Remote-friendly standup ideas for your team
Tired of having the same old Zoom call every day?
Use these fun and creative standup formats to mix things up and learn more about your team and work.
Add to SlackShowing 29 stand-ups.
One person missing
One person leaves standup and the rest of the team has to piece it all back together for them.
Where did everyone go?
Almost everyone leaves standup and one person has to look at the board to tell everyone else what's happening
Update a team mate
Get your whole team feeling involved by having each person update another
Give someone else's update
Each team member tries to give an update for the next person
One thing only
Each team member only talks about the single most important thing they want to tell people
Zoom way out
Make sure your team gets the big picture by talking about your overall progress
Zoom way in
Shuffle the cards on your team wall. Select one randomly and only talk about that one card as a team
Yesterday, today, blockers
Each person lists what they did yesterday, what they'll do today and what is in their way
Forget about the past
This is the same format as “Yesterday, today, blockers”, except the team members do not update the rest of the team on what they’ve already completed
What’s in the way?
Only mention things that are stopping you from getting your work done
Walk the wall
Talk through the work currently in progress, one item at a time
Today I learned
Take turns each sharing one thing you’ve learned since the last standup
How are you today?
Take turns giving personal updates (no work!)
Show me the numbers!
Take a look at your team's key product metrics (graphs, totals etc.)
Draw your update
Each team member draws what they're working on in JS Paint and the others guess what it is.
Use 10 words or less
Give your update but don't use more than 10 words.
Last three commits
Read your last three commit messages to the rest of the team.
Guess who gave the update
Each team member submits their updates ahead of time. In standup, everyone else has to guess who gave which update.
Share one thing you learnt since last week
Think of something you didn't know this time last week and that you know today.
The last song you listened to before standup
Tell the others which song you listened to last. Maybe even play it for them briefly, if they don't know it!
Song of the Daily battle
Organize a Song Battle where two members of the team provide candidates to the Song of the Daily and the rest of the team vote which one is the 'best'
No standup!
Try not having standup at all. Give your team some time to unwind. Do the right conversations still happen?
Where does your update go?
Place your updates on sticky notes and group them on a real or virtual whiteboard
Shakespearean Standup
Write a poem about the things you did yesterday, you are going to do today and your blockers.
Hopes and fears
Share what your hope for today is. Share your biggest concern.
My high and my low
What was the highest and lowest point in the past day for you?
Today I'm thankful
Share one thing you're thankful for today
Role Play - give your update in a team mate's voice
Each team mate get to wear the shoes of the other team mate and give their update like how the team mate would do it
One extra thing
In a twist on the classic standup, you finish by sharing a personal, theme-based thing with the team.