Your Most Important 60 Seconds of the Day: Time to Introduce a Daily Stand-Up
The Stand-Up works as a flexible solution in dynamic working environments. Dedicating a short but structured meeting-time improves communication, team cohesion, and planning.
By Sydney Luca-Lion, UX research intern
The Missing Puzzle Piece
Effective communication is crucial in order to thrive and deliver high-quality work as an agile team. However, exchanging information can be challenging — as we, as a digital agency, have found time and again. In a dynamic agency environment, plans rarely survive more than a day, assigned tasks can change in the blink of an eye, urgent customer requests suddenly appear, tasks take longer than planned, etc.
Our project coordination and planning didn’t exactly fall short: we use digital tools such as Slack, Evernote and Active Collab, and create project plans — even the occasional call across the open office has always served its purpose. And yet, something had been missing for a while. We were inspired by a method that has its origin in agile software development.
Daily Updates as Morning Routine
About two years ago we introduced a Daily Stand-Up, a meeting that follows a few specific rules. It allows us to talk directly to each other and collectively plan our time and resources across various projects, without spending too much valuable time — an advantage we greatly appreciate.
Our daily Stand-Up takes place every morning at 10 a.m. at the kitchen counter, and lasts just under 15 minutes. All employees briefly report on their current tasks, with the aim of gaining an overall view of current projects, resources and needs as a team.
So It Goes: 5 Steps to A Great Stand-Up
1. Elect or appoint a dedicated team-member as Stand-Up master — someone who’s not afraid to be tough (but tough as in tough love, not tyrannical). This person ensures that the whole team is ready and standing at the appointed time and that the guidelines and goals are upheld.
“Sometimes you have to be strict. It has nothing to do with being mean or not liking someone. Rules are rules.” Our Stand-Up master, Marco Lüthi. Words of steel, heart of gold ;)
2. The discussion goes around the group. Each person is prepared to answer three questions:
- What am I currently doing?
- What do I have planned for the day?
- Do I need help, and if so, in what area and from whom?
3. The Stand-Up not only works wonders for communication, but also for your spine — because you stand during the whole meeting, even when it’s not your turn. Stretch a little, but remain focused, active and engaged directly with the task and the team.
4. Each person has one minute — maintained with a timer — to address their tasks, and any obstacles they face or support they might need. More healthy motivators help to keep the time limit: at Eyekon for example, if you exceed the time limit you must do 10 push-ups. Bonus: if you can muster the breath, you can talk while you do them (this is usually not effective). Strength of body, strength of mind, right?
5. Team members get involved in a lengthy discussion? In steps the Stand-Up Master to remind those concerned to continue their discussions later. Obstacles might be made visible, but the time to address them happens after, with only the relevant parties. After all, you do not want to unnecessarily waste others’ time.
Conclusion: Invest a Little Time, Generate a Lot of Benefit
We recommend implementing a Stand-Up to all those who work regularly in teams. It offers space for direct communication and thus promotes cohesion and productivity. Addressing daily work and potential issues raises awareness and allows the team to take on shared responsibility. Allocating the time to keep up-to-date on current projects and obstacles saves time overall, increases team problem solving, and makes for better planning, both short and long-term.
Ready to stand up for the Stand-Up? You might need a timer. Here’s our favorite: Digital Timer Cube.
