At a typical
project meeting most attendees do not contribute, but attend just to
hear the outcome. A large amount of developer time is wasted to gain a
trivial amount of communication. Having many people attend every
meeting drains resources from the project and also creates a scheduling
nightmare.
Communication
among the entire team is the purpose of the stand up meeting. A
stand up meeting every morning is used to communicate problems,
solutions, and promote team focus. Everyone stands up in a circle to
avoid long discussions. It is more efficient to have one short meeting
that every one is required to attend than many meetings with a few
developers each.

When
you have
daily stand up meetings any other meeting's attendance can be based on
who will actually be needed and will contribute. Now it is possible to
avoid even scheduling most meetings. With limited attendance most
meetings
|

can take place spontaneously in front of a computer, where code can be
browsed and ideas actually tried out.
During
a stand up meeting developers report at least three things; what was
accomplished
yesterday, what will be attempted today, and what problems are causing
delays. The daily stand up meeting is not another meeting to waste
people's time. It will replace many other meetings giving a net savings
several times its own length. 
 |