Daily Standups Guide

What are Daily Standups?

Daily standups are brief updates where team members share what they accomplished yesterday, what they're working on today, and any obstacles they're facing. Sizemotion makes standups asynchronous, flexible, and integrated with your workflow.

Key Benefits

• Team Visibility: See what everyone is working on without meetings
• Blocker Tracking: Identify and resolve obstacles quickly
• Time Zone Friendly: Submit updates whenever it works for you
• Historical Record: Search past standups to track progress
• AI Integration: Get smart suggestions and insights
• Automated Reminders: Never forget to submit your standup

AI-Powered Insights

Sizemotion leverages artificial intelligence to analyze your team's standups and provide actionable insights, helping managers and team members identify patterns, trends, and potential issues without manually reviewing every update.

What is AI Summary?

The AI Summary feature uses advanced language models to automatically analyze team standups over a selected time period and generate a comprehensive summary. This powerful tool helps you understand your team's progress, challenges, and accomplishments at a glance.

How to Generate an AI Summary

1. Navigate to Standups → Team Standups
2. Select your desired date range using the filter options (e.g., This Week, Last 7 Days, or Custom Range)
3. Click the "AI Summary" button in the toolbar
4. The AI will analyze all team standups in the selected period (usually takes 5-15 seconds)
5. View the generated summary with categorized insights

What the AI Summary Includes

The AI-generated summary provides structured insights across multiple categories:

Team Progress & Accomplishments

• Completed Work: Major tasks, features, and milestones achieved by the team
• Active Initiatives: Ongoing projects and their current status
• Key Achievements: Notable wins and successes worth celebrating
• Velocity Insights: Observations about team productivity and output

Blockers & Challenges

• Active Blockers: Current obstacles preventing progress
• Recurring Issues: Problems that appear multiple times across standups
• Escalation Alerts: Blockers that have remained unresolved for extended periods
• Dependency Gaps: Inter-team dependencies causing delays

Team Dynamics

• Participation Rate: How many team members are consistently submitting standups
• Collaboration Patterns: Cross-functional work and team member interactions
• Workload Balance: Distribution of tasks and potential overload warnings
• Focus Areas: What areas of the project are getting the most attention

Recommendations

• Action Items: Suggested next steps based on standup content
• Risk Mitigation: Potential risks identified and mitigation strategies
• Process Improvements: Opportunities to optimize workflows
• Resource Needs: Identified gaps in resources or support

Best Practices for AI Summaries

Optimal Time Ranges

• Weekly Summaries: Ideal for sprint reviews and team meetings (Monday to Friday)
• Sprint Summaries: Generate at the end of each sprint for retrospectives (typically 2 weeks)
• Monthly Overviews: Great for manager reports and trend analysis
• Custom Ranges: Use for specific project phases or milestone periods

When to Generate Summaries

• Before Team Meetings: Prepare for standups or check-ins with data-driven insights
• During Sprint Reviews: Supplement retrospectives with objective analysis
• For 1:1 Meetings: Review individual contributions and support needs
• Weekly Manager Reports: Streamline status updates to leadership
• Identifying Trends: Spot patterns in productivity, blockers, or team dynamics

Acting on AI Insights

• Address Blockers Promptly: Use the identified blockers section to prioritize interventions
• Recognize Achievements: Acknowledge team accomplishments highlighted by the AI
• Follow Recommendations: Consider the AI's suggested action items in your planning
• Track Trends: Compare summaries over time to identify improving or worsening patterns
• Share with Stakeholders: Export summaries for leadership updates or team presentations

Tips for Better AI Summaries

The quality of AI-generated insights depends on the quality of standup submissions. Encourage your team to:

• Be Specific: Clear, detailed standups produce more accurate AI analysis
• Submit Consistently: Regular submissions provide better trend detection
• Clearly Mark Blockers: Use the dedicated Blocker field for accurate blocker tracking
• Include Context: Add notes about cross-team dependencies or special circumstances
• Use Consistent Terminology: Help the AI identify related work across standups

Submitting Your Standup

Navigate to Standups → My Standups in the main menu to access the standup module.

Creating a New Standup

1. Click "Submit Standup" button
2. Select the date for your standup (defaults to today)
3. Fill in the following sections:

Using the Calendar View

Switch to calendar view to see your standup history at a glance. You can:

• Click on any date to view that standup
• See which days you've submitted standups (marked with colored indicators)
• Quickly identify missing standups
• Filter by date range or search for specific content

Editing Standups

You can edit your standups at any time:

1. Navigate to My Standups
2. Click on the standup you want to edit
3. Click the "Edit" button
4. Make your changes and save

Viewing Team Standups

Stay informed about what your team is working on by viewing team standups.

Team View Options

Access team standups via Standups → Team Standups. You have two view modes:

1. Members View

See all team members with their latest standup updates. This view shows:

• Each team member's card with their most recent standup
• When they last submitted a standup
• Quick access to view all their standups
• Visual indicators for team members who haven't submitted recently

2. Calendar View

View team standups in a calendar format:

• See all team submissions by date
• Click any date to see who submitted that day
• Identify patterns and trends in team activity
• Export calendar data for reports

Filtering and Searching

Use powerful filters to find specific standups:

• By Date: Today, This Week, This Month, or Custom Range
• By Team Member: View standups from specific people
• By Content: Search within standup text for keywords
• With Blockers: Show only standups that contain blockers

Comments and Reactions

Engage with team standups through comments and reactions:

• Add emoji reactions to show support or acknowledgment
• Leave comments to ask questions or provide help
• Mention team members using @username to notify them
• Reply to specific comments to create threaded discussions

Managing Blockers

Blockers are obstacles that prevent team members from making progress. Sizemotion provides dedicated tools to track and resolve them.

Blocker Dashboard

Access the blocker dashboard via Standups → Blockers to see:

• Active Blockers: Currently unresolved issues
• Total Blockers: All blockers from the last 30 days
• Resolved Blockers: Successfully addressed obstacles
• Escalated Blockers: Issues that have been open too long

Blocker States

Resolving Blockers

To resolve a blocker:

1. Go to Standups → Blockers
2. Find the blocker you want to resolve
3. Click "Resolve"
4. Optionally add resolution notes explaining how it was fixed

Team Blocker Management

Team leads and managers can view all team blockers and filter by:

• Status: All, Open, Resolved, Escalated
• Team Member: See blockers for specific people
• Date Range: View blockers from different time periods
• Days Open: Sort by how long blockers have been unresolved

Blocker Statistics

Track your team's ability to identify and resolve obstacles:

• Average time to resolution
• Blocker trends over time
• Most common blocker types
• Team members who need support

Using Templates

Templates help you maintain consistent standup formats and save time on repetitive content.

Creating a Template

1. Navigate to Standups → Templates
2. Click "Create Template"
3. Name your template (e.g., "Sprint Work", "Bug Fixes")
4. Fill in template text for each section:

Using Templates

When creating a standup:

1. Click the "Use Template" dropdown
2. Select your saved template
3. The form pre-fills with your template content
4. Customize the content for today's update

Shared Team Templates

Create templates that your entire team can use:

• Enable "Share with Team" when creating a template
• Useful for standardizing standup formats
• Great for sprint planning or specific project phases
• Team members can use but not edit shared templates

Setting a Default Template

1. Go to your template list
2. Click the star icon next to your preferred template
3. This template will auto-load when creating new standups

Configuring Settings

Customize how standups work for you via Standups → Settings.

Reminder Settings

Configure automated reminders to ensure you never miss a standup:

Enable Reminders

• Toggle reminders on/off
• Set your preferred reminder time (e.g., 9:00 AM)
• Choose your timezone for accurate timing

Reminder Days

Select which days you want to receive reminders:

• Monday through Friday (typical for most teams)
• Custom schedule for flexible work arrangements
• Option to skip holidays automatically

Blocker Escalation Settings

Configure when blockers should be marked as escalated:

• Escalation Threshold: Number of days before a blocker is escalated (default: 3 days)
• Escalation Notifications: Who gets notified about escalated blockers
• Auto-reminders: Remind blocker owners to update status

Privacy Settings

• Visibility: Control who can see your standups
• Team Access: Share with specific teams or keep private
• Historical Access: Set how long past standups remain visible

Best Practices

Writing Effective Standups

Be Specific and Actionable

❌ Too Vague: "Worked on the project"

✅ Specific: "Implemented user authentication with JWT tokens and added password reset functionality"

Focus on Outcomes

❌ Activity-focused: "Had several meetings about the new feature"

✅ Outcome-focused: "Finalized requirements for the new feature with stakeholders, documented in PRD-123"

Be Clear About Blockers

❌ Unclear: "Blocked on backend stuff"

✅ Clear and Actionable: "Blocked: Need API endpoint documentation for user profile updates from @backend-team"

Timing and Consistency

• Submit Daily: Make it a habit, even for simple updates
• Morning Routine: Submit first thing to plan your day
• End of Day Option: Some teams prefer EOD standups to reflect on accomplishments
• Use Templates: Speed up submission with pre-formatted templates

Team Engagement

• Read Others' Standups: Stay informed about team activities
• Offer Help: Comment when you can unblock someone
• React and Acknowledge: Use emoji reactions to show support
• Ask Questions: Clarify when something is unclear

Manager Tips

• Monitor Blockers: Review the blocker dashboard daily
• Address Escalations: Prioritize helping with long-standing blockers
• Identify Patterns: Look for recurring issues or themes
• Recognize Progress: Acknowledge achievements in standups
• Use for 1:1s: Review standups before one-on-one meetings

What NOT to Include

• Detailed Technical Specs: Link to docs instead
• Personal Issues: Discuss privately with your manager
• Long-form Explanations: Keep updates concise
• Meeting Schedules: Use calendar tools for scheduling

Integrations

Slack Integration

If your team has Slack connected:

• Receive standup reminders in Slack
• Submit standups via Slack commands
• Get notified when mentioned in comments
• View team standup summaries in channels

Calendar Integration

• Sync standup reminders with your calendar
• Export standup history for reporting
• View team standup patterns

Troubleshooting

Not Receiving Reminders

1. Check that reminders are enabled in Settings
2. Verify your timezone is set correctly
3. Ensure the reminder days include today
4. Check your email spam folder

Can't See Team Standups

• Verify you're a member of the team
• Check your current team selection in the header
• Ensure you have permission to view team standups

Blocker Not Showing Up

• Blockers are extracted from the "Blockers" field
• Make sure the blocker text is clear and specific
• Check that the standup was successfully submitted
• Refresh the page to see the latest updates

Frequently Asked Questions

How far back can I view standups?

You can view standups from the past 90 days by default. Admins can configure this retention period in account settings.

Can I delete a standup?

Yes, you can delete your own standups from the "My Standups" page. Click the three-dot menu and select "Delete".

What happens to resolved blockers?

Resolved blockers are archived but remain viewable in your blocker history. This helps track your team's ability to overcome obstacles.

Can I submit multiple standups per day?

You can only have one standup per day. If you need to update your standup, edit the existing one rather than creating a new submission.

Are standups visible to the entire company?

No, standups are only visible to members of your current team. You control team membership and visibility settings.

Can I export standup data?

Yes, admins and team leads can export standup data in CSV format for reporting and analysis.

Next Steps

• Submit your first standup
• Learn about 1:1 meetings to complement standups
• Read about Team Organization for managing your team structure