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In the context of the post I replied to, feeling like the weakest developer - intimidation may make sense if you're afraid to share your progress (or lack of pr

In the context of the post I replied to, feeling like the weakest developer - intimidation may make sense if you're afraid to share your progress (or lack of progress) because your team members are judging your development abilities, or if you just don't have confidence in your development abilities. If the attitudes of the team members is laden with competition and judgment versus cohesion and improvement, standups can be hell. But that's a team/attitude problem, not a standup problem. Standups shouldn't feel intimidating.

jkaunisv1 12y ago
I'm not saying it was a consciously intimidating atmosphere, or that I felt judged. You're right, standups shouldn't feel intimidating. But depending on how they're structured, they can be. The standups I've taken part in felt more like a time to update management on what you're working on, not a time to get help. They usually had far too many people involved. I think that's a standup problem, not an attitude problem. It's hard to speak up amidst 10-20 people (much less when they're all brilliant developers) when the whole room just wants to get down to work. It just doesn't feel like the place for issue-specific discussion.
- snacksfordogs 12y ago
  Ah, I'm sorry - I'm a big Scrum proponent and I forgot that standups aren't always just a small team. What you described sounds pretty painful and more like a progress report that may not benefit the team much. I think I'd also feel intimidated in that situation and would probably seek out help separate from the standups. Any way you could plant the seed to break these standups into smaller groups based on the areas of the project you're working on? I think it could help!
  - jkaunisv1 12y ago
    No worries :) The situation I described was five years ago, and I think they've done what you described. They're a crazy successful company, so regardless they're doing something right. These days I'm on a small team, and in the intervening years I've gotten a lot better at managing myself and managing "up".

jkaunisv1 12y ago

I'm not saying it was a consciously intimidating atmosphere, or that I felt judged. You're right, standups shouldn't feel intimidating. But depending on how they're structured, they can be. The standups I've taken part in felt more like a time to update management on what you're working on, not a time to get help. They usually had far too many people involved. I think that's a standup problem, not an attitude problem. It's hard to speak up amidst 10-20 people (much less when they're all brilliant developers) when the whole room just wants to get down to work. It just doesn't feel like the place for issue-specific discussion.

snacksfordogs 12y ago
Ah, I'm sorry - I'm a big Scrum proponent and I forgot that standups aren't always just a small team. What you described sounds pretty painful and more like a progress report that may not benefit the team much. I think I'd also feel intimidated in that situation and would probably seek out help separate from the standups. Any way you could plant the seed to break these standups into smaller groups based on the areas of the project you're working on? I think it could help!
- jkaunisv1 12y ago
  No worries :) The situation I described was five years ago, and I think they've done what you described. They're a crazy successful company, so regardless they're doing something right. These days I'm on a small team, and in the intervening years I've gotten a lot better at managing myself and managing "up".