If you’re a software developer, the words “daily scrum meeting” probably sound all too familiar. If you’re not, you may be wondering what this means, or why developers swear by this method of team coordination.
What Is a Daily Scrum Meeting?
The term “scrum” is a rugby analogy in which a team gets together to organize and make changes quickly before the game restarts.
However, in the world of software development, “scrum” takes on a different meaning. “Scrum” is a daily meeting in which team members report their progress to the a designated leader, titled the “scrum master”. The scrum master is the person who manages the information being exchanged between coworkers.
However, there are two differences between a daily scrum meeting and other, daily progress meetings:
1. The “Sprint Period”
The daily scrum meeting is most commonly used for product development, in which teams works together to reach a common goal. This almost always takes place over a “sprint period” of two weeks.
The purpose of the sprint period is to focus all efforts on one singular goal during this time. This allows for fewer interruptions and more focused work.
2. The Format
Scrum meetings are quick and simple.
Three questions that make up a daily scrum meeting are:
- What was done yesterday?
- What is going to be done today?
- Is there any sort of impediments in your way?
Focusing on only three, brief questions ensures that the meeting stays on track, while critical information is exchanged.
The Daily Scrum Meeting & Employees
Employees should view scrum meetings a time for team synchronization.
Since teammates are all present to hear what’s been finished, and what challenges each other are facing, it allows everyone to recalculate their own work flow in order to reach the final goal. An effective daily scrum meeting energizes the team, as each team member sees what their peers have achieved, and that tangible progress is being made toward a collective goal.
Daily Scrum for Non-Software Developers
The grand take-away of the “sprint period” and daily scrum meetings is that when a goal is set, and all efforts are focused on that goal, large amounts of progress can take place during a short period of time.
Consider this example: your company website is outdated. You need to find a new layout, update the FAQ pages, and produce a slew of content that explains your “story”, and provides the latest news about your product.
Rather than tackling this beast piece-by-piece in the free time between dozens of other tasks you juggle every day, why not take one-to-two week “sprint period” to tackle this beast once-and-for-all?
How?
Break your team into small groups, or break the team down individually to focus on a small/unique area of expertise. Then, delegate accordingly.
Since each group or individual is focused on perfecting one area of the job, tasks are accomplished quickly ,efficiently, and without difficulty. With many groups working on various areas of the overall job, the job gets completed at an accelerated rate.
Conduct a daily scrum meeting each day during the sprint period to ensure things are on track.
Tools That Can Help
Remembering everything you’ve done over the course of the day is tough during a sprint period. With so many items coming in and out of your inbox, and on and off of your desk, it may be hard to gather your thoughts before the rapid-fire daily scrum meeting.
But have no fear, Priority Matrix is here!
Priority Matrix is a collaboration tool built to help you work more efficiently and keep projects on track. Along with quick delegation capabilities to help you break down the work-load of a two week sprint, Priority Matrix provides “daily reports” at the touch of a button.
Simply click to see everything you’ve added to your to-do list, modified, or checked off as done within the past 24 hours. Pull it up at your daily scrum meeting to facilitate meeting success.
Try it With Your Team
If you feel you’ve hit a slump, or there’s a looming project hanging over your head, arrange a two-week sprint with your team. Get ready to make serious dents in long term projects.