Scrum is brilliant in theory but in everyday use, niggling little problems keep popping up. How do you deal with them? Welcome to the first in a series of articles discussing Scrum Implementation Issues. Today, we’re discussing the Daily Scrum time box.

Introduction

Today’s article is a little unusual because I’m going to posit a question and not provide an answer. The idea is to start a discussion. I’m hoping to hear from the real-world example of others as well as recommended approaches to fixing the problem presented. Let’s take a look at today’s scrum implementation issue

Background

Picture the scene. You’re a newly certified Scrum Master and it’s your first day in a new job. You’ve joined an established team and are attending your very first Daily Scrum. You join the Development Team as they head towards the meeting room. The atmosphere is upbeat and all looks well.

Scrum Implementation Issues – Exceeding the Daily Scrum Time box

The meeting starts bang on time and the Development Team beginning updating each other. There’s a lot of banter going on and it’s evident that the team get along well. There’s a lot of laughing and smiling and general happiness. The baton passes to the second member of the team of seven and you glance at your watch. Unbelievably, it’s taken 9 minutes to get to this stage. Unless the other guys are really fast, the meeting time box will expire.

You recall your training. The time box for the Daily Scrum is 15 minutes. Period. You try and recall why this is the case when you notice that 12 minutes have slipped by and the second member of the Development Team has only just started relating what he expects to do today.

You know the meeting cannot possible conclude within the time box. What do you do?

Join the debate. How would you approach this scrum implementation issue? Leave a comment below.