#7 Daily Standups Taking Too Long

Symptom: Daily standups are consistently taking longer than 15 minutes with lots of discussion and some team members feeling that their time is being wasted.

Probable Cause: One cause can be the team are not aware of the aim of the meeting or the time taken, and look to resolve problems in the standup rather than just provide an update of their progress and raise awareness of impediments.

Suggested Resolution: To remind everyone of the time available for the standup, try putting a kitchen timer or something similar in plain view so that everyone can see it. The team should be able to make a decision on the use of the 15 minute limit once they can see the timer ticking down.

In addition, it may be good to remind everyone that they should only be talking about their progress in the last 24, what they are doing in the next 24 and what impediments they have during the standup. However, also give people the option to have a resolution discussion after the standup if needed. This clear distinction between a standup and a resolution discussion will signal to other team members who do not need to attend the resolution discussions, that it is ok for them to leave and so use everyone's time appropriately.

What you are looking for here is a short snappy daily standup that is of high value to everyone with the option for some team members to stay on and discuss issues or resolutions etc. after the standup.

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