Daily Team meeting challenges

Daily Team  meeting challenges [Morning meetings, Stand up meeting, SCRUM, Status Meeting, Check points]

In this article meeting refers to every day team connect, you might be calling them differently (Morning meetings, Stand up meeting, SCRUM, Status Meeting, Check points...)

This article have references from
a. Best practices defined by Scrumalliance.
b. Techniques and Strategies implemented by me and few of my colleagues and friends .

Lot of gyan is available online and I am adding to what is useful to me.

World is global now!

World is global now! Be it Software application development, Digital Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Sports, Education or Tourism. Many of our colleagues, partners, and vendors are situated either few miles or thousands of miles away. This global environment adds to the existing challenges of our daily team meetings

Challenges in meetings

Daily meeting play’s an important role in every day activity. Let me jot down practical issues and approach to resolve them. This list is a running list, feel free to add on the details in comments section and we can add them in here.

Your reason for every day issue can be with in this wagon wheel or it can be outside.  

#1. Infection 1: Silent Meetings - one or more team members do not report correct status

a. Team member need a COACHING and a MENTOR.

b. Sense of OWNERSHIP and ACCOUNTABILITY has to be developed.

c. Re access interest level in assignment/project/work and take corrective action

# Infection 2: A leader in my team meeting, One person provides an update for all other team members

Drug Composition 

a. This person has to shut up and let others speak. Enforce RULES and power of AUTHORITY.

# Infection: 3: A team member hesitates to speak up in meetings

Drug Composition 

a. This team member needs a COACHING and a MENTOR. 

# Infection 4: Not able to understand virtual team member(s) BODY LANGUAGE

Drug Composition 

a. TRUST is the key, believe in the answer of  team member(s)

b. Use video tools like Skype, Movi, Lyncs and other video conferencing tools

c.  Cultivate a habit of providing and getting a   Loud and clear updates (ask to repeat an answer or comments if not heard properly) 

# Infection 5: Daily Meetings do not START on time

Drug Composition 

a. Agreement from WHOLE team on the date, time and venue of the meeting.

b. A sense of ownership and responsibility has to be cultivated.

c. Provide flexibility to join the meeting (Mode of attendance – Audio, Physical or Audio- Video).

d. Respect personal time and have an appropriate meeting time (based on geographical location).

#Infection 6:  Daily Meeting do not FINISH on time

Drug Composition 

a. Topics and announcement should be published in advance. Utilize collaborative tools like JIRA, Google excel sheets, Shared Excel, SharePoint, etc...

b. New topics and announcements should be taken care either in next meeting or after daily morning meetings (schedule a separate meeting with only required team members).

c.  Implement scrum meeting guidelines. Answer the below listed 3Q

                 Q1. What did you accomplish since the last meeting?

                 Q2. What are you working on until the next meeting?

                 Q3. What is getting in your way or keeping you from doing your job?

#Infection 7: Multiple speakers suggesting a solution after a team member's status of the day

Drug Composition 

a.  Raise a STOP flag, solutions and participants to meet after daily meetings

b. Implement a RULE - One person speaks at a TIME

#Infection 8: Have to spend long hours to send Meeting Notes

Drug Composition

a.  No meeting notes for daily team meetings

b. Update of task and activities are done during the meeting on an online tools like Kanban board, JIRA, Excel sheet with task

#Infection 9:  Meeting time postponed at 11th hour

Drug Composition

a.  Big No. All should meet same time, same place and using same mode of communication. This cultivates indiscipline. If host is unavailable they should make sure some one else moderate a meeting.

Special Thanks to

Shravani  Srikonda, Lead Consultant for Commodity markets with a leading services provider

Sarat K Singh, Manager  Engineering with leading Entertainment and Communication industry