Say it like this
- We have our daily scrum at 10 AM sharp.
- The daily scrum kept us aligned on the deadline.
- I brought up the database issue in the daily scrum.
Use it at work
Giving your update
- Yesterday I finished the API tests. Today I'm on the UI. No blockers.
- I'm blocked on access to staging. Can someone help after the scrum?
Keeping it short
- Let's take that after the daily scrum.
- We're over 15 minutes. Let's park the rest.
Changing the meeting
- Can we move the daily scrum to 9:30 for the Asia team?
- Let's try a written daily scrum on Fridays.
Don't say this
Daily scrum is a noun (the meeting), not a verb. You do not 'daily scrum' something; you discuss it in a daily scrum.
Don't mix it up
| Term | What it is | Who writes or uses it | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| daily scrum | Official Scrum name for the daily meeting | Scrum teams | Every day |
| standup | Common name for the same daily meeting | Any team | Every day |
| status update | Report on progress | Anyone | Any time |
Practice
Try it
4 quick exercises
1. You want to tell your colleague about a problem you found. What do you say?
2. Every morning we _______ at 9 AM to discuss progress and blockers.
3. Which sentence uses daily scrum incorrectly?
4. Rewrite this using daily scrum or related terms: 'Every morning at 10 we have a quick meeting where everyone says what they did yesterday, what they will do today, and what problems they have.'
Say it out loud
Phrase 1 of 3
"We have our daily scrum at 10 AM sharp."
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More about daily scrum
Real examples(3)
- in a standup
"In yesterday's daily scrum, Sarah mentioned she was blocked waiting for the API endpoint from the backend team."
- in a team message
"Can everyone join the daily scrum 5 minutes early? We need to discuss the deployment timeline."
- in a retrospective
"The team felt our daily scrums were too long, so we agreed to keep updates to one minute each."
More mistakes(2)
Handle with care. Daily scrum is a noun phrase, not a verb. Do not say 'we daily scrum the project' — say 'we discuss it in the daily scrum.' Also, it is a specific meeting type, not a general term for any quick team discussion.
- ✕Our daily scrum takes 45 minutes because we dive deep into architecture.✓Our daily scrum is 15 minutes; we handle architecture questions in a separate meeting.
Daily scrums are timeboxed to 15 minutes max. Detailed technical discussions belong elsewhere, not in the standup.
- ✕The product manager leads our daily scrum and assigns tasks.✓Our Scrum Master facilitates the daily scrum so the team can self-organize.
The daily scrum is for the team to update each other, not for a manager to assign work or make decisions.
Other forms(2)
- daily scrum noun
"The daily scrum is at 9 AM."
- daily scrums (plural) noun
"Our daily scrums have been more effective since we started using a shared board."
Often used with(5)
- attend the daily scrum · to join or participate in the meeting
- run a daily scrum · to conduct or facilitate the meeting
- skip the daily scrum · to miss or not attend the meeting
- daily scrum blocker · an obstacle mentioned during the meeting
- daily scrum update · the brief status report each person gives
Similar words(3)
- standup · same meaning; more informal and common in conversation
- standup meeting · same as standup; slightly more formal
- morning sync · broader term; any short synchronization meeting, not necessarily Scrum-specific
Opposites(2)
- async update
- email status report
Questions(5)
- What does daily scrum mean in software engineering?
- A daily scrum is a 15-minute timeboxed meeting where Agile team members report progress, plans, and blockers. It is a core Scrum practice for maintaining team alignment and transparency. Unlike formal status meetings, it is informal and team-driven, not manager-driven.
- How do you use daily scrum in a sentence at work?
- Use it as a noun: 'I will bring this up in the daily scrum,' 'We skip the daily scrum on Fridays,' or 'The daily scrum revealed three blockers.' Do not use it as a verb. Say 'discuss in the daily scrum,' never 'daily scrum the issue.'
- Is daily scrum formal or informal?
- Daily scrums are informal in tone but formal in structure. They happen at a set time, follow a fixed agenda (yesterday, today, blockers), and are mandatory for team members. However, the language and atmosphere are casual and peer-to-peer, not hierarchical.
- How long does a daily scrum last?
- A daily scrum is timeboxed to 15 minutes maximum. Each team member typically speaks for 1-2 minutes. If the team needs deeper discussion on a topic, they schedule a separate meeting rather than extending the scrum.
- Who should attend the daily scrum?
- All active members of the development team should attend: engineers, designers, quality assurance, and the Scrum Master. Product managers and stakeholders may observe but should not dominate. Remote team members join by video call.
