The dialog about the value of daily scrum meetings is as vigorous as ever. I hope it never gets settled. That's because I frequently argue both sides. Just not at the same time. Which side I'm on depends entirely on the context. If the team composed of a single functional domain that has worked together for an extended period of time while co-located in a tuned collaboration work environment, then scrums of any frequency are probably a waste of time. If the team is for the most part remote and composed of independent contractors representing multiple functional domains, than it can be argued that daily scrums become THE most important scrum meeting.
I want to talk about the latter scenario in this post. Remote scrums can be the most challenging meetings for a scrum master to facilitate. (In the interests of space, I'll have to set aside cultural and language issues that are frequently an issue while running scrum with remote teams. I do this not to minimize the importance of these issues, but to recognize they are worthy of much better treatment than I can cover here.)
Remember the agile manifesto? The first two line read:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Simply stated: Don't bother taking notes during a scrum. Not as a group, anyway. Individual agile delivery team members are certainly free to do so if it helps their individual efforts. Scrum notes are a false crutch. It's as near to a 100% guarantee one can get to say that no one will every go back and re-read scrum notes. If someone is demanding scrum notes be taken, suspect a waterfall zombie in your midst and respond accordingly. Worse yet is that the poor agile delivery team member tasked with serving as scribe is going to be so busy trying to capture stuff they will miss much of the conversation and information exchange that makes a quality scrum so vital.
Good Practices
Early in a project the scrum master should specifically call out team members during the scrum and do so in a different order each day. This will prevent team members from talking over one another as they miss the visual cues that tell people meeting in person who is likely to speak next. Changing up the order keeps the whole team alert as they will not know when their name will be called. As the team gains experience with each other, switch to calling out the name of the team member who’ll kick off the scrum conversation. When they’ve completed informing the team what they’ve worked on yesterday, what they’re working on today, and anything in the way of success the delivery team member calls out the next team member to take the conversation. This will further develop the remote behaviors that compensate for the missing non-verbal communication.
At least once a week, more frequent if warranted, briefly reiterate the sprint goals and minimum viable product (MVP) definition at the start of the scrum-up. I've also found it very effective to challenge the team about mid-sprint with an intuitive check on how they are doing with respect to the sprint goals and MVP definition. Any feelings of dread there? Any sense of anxiety? If so, what's causing that feeling. Move down the 5 Whys path to find any root causes. This will help shake out any hidden dependencies or reluctance by any one team member to ask for help.
Technology
Consider quality virtual meeting hardware and software an essential tool for your business. We wouldn't accept a surgeon who goes into the operating room with kitchen knives because they're "good enough." Sound professional, be professional. Clear and efficient communication is essential to the success of remote agile teams. Have the best possible communication tools available in place and cut corners someplace else.
A good view of the scrum board via web conferencing. This is the big picture the team needs to keep their individual efforts in context of the whole sprint effort.
A high quality and reliable audio connection
How each team member's cell reception? Does their connection drop frequently? Is their voice muffled or otherwise hard to hear? They may need a phone upgrade, particularly if their phone cannot leverage WiFi calling.
Are they on a land-line?
Are they using a cordless phone that's subject to interference or cuts in and out?
Photo by Natalie Pedigo on Unsplash
I really like the idea of having the person talking calls out the next person to share their update. I am laughing at myself for not thinking of this myself! :) In the past, I would occasionally help coach my daughter's field hockey teams. One of my favorite warm up drills was to start the players in a circle with their sticks and a ball. They had to call out the person they were passing to before they passed. Smacking my head that I never made the connection to Daily Scrums. :)