🫗Traditional Standups Are Fragile
I remember my first experience with a traditional standup meeting. I was a backend developer on a project for which my agency had won a contract. To me, agile and scrum were somewhat concepts at the time, so I was positive about contributing and giving it a go. As the days turned into weeks, however, I noticed some patterns that left me feeling underwhelmed and frustrated.
Picture this: every morning, we’d jump on a call and recite our updates to the team individually.
Yesterday, I worked on ticket X.
Today, I'll tackle bug Y.
No blockers.
Rinse and repeat. While it was great to know what everyone was up to, I couldn’t help but feel like we were going through the motions; some days, it turned into more of a social check-in rather than focusing on the tasks at hand.
And then there were the routine derailments. Someone would start sharing a funny story or go off on a tangent, and before you knew it, 55 minutes had passed, and we’d be no closer to understanding the project’s true status.
Over the years, this pattern emerged and dissipated, like team problems during projects. I concluded that this was part of Sprint fatigue or a natural effect of balancing out the intense workloads—but then I discovered that there was actually a better way to run a standup.
Let’s examine what I believe is the root cause of ineffective standups and how a Kanban focus can completely revolutionise them.
Daily standups rightly prioritise individuals and interactions over processes and tools, though they largely focus on personal updates rather than the overall workflow. While this approach encourages team members to share their progress, it can overlook the interdependence of tasks and the need for collaboration. Although initially assigned to an individual, most assignments require input and cooperation from other team members at various stages.
This reliance on collaboration creates an additional cognitive burden for individuals to determine the next steps and identify the right people to involve. When team members are unsure how to proceed, tasks become blocked, highlighting the importance of well-defined processes to maintain productivity and minimise delays.
🌟 The Kanban-Focused Standup
If you’re unsure what Kanban is, start here
Instead of focusing on individuals and what they are working on, shifting our attention to the flow of work through a board means our daily meetings become laser-focused and actionable. More of the benefits are below.
Here’s how to proceed:
Gather around the Kanban board: No more standing in a circle looking at each other; huddle around or screen share the Kanban board.
Work backwards: Rather than going around the board person by person, start in the most right-hand column, “Done” (Hopefully), and pat yourself on the back for anything that moved to that column yesterday. Now, move to the next column to the left.
Discuss each task in the column: Have a mini-discussion for each card on the board. (1 minute max).
What is its progress?
Is there anything blocking this card?
Do you need to address dependencies?
Repeat: Repeat this for all remaining columns in the board.
🎉 The Benefits
Embracing the Kanban-focused approach to standups can bring several benefits:
Faster feedback: Focusing on the flow of work will help you identify issues early and adapt quickly.
Better resource management: Kanban clearly shows who is working on what and who is available to mob or help issues move through the board when required.
Increased collaboration and knowledge sharing: By discussing each task as it progresses, you will naturally share domain knowledge and break down silos.
🚀 Kanban Practical Tips
Here are some practical tips to help you get started:
Design your Kanban board with care: Make sure your board accurately reflects your team’s workflow and provides clear visibility into the status of each task.
Set a time limit: Kanban-focused meetings should be time-boxed like traditional standups. Aim for 15 minutes or less to keep things focused and efficient.
Encourage participation from everyone: Make sure every team member has a chance to contribute. You’re aiming to increase opportunities to collaborate, not just converse!
Celebrate successes and learn from failures: Take a moment to acknowledge completed tasks and discuss lessons learned.