What is a Daily Scrum?
Learn About the Daily Scrum Event
As described in the Scrum Guide, the purpose of the Daily Scrum is to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary, adjusting the upcoming planned work.
The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for the Developers of the Scrum Team. To reduce complexity, it is held at the same time and place every working day of the Sprint. If the Product Owner or Scrum Master are actively working on items in the Sprint Backlog, they participate as Developers.
The Developers can select whatever structure and techniques they want, as long as their Daily Scrum focuses on progress toward the Sprint Goal and produces an actionable plan for the next day of work. This creates focus and improves self-management.
Daily Scrums improve communications, identify impediments, promote quick decision-making, and consequently eliminate the need for other meetings.
The Daily Scrum is not the only time Developers are allowed to adjust their plan. They often meet throughout the day for more detailed discussions about adapting or re-planning the rest of the Sprint’s work.
Inspection and Adaption at the Heart of Scrum
The Developers use the Daily Scrum to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and to inspect how progress is trending toward completing the work in the Sprint Backlog. The Daily Scrum optimizes the probability that the Developers will meet the Sprint Goal. Every day, the Developers should understand how it intends to work together as a self-organizing team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated Increment by the end of the Sprint. Team members often meet immediately after the Daily Scrum for detailed discussions, or to adapt, or replan, the rest of the Sprint’s work.
Daily Scrums improve communications, eliminate other meetings, identify impediments to development for removal, highlight and promote quick decision-making, and improve the Developers' level of knowledge. This is a key inspect and adapt meeting.
The structure of the meeting is set by the Developers and can be conducted in different ways if it focuses on progress toward the Sprint Goal.
The Role of the Scrum Master During the Daily Scrum
The Scrum Master ensures that the meeting happens, but the Developers are responsible for conducting the Daily Scrum. The Scrum Master teaches them to keep the Daily Scrum within the 15-minute time-box.
The Daily Scrum is an internal meeting for the Scrum Team. If others are present, the Scrum Master ensures that they do not disrupt the meeting.
The Daily Scrum is Not a Status Meeting
In this video, Professional Scrum Trainer Stephanie Ockerman discusses the differences between a status meeting and a Daily Scrum and why they are very different.
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