Daily Scrum

The Daily Scrum is one of the 5 Scrum events. It is a 15-minute timeboxed event held every working day at the same time and place. It is for the Developers to plan the next 24 hours. They use the Daily Scrum to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal. The Developers are responsible for running the event and making it effective.

The Developers set the event’s structure, which can be conducted in many ways. Here is an example of a structure that might be used. Each Developer answers three questions:

  1. What did I do yesterday to help us meet the Sprint Goal?
  2. What will I do today to help us meet the Sprint Goal?
  3. Do I see any impediments that may prevent us from meeting the Sprint Goal?

It is important to keep within the 15-minute time box to prevent waste. Not all discussions will be relevant to all of the Developers. So, it is about higher-level planning rather than detailed problem-solving. The “right” Developers often meet after the Daily Scrum for detailed discussions and to solve specific problems.

The Daily Scrum is the most misunderstood event in Scrum. For example:

  • You do not have to stand up, although it may be helpful.
  • You do not have to answer the “3 questions”, although they may be helpful.
  • The Developers are responsible for the Daily Scrum and should decide how to do it.
  • Others may attend, but the event is not for them, so they should not disrupt it.
  • Others attending may impact the effectiveness of the Daily Scrum.
  • The Scrum Master does not have to attend, although it may be helpful.
  • The Developers must hold a Daily Scrum every working day, which could be shorter than 15 minutes.
  • Not all Developers will benefit from the Daily Scrum every day, but they must attend to fulfil their collective responsibility to revise and update the plan.