The daily scrum meeting: Overview, best practices, anti-patterns

The daily scrum, also known as the daily standup, is a brief, time-boxed meeting in Agile software development aimed at synchronizing team members' activities and inspecting progress toward sprint goals. Held each day of the sprint, the meeting is designed to enhance transparency, inspection, and adaptation, allowing team members to share achievements, plans, and any impediments. Typically facilitated by a scrum master or product manager, the agenda often follows the "three questions" format or involves "walking the wall" to discuss tasks, rather than individuals. Effective daily scrums promote collaboration and self-organization, but they can be derailed by anti-patterns such as lack of coordination and redundant updates. Best practices include holding the meeting at a consistent time and location, rotating facilitators, and keeping discussions concise to focus on synchronization. The daily scrum is distinct from the daily standup in name only, with the former emphasizing a rugby-like team approach as opposed to a relay race model.