When should we hold our Daily Scrum?

In this episode, Professional Scrum Trainer Sam Falco answers the questions: When should we hold our Daily Scrum?

Introduction

A student asked me, "When should we hold our Daily Scrum? Does it have to be in the morning?"

The Scrum Guide tells us that "The Daily Scrum is held at the same time and place each day to reduce complexity," but it doesn't give any guidance on when. That means it is up to the Development Team to decide the best time for them.

Here are some thoughts about the pros and cons of various times:

Early Morning Daily Scrum

First thing in the morning often works well, because we're starting fresh. Planning for the day together helps us get our heads back into the work. A challenge some teams have is that if it's too close to the start of the workday, commuter disruptions (traffic delays, kids need to be dropped off, and so on) can make it difficult for everyone to arrive on time. Also, sometimes it's hard to remember what happened yesterday.

Mid-Morning Daily Scrum

Mid-morning gives everyone time to get into the office, but if you wait too long, some people have already started working, and Daily Scrum can feel like a disruption.

Lunchtime Daily Scrum

One team I worked with held Daily Scrum right before lunch time. Everyone was in the office, and everyone was taking a natural break, so they didn't feel disrupted. However, they sometimes felt rushed when they had team lunches scheduled--everyone wanted to get moving before restaurants became crowded.

End of Day Daily Scrum

Near the end of the day means that what everyone did today is still fresh in mind, which can make planning tomorrow's work easier. But sometimes it means that there's too much focus on what we've done, and not enough on what we should do tomorrow.

Scaled Agile Daily Scrum 

In a scaled environment, with multiple teams, it's probably a good idea to have all the teams' individual Daily Scrums around the same time, so that cross-team issues that emerge can be resolved more quickly.

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