward the sprint goal?
• Are there any impediments blocking your progress or the team’s progress toward the sprint goal?

• What are our collaboration needs as a team?
• What are we doing to make progress toward the sprint goal?
• What do we need to do today to move certain items forward?

Key considerations

• This is a crucial meeting for the Team. It’s not a status report to the Product Owner or Scrum Master.
• Look at your Sprint Backlog together. If you are remote, have someone share it on their screen. If you are in-person, gather in a conference room and bring it up on a screen or gather around your Sprint Backlog sticky-note area.
• Walk the board – Starting at the top of your “In-Progress” column, open questions will help team to open up
  • “Who is taking ownership of this right now?”
  • “Do you need help?”
  • “Have you learned or uncovered anything that might impact our overall plan or Sprint Goal?”
  • “Does anyone feel stuck on something today that you don’t have help with?”
• Address topics outside the current sprint or need further detailed discussion items outside the Daily Scrum meeting.
• Are there any new or emerging requirements to discuss with the Product Owner? The Team should note anything they might currently know, record it, and move on.
• Does the Team need to talk to people outside the Team to help with clarification of requirements? The Team should collaborate with the Scrum Master in the time box allowed.
• The Scrum Master may ask one of the team members to begin (if they do not take the initiative to start on their own).
• Add other needed discussion topics or issues to a parking lot list as they come up so that they don’t interrupt the team quickly getting an update from each team member.
• Once the regular Daily Scrum has ended, team members should stay around or plan to address items placed in the parking lot during the meeting.

The outcome of the Daily Scrum

• An updated Sprint Backlog -The team has adjusted their Sprint Backlog if needed to reflect any updates on how they plan to go about achieving their Sprint Goal.
• An updated Task Board – The team has updated their Task Board.
• An updated Burn Down chart.
• An adjusted/updated Sprint plan to achieve the Sprint Goal – The team has clarity and a shared understanding of where they are now in terms of progress toward their Sprint Goal.
• Increased awareness of issues, impacts, and pending risks.
• Impediments to the Team’s progress toward the Sprint Goal – The team has shared any impediments getting in their way and has collaborated on how they are going to help each other move forward.

Best Practices for Daily Scrum

• Only Talk About the Work of the Current Sprint – Discussion should be limited to work team members performed in pursuit of the team’s sprint goal.
• Limit Discussion to What Was and Will Be Accomplished – Instead of what the developer did and will do next, change it to what was and will be accomplished
• Talk About Impediments, Not “Blockers” – In a daily scrum, you don’t want to hear only about things blocking progress. You want to hear about everything that might be impeding progress.
• Give People Something to Say About Their Work not Directed Toward the Sprint Goal – Let the team members state that they did more than their goal-related work. 
• Have People Point to What They’re Working On – Ask the team member to point to what they’re working on Scrum Board while speaking about it. 
• Update the Sprint Backlog but Don’t Let Numbers Become the Focus – Updating the sprint backlog is good but don’t let the daily scrum become all about updating those numbers.
• Vary How the Daily Scrum Is Conducted – Don’t fix any format or rules to follow, let the developers vary how they want to conduct daily scrum.
• Keep Everyone Guessing as to Who Will Speak Next – Have the current speaker call on the next speaker.

Anti-patterns of Daily Scrum

• The stand-up meeting is moving towards a status or recording meeting.
• The stand-up meeting is trending only Scrum Master show.
• The stand-up meeting is moving towards a Planning Meeting.
• The stand-up meeting is becoming a solving problem and finding technical solutions discussion.
• The stand-up meeting is moving outside the timebox.
• The stand-up meeting is not occurring daily and lasts longer than 15 minutes.
• The stand-up meeting never identifies Impediments or the team doesn’t follow up on issues/impediments.
• The team doesn’t adjust the plan to meet sprint goals.
• The developers think they don’t need to show up.
• The meeting isn’t held if the scrum master can’t make it that day

More on Daily Scrum Anti-patterns & Solution – Click Here

Checklist for Daily Scrum Meeting

Conclusion

The Daily Scrum, with its emphasis on communication, collaboration, and adaptability, stands as a linchpin in the Agile framework. It’s not just a daily ritual; it’s the heartbeat of Agile development, driving teams toward their goals with efficiency and unity. As teams embrace the dynamics of the Daily Scrum, they pave the way for a culture of continuous improvement and excellence in their Agile journey.