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Daily Standups do make sense to some. In an ideal world everyone would be perfectly professional and not need any supervision at all. In the real world some ti

Daily Standups do make sense to some. In an ideal world everyone would be perfectly professional and not need any supervision at all. In the real world some times you might be in a rough period or have some other problem that makes concentrating hard. In an ideal world the thought of getting a paycheck would be enough motivation. Sometimes it isn't. A daily standup, if done well and short, helps one to focus on what's important, sets the tone for the day, and unites the team as a tribe. When one is not motivated enough by looking a big fat dashboard with tickets pending, or the though of getting another paycheck at the end of the period, one can be motivated by the thought of not failing to their tribe, their peers, their coworkers. You gave them your word, face to face, that you would work on something, so you better do, they are your people.

kelnos 7y ago
> A daily standup, if done well and short That's the rub, though. Despite best intentions, sometimes things just go off into the weeds. It happens more often than I'd like, and it's happened on every team I've ever been on, at every company I've ever worked at. Sure, you can say, "well you're doing it wrong", but that's not helpful. Process should support how the team works, not define how the team works. > helps one to focus on what's important If you need to refocus someone every day, you've made a bad hire. > sets the tone for the day That's my job. I know what I'm supposed to be working on, and set my own tone. > and unites the team as a tribe Ugh, gross. We're not a "tribe", "family", whatever. We're a team of co-workers working on a variety of tasks, who are not children and can be trusted to communicate adequately with the rest of the team, and honor our commitments. If you have someone on the team for whom that's not the case, again: you made a bad hire. Don't punish the rest of the team because you have someone who can't do their job. I get that some people get off track sometimes. It happens, even to the most senior of people. The solution to that is called management. Regular 1:1s, making sure your team keeps their tickets updated, and getting regular (individual, asynchronous, as-needed) status updates. If someone is having an off day, or an off week, that should be addressed individually, not by preemptively assuming the worst of everyone on the team and instituting a daily standup.
- ElFitz 7y ago
  > > and unites the team as a tribe > Ugh, gross. We're not a "tribe", "family", whatever. To each his or her own
  - kelnos 7y ago
    True, I suppose. But I think you'd be hard pressed to find even a plurality of developers who'd embrace the whole "my team at work is my tribe" thing. Perhaps it's motivating for some, but I would guess that for the majority of developers it would be an active turn-off, or at the very least neutral and not helpful. And, at it's face, it's simply false. Companies (and the teams within) are factually not families, or tribes, or anything of the sort. They are a group of people working together for economic gain. They share very little resemblance to families or tribes in real life, and I can't see making that comparison as anything but a plea for loyalty... loyalty that will never be returned by the company when it's not convenient. If I were interviewing at a company and they tried to justify having a standup using this rationale, I would stop considering them, as would many (most?) developers I know.
- hamilyon2 7y ago
  This is closely related to one's self-assessment and the question of being right and doing right thing. If one is right, stand up do not matter. If one is wrong, they help greatly. You say : why should I suffer for unprofessional and weak team member who is wrong? But you forget to note that the same person could be right sometimes and doing great things and be utterly wrong and solving wrong problems some other times. Edit: a also wanted to add, that input from peers and peer pressure is not to be underestimated. Management is be wrong as often as any of us.
  - kelnos 7y ago
    > But you forget to note that the same person could be right sometimes and doing great things and be utterly wrong and solving wrong problems some other times. No, I don't forget that, and in fact specifically addressed people having an off day, week, whatever.
  - deleted 7y ago
ElFitz 7y ago
> In an ideal world the thought of getting a paycheck would be enough motivation. We'll just have to disagree on that. In my ideal world, getting a paycheck would be a natural byproduct of doing something interesting, that matters, and about which one would care.
- JaumeGreen 7y ago
  > > In an ideal world the thought of getting a paycheck would be enough motivation. > We'll just have to disagree on that. In my ideal world, getting a paycheck would be a natural byproduct of doing something interesting, that matters, and about which one would care. I agree with you. It was mostly to curtail the capitalist view of "a paycheck should be motivation enough."

kelnos 7y ago

> A daily standup, if done well and short That's the rub, though. Despite best intentions, sometimes things just go off into the weeds. It happens more often than I'd like, and it's happened on every team I've ever been on, at every company I've ever worked at. Sure, you can say, "well you're doing it wrong", but that's not helpful. Process should support how the team works, not define how the team works. > helps one to focus on what's important If you need to refocus someone every day, you've made a bad hire. > sets the tone for the day That's my job. I know what I'm supposed to be working on, and set my own tone. > and unites the team as a tribe Ugh, gross. We're not a "tribe", "family", whatever. We're a team of co-workers working on a variety of tasks, who are not children and can be trusted to communicate adequately with the rest of the team, and honor our commitments. If you have someone on the team for whom that's not the case, again: you made a bad hire. Don't punish the rest of the team because you have someone who can't do their job. I get that some people get off track sometimes. It happens, even to the most senior of people. The solution to that is called management. Regular 1:1s, making sure your team keeps their tickets updated, and getting regular (individual, asynchronous, as-needed) status updates. If someone is having an off day, or an off week, that should be addressed individually, not by preemptively assuming the worst of everyone on the team and instituting a daily standup.

ElFitz 7y ago
> > and unites the team as a tribe > Ugh, gross. We're not a "tribe", "family", whatever. To each his or her own
- kelnos 7y ago
  True, I suppose. But I think you'd be hard pressed to find even a plurality of developers who'd embrace the whole "my team at work is my tribe" thing. Perhaps it's motivating for some, but I would guess that for the majority of developers it would be an active turn-off, or at the very least neutral and not helpful. And, at it's face, it's simply false. Companies (and the teams within) are factually not families, or tribes, or anything of the sort. They are a group of people working together for economic gain. They share very little resemblance to families or tribes in real life, and I can't see making that comparison as anything but a plea for loyalty... loyalty that will never be returned by the company when it's not convenient. If I were interviewing at a company and they tried to justify having a standup using this rationale, I would stop considering them, as would many (most?) developers I know.
hamilyon2 7y ago
This is closely related to one's self-assessment and the question of being right and doing right thing. If one is right, stand up do not matter. If one is wrong, they help greatly. You say : why should I suffer for unprofessional and weak team member who is wrong? But you forget to note that the same person could be right sometimes and doing great things and be utterly wrong and solving wrong problems some other times. Edit: a also wanted to add, that input from peers and peer pressure is not to be underestimated. Management is be wrong as often as any of us.
- kelnos 7y ago
  > But you forget to note that the same person could be right sometimes and doing great things and be utterly wrong and solving wrong problems some other times. No, I don't forget that, and in fact specifically addressed people having an off day, week, whatever.
- deleted 7y ago

ElFitz 7y ago

> In an ideal world the thought of getting a paycheck would be enough motivation. We'll just have to disagree on that. In my ideal world, getting a paycheck would be a natural byproduct of doing something interesting, that matters, and about which one would care.

JaumeGreen 7y ago
> > In an ideal world the thought of getting a paycheck would be enough motivation. > We'll just have to disagree on that. In my ideal world, getting a paycheck would be a natural byproduct of doing something interesting, that matters, and about which one would care. I agree with you. It was mostly to curtail the capitalist view of "a paycheck should be motivation enough."