It is indeed an arduous task to listen to every team member giving status update in their own style or format. Practically, it is known that the attention span of an individual to listen is very less. Getting the most out of it is indeed important. For this reason, it would be a good practice for every team member to adopt a status update template that all agrees to. Now for different status update template/format, its pros and cons, can be read in inimitably lucid style at Martin Fowler's Bliki post.
In continuation to this topic, I wish to put forth my favorite template below:
Yesterday I was pairing with ___________,
playing the story ______________,
in which we completed the tasks ____________.
We intend to work on __________ today.
We had a blocker issue which I'd discuss in the developer huddle, after the stand-up.
In essence the above template answers the following three questions:
- What did we as pair accomplish yesterday?
- What we intend to work on today?
- What obstacles we are facing in our progress?
Final words. Having/following a template like the one above helps the team in the following way:
- Eases mental preparation before stand-up
- Improves better communication between team members
- Betters attention to stand-up updates