There’s no worse waste in any company than time.

Add value and efficiency to your team, product manager and ScrumMaster’s day with a more effective daily scrum. Here are 5 rules for an effective scrum.

Set a time and place and stick to it.

Daily scrums should be just that—daily. The ScrumMaster should set up a calendar invite and reminder for all involved, pick a place to hold the scrum and stick to that schedule everyday. Furthermore, don’t wait for tardy invitees. Start on time and set the precedence that everyone needs to be there.

Stay on target.

Scrums are best held around a large screen or Post-it® note board so everyone on the team can see what’s going on and moving pieces are easy to prioritize. There is also proof that having a no-technology rule increases focus. The only person talking should be the one communicating their goals for the day.

Be a clock-watcher.

The most effective scrums are completed in about 15 minutes give or take the size of your group. Each member should come prepared to answer 3 simple questions in fewer than 2 minutes:

•      What did you do yesterday?
•      What are you doing today?
•      What impediments do you face?

Along with sticking to this format, standing rather than sitting has shown to be an effective way to keep this meeting moving quickly (there’s a reason it’s called a standup).

Solve issues offline.

Scrums increase communication between team members so it’s likely an issue will arise that needs to be dealt with. Take it offline. The scrum is an excellent place to create awareness into challenges, but not the place to solve them. Acknowledge the issue, move on, and tackle it between those it affects after the scrum.

Sprint to the finish.

A sprint is a tool used to aid a product manager in completing a certain task quicker than normal. This can mean testing while finishing the task. In other words utilizing a cross functional team. Start with goals that can be completed in a one-week sprint. After the time set is reached, have a retrospective to discuss what worked and what didn’t.

One last thing…

The ScrumMaster may be the facilitator, but they shouldn’t be the one talking. Participants should be leading the scrum and making progress through constant communication. The ScrumMaster is only there to support and encourage the effectiveness of this tool.