Daily stand-up meeting.....

We all know the importance of team dynamism, team bonding and team motivation at work place for us to achieve superior results. In that context, daily stand-up meeting is an excellent tool, if practiced in a disciplined way.

Stand-up meeting does not need every team member to be physically present in the same room or floor. Rather it can be conducted either physically or virtually over telephone/video or a combination of both. And also it is not a must that everyone to be present. As long as majority of team members are present, it can continue. The key is the discipline to have it at a given time every day, without any exception. This concept conforms to the present day of reality of remote teams.

Though the team is free to chose anytime of the day to have this meeting, it is preferred to conduct at the beginning of the day, when the mind is fresh and full of energy. This becomes a mini team get–together with a purpose, boosting motivation level and start the day in a great way!

Daily stand-up meeting should be concise to cover yesterday’s experience, today’s plan and any issues or challenges that may impede today's work. Team can synch up and throw ideas for overcoming the challenges and a common understanding is obtained on today’s expected results. Though there is no specific time limit for the duration, it should be short and sweet, of course it depends on the team size, however ideally should not exceed 1hr.

Though the ‘Stand-up’ or ‘Synch-up’ meeting is often associated with Software development following ‘Agile’ methodology, it is conceptually a great tool for any other team in any other industry. It is an excellent vehicle for team coordination to address issues and challenges in near real-time manner.

Also it should not be misconstrued as a status reporting exercise, rather should be used as a tool for team conversation focusing on day’s results and start the day with a unified mind….