Its time to stop the confusion
I had a heated discussion with a colleague about the daily 15 minutes event for the Development Team. He called it the stand-up and expected everyone to stand. I didn’t agree.
Then he claimed that it is stated like this in the Scrum Guide. I said that it isn’t. Then he said that I was wrong. With that, the gloves were off.
Why am I insisting on making my point about this? Well, I think it’s important enough, as I will explain now.
The facts
The word “stand” appears once in the Scrum Guide. I must admit that this surprised me, until I read the line:
“Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland developed Scrum; the Scrum Guide is written and provided by them. Together, they stand behind the Scrum Guide.” — Scrum Guide 2017
This has nothing to do with the Daily Scrum and standing up.
This is what the Scrum Guide says about logistics:
“The Daily Scrum is held at the same time and place each day to reduce complexity.” — Scrum Guide 2017
That’s all. Oh, perhaps this is of interest:
“The structure of the meeting is set by the Development Team and can be conducted in different ways if it focuses on progress toward the Sprint Goal.” — Scrum Guide 2017
But I believe this is about how the conversation takes place, not about how the Daily Scrum is physically arranged. This is up to the individuals of the Development Team. They can decide that it doesn’t matter. They can also make agreements. If they wish to stand, sit, lie down, plank, squat, hang in ropes, walk… as long as the purpose of the Daily Scrum is met:
“At it, the Development Team plans work for the next 24 hours.” — Scrum Guide 2017
And:
“Every day, the Development Team should understand how it intends to work together as a self-organizing team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated Increment by the end of the Sprint.” — Scrum Guide 2017
The issue with standing
I see the following issues with standing being the only option, not decided by the team:
The Development Team self-organises and should be allowed to find their own way to conduct the Daily Scrum;
Standing is non-inclusive. What to do with people that can’t stand or have difficulty with standing for 15 minutes?
What to do with your colleagues that work remotely from the team without means to participate in the Daily Scrum while standing? Does it even makes sense for them to stand? If so, why should they be treated differently?
Verdict
Scrum is being used in many different environments. This is why the rules are as generic as possible. Therefore the Daily Scrum is no Stand-up! It can be conducted in many different ways. This includes having everyone standing, when the Development Team agrees to this.