What is a scrum meeting?
Much like on the rugby field, where a scrum involves players coming together in a quick huddle to restart play after a stoppage during a game, the scrum meeting in a workplace is a chance to reset and either continue on or start a new path to completing a project task.
It may also be known as a stand-up because workers typically don’t sit around a table for these meetings, which are meant to only take 15 minutes to hold and often occur daily.
A scrum meeting enables team members to communicate with each other, by reflecting on what has been achieved in the time since the last scrum meeting and then stating the day’s work goals, including outlining problems or delays that may affect their ability to be completed.
It is particularly useful for large or complex projects because it helps workers and managers to keep track of what has been completed when there are many tasks and goals on the to-do list.
It also helps employees to be clear about their immediate priorities and duties, rather than be side-tracked or distracted by what can be completed at a later date, as well as be notified of any delays. It also provides a chance for workers to flag potential issues.
Bringing all workers involved together for the meeting ensures that communication is thorough to all parties, and the short length of the meeting ensures that workers are more likely to attend, as they know it will be brief and on topic.
Usually, a scrum meeting is held at the start of the day or shift, before team members start their work, but it can be held at the end of the workday to enable workers to hit the ground running the following day, or at any time of the day that suits the project.
For tasks that will take a few days or a week to complete, there may be no reason to hold a scrum meeting daily. In some cases, tasks may have shorter timeframes, so more than one scrum meeting may be required in a day.
When should a scrum meeting be used?
Scrum meetings are ideal for assessing the progress completed so far on a task and scheduling the next block of work.
They are not a time to brainstorm or put forward new ideas, nor are they a chance for a manager to micromanage the work of team members.
Usually, a planning meeting would have been held before the project begins. At the planning meeting, the various tasks and goals that need to be achieved for the project to be completed are identified. Scrum meetings are then held, focusing on each task or goal within the wider project.
For example, a business may want to implement a new advertising campaign. A planning meeting is held to outline the various stages of preparation, such as brainstorming ideas, deciding on the theme, producing the campaign material, and booking the advertising spots in media. Scrum meetings are ideal for the stage at which the campaign material is produced, as that is a goal that has many tasks within it, such as designing various versions of the material and printing them. This stage of preparation also is more likely to have a set deadline that needs to be adhered to, as the campaign will need to get underway on a certain date.
How to run a scrum meeting
It is best to appoint a scrum leader for scrum meetings. This worker will typically be the project’s leader or the team’s facilitator.
The scrum leader will complete many of the administration duties required for the meeting, such as organising the time, location and attendees required. This person will ask each team member to outline their update and ensure others do not interrupt or enter into a discussion. They also will be the person to keep note of the time and that the meeting ends on schedule.
A product owner will keep track of the progress. They will listen to what has been accomplished so far and determine if workers have achieved what is required of them; they will ensure the required workload has been assigned; and they will note any issues and follow up after the scrum meeting to get them resolved.
All team members involved in the project are required to attend and participate in the scrum meeting, but if for any reason an employee is absent, it is best to continue with the meeting regardless, including starting it on time. The product owner can follow up with absentees afterwards, while latecomers can join in when they arrive.
There are three main questions that are asked of attendees at a scrum meeting:
- What was accomplished yesterday?
- What is being worked on today?
- Have any problems or issues arisen that will prevent this from occurring?
It is important to remember that if problems or issues are presented, that the solutions are not discussed at the scrum meeting.
Only the relevant parties need to be involved in devising solutions, and they can hold a separate meeting to discuss the issues and determine if any tweaks need to be made. This allows the workers who are not required for these discussions to get on with their unrelated tasks.
It is also important to remember that reflecting on what has been accomplished since the last meeting is not a review of the quality of what has been achieved, nor a time for feedback. It is simply a time to outline the work that has been done, and the detail can be reviewed when the project is complete or by other stakeholders before a future scrum meeting.
A scrum meeting also is not a time to look back to see if any improvements could have been made during the process completed so far. A retrospective review can be held outside the scrum meeting to consider if, for example, more resources should be dedicated to similar tasks at future stages of the project.
How will scrum meetings improve productivity?
There are many ways in which productivity is enhanced by a scrum meeting.
Tackling issues early saves time in the long run. Many problems can be solved more quickly if they are not allowed to escalate into bigger issues, and if there are delays, the workers involved can be reassigned to complete other tasks in the meantime while solutions are devised. It also prevents workers from completing tasks that are not relevant or required.
Scrum meetings also can be a good time to ensure that a worker is capably performing and are not overwhelmed or under resourced. If they are struggling to complete the task required of them on time, the work can be reassigned or more workers can be brought in to help them.
Each task can be reviewed as it is completed, and if tweaks need to be made – such as being more efficient at certain aspects of it – these changes can be implemented for future tasks of the project.
By ensuring only the three questions are answered during the scrum meeting, and other issues are raised outside of it, it reduces the amount of time that workers waste being involved in a discussion, especially if it is not relevant to them, or they do not have anything to contribute to the discussion.
It does not matter what industry a business operates in, as a scrum meeting can be a useful tool deployed by anyone to better manage their team’s projects.
