GuideRolesEventsWorkflow

Scrum Events

Daily Scrum

The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for the Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary. It’s not a status report — it’s a daily planning session where the team creates a collective plan of attack for the next 24 hours.

The daily sync · Timebox: 15 minutes

Overview

The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for the Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary. It’s not a status report — it’s a daily planning session where the team creates a collective plan of attack for the next 24 hours.

Event Ownership

Owned / Facilitated By
Developers (own the event) / Scrum Master (coaches initially)
Developers own and run this event — they select the format and structure
Scrum Master coaches the team toward self-management, not dependency on a facilitator
Scrum Master may facilitate initially but should work toward making themselves unnecessary
The goal is for the team to emerge with an actionable plan for the next day of work

Who Should Be Present

Developers
Required participants. Inspect progress, surface impediments, adapt the Sprint Backlog, and create a plan for the next 24 hours
Scrum Master
Attends as a coach; ensures the event stays within 15 minutes; notes impediments for removal. Participates as a Developer if working on Sprint Backlog items
Product Owner
May attend if actively working on Sprint Backlog items. Otherwise can observe but should not drive the conversation

Preparation Checklist

01Each Developer should review their work-in-progress before the Daily Scrum
02The Sprint Board should be updated with current status (or update during the event)
03Come prepared to discuss: what you’ll work on, what’s blocking you, and where you need help
04Scrum Master: review the impediment log for any updates to share

Facilitation Techniques

Click any technique to expand details and learn when to apply it.

Walk the Board (Right to Left)

Instead of person-by-person updates, walk the Sprint Board from right to left (nearest to Done first). For each item, ask ‘What needs to happen to finish this?’ This focuses on flow and finishing work rather than individual status.

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Three Questions Format

Each Developer answers: What did I do yesterday toward the Sprint Goal? What will I do today? Are there any impediments? Simple and effective for newer teams, but watch for it becoming rote.

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Focus on Sprint Goal

Begin by reading the Sprint Goal aloud. Then ask: ‘Are we on track? What’s the biggest risk to achieving it today?’ This keeps every conversation anchored to purpose rather than task-level minutiae.

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Rotate the Facilitator

Have a different Developer facilitate each day. This builds facilitation skills across the team, prevents dependency on the Scrum Master, and keeps the format fresh.

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ELMO / Parking Lot

Agree on a code word (like ‘ELMO’ — Enough, Let’s Move On) that any team member can use to pause deep-dive discussions. Capture the topic in a ‘parking lot’ for after the Daily Scrum with only the relevant people.

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Async Daily Scrum

For distributed teams without overlapping hours, use a structured async format: each Developer posts their update in a dedicated channel by a set time. The Scrum Master synthesizes and flags items needing synchronous follow-up.

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Tips & Tricks

01
Same time and place every day — consistency removes cognitive overhead
02
15 minutes is a hard timebox. If you can’t finish, the format needs to change, not the timebox
03
Never wait until the Daily Scrum to raise a blocker — raise it immediately when it occurs
04
This is a Developer event. Managers and stakeholders should not turn it into a reporting meeting
05
Celebrate completed items briefly — acknowledging progress builds momentum
06
If a topic needs more than 30 seconds of discussion, it goes to the parking lot
07
Stand or gather at the board — physical proximity to the work improves focus

Success Takeaways by Role

What each participant should walk away with when this event is run well.

Developers

A clear, shared plan for the day; awareness of who needs help and who can offer it; confidence the Sprint Goal is on track

Scrum Master

Identified impediments to act on; pulse on team energy and morale; data on Sprint progress

Product Owner

Awareness of Sprint progress and any emerging scope questions (if attending)

Cross-Framework Definition
See Daily Scrum in the glossary
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