Short daily meetings are a cornerstone of agile project management.
Team members usually address three questions:
1. What did they do yesterday? 2. What will they do today? 3. What roadblocks stand in their way?
Some teams use an alternate format with a quicker flow. Looking at a task board, an appropriate team member says how many hours are left on each task. Once a task is complete, it's moved to the next state (test or done).
If the team has capacity to take on more tasks, another one is pulled from the queue. At the end of the meeting, the team can see if someone needs work, can help another person or determine if there are any hindrances.
This meeting format emphasizes little wins as tasks are moved from state to state. People get some positive feedback and congratulate each other -- which is important to the long-term functionality of the team.
This type of meeting also keeps people from discussing work not related to the teams' tasks. It still allows space to discuss impediments and team utilization -- but only if necessary.
Teams using this approach can complete their daily 15-minute standup meeting in 10 minutes. More importantly, there's a feel of energy and drive in such meetings.
The three-question format is tried and true. If you find your meetings feel sluggish, give this format a try. You may find it turbo-charges your meetings.
