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Daily Standup ​

How to run standups that unblock people in 15 minutes, not waste 30 minutes on status theater.

TL;DR ​

  • Write first, talk second - Written updates filter signal from noise
  • Skip updates without blockers - Only discuss what needs unblocking
  • Every blocker needs WHO and WHEN - "Blocked on X" is useless, "Need Sarah's approval by 2pm" is actionable
  • If explaining your update, you wrote it wrong - Apply written communication principles
  • No point writing if you end up reading it aloud - Either trust written updates or go full sync

The Problem ​

Most standups fail in one of two ways:

Pure sync standups:

  • 30 minutes for 6 people = 3 hours of team time
  • Everyone waits while Alice explains her database refactor
  • Bob mentions he's blocked but no one follows up
  • No written record, issues forgotten after meeting

Fake async standups:

  • Team writes updates
  • Then reads them aloud word-for-word in meeting
  • Zero time savings, double the effort
  • Still no follow-up on blockers

Both share the same root cause: Lack of trust in written updates and unclear purpose.

Our Approach: Hybrid (Write First, Discuss Blockers) ​

Format:

Write before standup (5 min):

  1. 🚨 Obstacles - Things blocking me that need someone else to remove
  2. 📋 Today - What I'm committing to finish today
  3. 🚀 Yesterday - What I shipped since yesterday's standup

In standup (15 min max):

  • Skip all updates without blockers
  • Only discuss obstacles
  • Each blocker must have WHO will help and WHEN

Why this works:

  • Respects time (read 6 updates in 2 min vs listen for 30 min)
  • Forces clear writing (can't hide behind verbal explanation)
  • Focuses meeting on unblocking, not reporting
  • Creates written record for async teammates

Rule 1: If You Need to Explain Your Update, You Wrote It Wrong ​

Bad update:

🚀 Yesterday: Worked on the payment integration 📋 Today: Continue working on it 🚨 Obstacles: Having some issues with the API

Why it fails:

  • Vague "worked on" (no achievement)
  • "Continue working" (no commitment)
  • "Some issues" (no specific blocker with who/when)
  • Forces verbal explanation in standup

Good update:

🚀 Yesterday: Stripe refund API integrated, passes test suite 📋 Today: Deploy to staging, get Sarah's security review 🚨 Obstacles: Need Bob to approve PR #234 by 2pm to deploy

Why it works:

  • Clear achievement (refund API done, tests passing)
  • Clear commitment (deploy + review today)
  • Actionable blocker (Bob, PR #234, 2pm deadline)
  • No explanation needed

Apply written communication principles:

  • No weasel words ("some", "working on", "issues")
  • Specific names (Bob, Sarah)
  • Specific deliverables (PR #234, Stripe refund API)
  • Specific deadlines (2pm)

Reference: Written Communication for how to write clear updates.

Rule 2: Skip Updates Without Blockers ​

In the standup:

✅ Do this:

  • Facilitator: "Who has blockers?"
  • Alice: "Need Bob's DB schema review by noon"
  • Bob: "I'll review by 11am"
  • [Done in 1 minute, 5 people saved 29 minutes]

❌ Not this:

  • Alice reads her update aloud
  • Bob reads his update aloud
  • Carol reads her update aloud
  • [Everyone already read this, wasted 20 minutes]

If you're not comfortable skipping non-blocker updates:

  • Your written updates aren't clear enough (see Rule 1)
  • Team doesn't trust written updates (see Rule 4)
  • You're treating standup as status report to manager (see Rule 5)

Rule 3: Every Blocker Needs WHO and WHEN ​

Bad blocker:

🚨 Obstacles: Blocked on database migration

Why it fails:

  • Who needs to help?
  • When do you need it?
  • What specifically is blocking?
  • This blocker will never get resolved

Good blocker:

🚨 Obstacles: Need Carlos to run migration script on staging DB by 2pm (blocks my integration test)

Why it works:

  • WHO: Carlos
  • WHEN: 2pm
  • WHAT: Run migration script on staging
  • WHY: Blocks integration test

In standup:

  • Alice: "Need Carlos to run migration by 2pm"
  • Carlos: "I'll do it at 1pm"
  • [Blocker resolved in 10 seconds]

If Carlos can't do it:

  • Carlos: "I'm in client meetings until 3pm"
  • Alice: "Can someone else run it? I have staging DB access"
  • Bob: "I'll help at 1pm"
  • [Team self-organizes in 30 seconds]

If blocker not resolved by deadline:

  • Next day's standup, explain why in one line
  • Example: "Carlos's migration delayed - staging DB was down until 4pm"
  • Prevents same blocker appearing daily with no context

Rule 4: Writing vs Talking - Pick One ​

You have two options:

Option A: Trust Written Updates

  • Team writes clear updates (Rule 1)
  • Standup only discusses blockers (Rule 2)
  • Saves 25+ minutes per day
  • Works for distributed teams

Option B: Full Sync

  • No written updates
  • Everyone shares verbally
  • Takes 30 minutes
  • Works for co-located teams who prefer talking

Don't do both:

  • Writing updates then reading them aloud wastes everyone's time
  • If people explain their written updates verbally, your written updates are unclear
  • Either trust the written word or go full verbal

How to know which to use:

Use Option A (Write + Discuss Blockers) if:

  • Team writes clearly (can apply Rule 1)
  • Distributed team (different timezones)
  • Team >5 people (sync takes too long)
  • Team trusts async communication

Use Option B (Full Sync) if:

  • Team <5 people
  • Everyone co-located
  • Team prefers talking
  • Can stay under 15 minutes

Why Written Updates Matter ​

Writing forces clarity:

  • Can't hide behind vague verbal explanation
  • Must be specific (who, what, when)
  • Creates accountability (written record of commitments)
  • Enables async review (distributed teams, sick days, vacation)

When written is critical:

  1. Distributed teams - Different timezones can't sync daily
  2. Async teammates - People on PTO/sick can catch up from written history
  3. Accountability - "I'll review by 2pm" in writing vs verbal promise
  4. Pattern detection - Same blocker 3 weeks in a row visible in written history
  5. Onboarding - New teammates read last 2 weeks of standups to understand current work

What happens without written updates:

  • Verbal updates forgotten immediately after standup
  • Blockers mentioned but no record of who committed to help
  • Can't review what was committed vs delivered
  • Async teammates completely out of sync
  • Manager can't spot systemic issues (same blocker weekly)

Example: Verbal vs Written

Verbal only:

  • Alice: "I'm blocked on database stuff"
  • Bob: "I can help later"
  • [Meeting ends, both forget, blocker persists for 3 days]

Written with accountability:

Alice's update:
🚨 Obstacles: Need Bob to review DB schema in PR #456 by 2pm (blocks migration)

[In standup]
Bob: "I'll review by 1pm"

[In Slack after standup]
Bob: "Reviewed PR #456, approved. Migration unblocked."

The pattern: Written updates create accountability. Verbal updates create amnesia.

Rule 5: Don't Report to Manager - Unblock Each Other ​

Bad standup:

  • Everyone faces manager
  • "Yesterday I worked on X" (reports activity to boss)
  • Manager asks follow-up questions
  • Team members check phones

Why it fails:

  • Becomes status report, not coordination
  • Team doesn't help each other
  • Low energy, feels like performance review

Good standup:

  • Team faces each other (or shared screen with work board)
  • "I'm blocked on X, who can help?" (asks peers for support)
  • Team offers solutions
  • Manager stays quiet unless asked

Why it works:

  • Team coordinates, not reports
  • Blockers get resolved
  • High energy, feels like collaboration

Manager's role:

  • Remove blockers team can't resolve themselves
  • Take notes on systemic issues (same blocker weekly = process problem)
  • Stay quiet unless team asks for help

Common Antipatterns (and Fixes) ​

Antipattern 1: Activity Theater ​

What it looks like:

🚀 Yesterday: Worked on feature X, fixed some bugs, attended 3 meetings 📋 Today: Continue working on feature X

Why it fails:

  • No concrete achievement (what shipped?)
  • No commitment (continue working = infinite)
  • Looks busy but nothing moves forward

Fix: Focus on achievement + commitment

🚀 Yesterday: User login API shipped to production (handles 1000 req/s) 📋 Today: Add OAuth support, get Sarah's security review

Reference: J.B. Rainsberger on achievement vs activity

Antipattern 2: Obstacles Never Resolved ​

What it looks like:

  • Week 1: "Blocked on CI pipeline"
  • Week 2: "Still blocked on CI pipeline"
  • Week 3: "Working around CI issues"
  • [Team stops mentioning blockers]

Why it fails:

  • Breaks trust (why mention blockers if no one helps?)
  • Team works around issues instead of fixing them
  • Velocity drops, morale drops

Fix: Track blockers publicly, assign owner

  • Blocker board visible to everyone
  • Each blocker has owner + deadline
  • Review unresolved blockers weekly

Example:

  • Alice: "CI failing for 3 days"
  • Manager: "Bob, can you pair with Alice by EOD?"
  • Bob: "Yes, 2pm today"
  • [Update blocker board: Bob helping Alice, 2pm]

Antipattern 3: Story Time ​

What it looks like:

"So yesterday I was debugging this weird issue with Redis, and I thought it was the connection pool, but then I checked the logs and realized it was actually the timeout configuration, so I tried increasing it but that didn't work, so then I..."

Why it fails:

  • Takes 5 minutes for one person
  • Other 5 people zone out
  • No actionable information

Fix: "Take it offline"

  • Anyone can say "take it offline" to pause detailed discussion
  • Interested parties continue after standup
  • Standup stays under 15 minutes

Better update:

🚀 Yesterday: Fixed Redis timeout issue (API latency 500ms → 50ms) 🚨 Obstacles: None, can share debugging approach with anyone interested after standup

Antipattern 4: Starting Too Late ​

What it looks like:

  • Standup at 11am
  • Team already started work
  • 3 people already blocked for 2 hours
  • Coordination happens too late

Why it fails:

  • Can't unblock people who've been stuck all morning
  • Wastes first half of day

Fix: Start at 9-10am

  • Surface blockers before deep work starts
  • Team can adjust plans based on blockers
  • Maximize productive hours

Reference: Martin Fowler on standup timing

Antipattern 5: No Follow-Through ​

What it looks like:

  • Alice: "Need Bob's review by noon"
  • Bob: "Sure, I'll review"
  • [Noon passes, no review, no follow-up]
  • Next day same blocker appears

Why it fails:

  • Commitments don't mean anything
  • Trust erodes
  • Team stops asking for help

Fix: Accountability

  • If Bob commits to noon, he sets alarm for 11:45am
  • If Bob can't make it, he messages Alice immediately
  • If blocker not resolved by deadline, explain why in one line next standup ("Bob's review delayed - production incident until 3pm")
  • If blockers repeatedly unresolved, escalate to manager

Template ​

Written Update (5 min before standup):

🚨 Obstacles
- Need [WHO] to [ACTION] by [TIME] (blocks [WHAT])
- [If no obstacles, write "None"]

📋 Today
- [Specific deliverable 1]
- [Specific deliverable 2]

🚀 Yesterday
- [Concrete achievement 1 with impact]
- [Concrete achievement 2 with impact]

Standup (15 min max):

  1. Facilitator: "Who has blockers?"
  2. Each person with blocker: State blocker with WHO and WHEN
  3. Team resolves each blocker or assigns owner
  4. Done

Good Examples ​

Example 1: Clear Achievement + Blocker ​

🚨 Obstacles
- Need Carlos to run DB migration on staging by 2pm (blocks integration test)

📋 Today
- Run integration tests once migration complete
- Deploy to staging if tests pass

🚀 Yesterday
- Stripe refund API integrated, passes unit tests (handles partial refunds + edge cases)
- Fixed CORS issue blocking QA testing (QA unblocked)

Why it works:

  • Obstacle has WHO (Carlos), WHEN (2pm), WHY (blocks tests)
  • Today has 2 concrete commitments
  • Yesterday has 2 achievements with business impact
  • No verbal explanation needed

Example 2: No Blockers ​

🚨 Obstacles
- None

📋 Today
- Add OAuth Google login
- Get Sarah's security review by EOD

🚀 Yesterday
- Email login shipped to production (0 errors in 24h, 200 signups)
- API latency reduced 500ms → 50ms (Redis timeout fix)

In standup:

  • [Skipped - no blockers]
  • Team reads in 30 seconds
  • Moves to next person

Example 3: Multiple Blockers ​

🚨 Obstacles
- Need Bob to approve PR #234 by 11am (blocks deployment)
- Need design specs for checkout flow from Lisa by EOD (blocks sprint planning)
- AWS staging environment down, need DevOps help

📋 Today
- Deploy PR #234 to staging once approved
- Start checkout UI once design ready
- Work on unit tests (not blocked) while waiting

🚀 Yesterday
- Payments dashboard UI complete (Lisa approved)
- Fixed 3 bugs from QA testing

In standup:

  • Bob: "I'll review PR #234 by 10:30am"
  • Lisa: "Design ready, will send in 10 min"
  • Carlos: "I'll check AWS, should be up by 10am"
  • [3 blockers resolved in 90 seconds]

Bad Examples (and How to Fix) ​

Bad Example 1: Vague Activity ​

❌ Bad:
🚨 Obstacles: Some issues with the API
📋 Today: Continue working on payment integration
🚀 Yesterday: Worked on payment stuff, had some meetings

Why it fails:

  • "Some issues" - what issues? Who can help?
  • "Continue working" - no commitment, could take 5 more days
  • "Worked on" - no achievement
  • Forces verbal explanation
✅ Fixed:
🚨 Obstacles: Stripe API returns 429 rate limit. Need higher limit from Stripe support or need to implement retry logic. Need decision from @Sarah by noon.

📋 Today: Implement exponential backoff retry (if Sarah approves) OR contact Stripe support (if we want higher limit)

🚀 Yesterday: Stripe payment capture works in test mode (tested with 50 transactions, 0 failures)

Bad Example 2: No Specifics ​

❌ Bad:
🚨 Obstacles: Waiting on Bob
📋 Today: Make progress on the feature
🚀 Yesterday: Fixed bugs

Why it fails:

  • Waiting on Bob for what? By when?
  • "Make progress" - not a commitment
  • "Fixed bugs" - which bugs? What's the impact?
✅ Fixed:
🚨 Obstacles: Need Bob to approve DB schema change in PR #456 by 2pm (blocks migration script)

📋 Today: Run migration on staging after Bob's approval, verify no data loss

🚀 Yesterday: Fixed cart calculation bug (affected 20 users, now resolved), added test coverage

Bad Example 3: No Blocker Owner ​

❌ Bad:
🚨 Obstacles: CI pipeline is broken
📋 Today: Try to figure out CI issue
🚀 Yesterday: Debugged CI

Why it fails:

  • Who will fix CI? When?
  • No progress (yesterday debugged, today still figuring out)
  • Will appear again tomorrow
✅ Fixed:
🚨 Obstacles: CI fails on Docker build step. Need DevOps (Carlos or Ana) to check Docker registry permissions. Blocking 3 PRs.

📋 Today: Deploy 3 PRs to staging once CI fixed. If CI not fixed by 2pm, deploy manually.

🚀 Yesterday: Identified CI failure root cause (Docker registry 403 error), documented steps to reproduce

Checklist ​

Before standup, check your written update:

  • [ ] Obstacles: Each has WHO, WHEN, and WHY
  • [ ] Today: Concrete deliverables, not "continue working"
  • [ ] Yesterday: Achievements with impact, not activities
  • [ ] No weasel words: No "some", "might", "working on", "issues"
  • [ ] No explanation needed: Could someone understand without asking questions?

In standup:

  • [ ] Under 15 minutes
  • [ ] Skip updates without blockers
  • [ ] Every blocker gets owner + deadline
  • [ ] Team faces each other, not manager
  • [ ] Take detailed discussions offline

After standup:

  • [ ] If blocker missed deadline: Explain why in one line next standup

Why This Matters ​

Standups are the "daily build" for team coordination. Just like continuous integration catches code conflicts early, daily standups catch coordination conflicts early.

Good standups:

  • Surface blockers in hours, not days
  • Team self-organizes to unblock each other
  • Everyone knows what everyone else is working on
  • Takes 15 minutes

Bad standups:

  • Waste 30+ minutes on status theater
  • Blockers mentioned but never resolved
  • Team doesn't know who's working on what
  • Low energy, feels like chore

The difference isn't standup vs no standup. It's clear communication vs theater.

References ​