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by wannabag 2454 days ago
I second the above comment, this is indeed the difference between a team and what shouldn't be a team. If people at a standup are talking about unrelated things then they indeed shouldn't be having standups, much less be considered a team in the first place. What's happening in standups and probably other meetings are symptoms of a structural issue people are either not seeing or failing address.

My rule of thumb for assessing a team is based on two simple questions: 1. Do people in the team work towards the same goal? 2. Do people in the team depend on each other? If the response to both questions is positive then by all means, have standups. In other cases, have a good look at whether it makes sense to call them a team in the first place.
1 comments
celticmusic 2454 days ago
unrelated is relative. If I'm working on bug A and bob id working on bug B, I don't give a shit that bob is having to go talk to cathy in accounting about something.

They're unrelated tasks because there are no dependencies between them, and there is absolutely no reason why I should have to sit through bob talking about his day.

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bradstewart 2454 days ago
But the point of these, at least to me, is that someone on the team may know a way to get the problem solved without talking to Cathy in accounting. Sure, sometimes you listen to unrelated tasks, but many times (in my experience), somebody on the team can offer a bit of advice that helps everyone move faster.

EDIT: Spelling.

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celticmusic 2454 days ago
and now the "standup" has devolved to a design session, and I don't want to have to stand there while bob and betty have a discussion about it.
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kthejoker2 2453 days ago
The point of the standup is to figure out you need that design session, not to conduct it then and there.

Take ownership of the standup, don't just passively sit there and then complain afterwards what a waste of time it is.

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bradstewart 2454 days ago
It certainly can. We try to take those types of discussions offline though--Bob and Betty can have that talk after the standup.

And to clarify, I also find daily standups to be tedious and generally unhelpful. Once or twice a week seems to be the sweet spot (for me/my team).

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celticmusic 2453 days ago
right, Bob and Betty can have that discussion elsewhere. all of it. We don't need a standup for Bob and Betty to figure out they need to have that discussion.
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