19 Jun What Is A Stand Up Meeting In Project Management?
So you’ve read the articles, watched the videos and podcasts, and attended every training you can. You feel ready to take your project management skills to the next level. There is just one problem, and you don’t know where to start. You’re drowning in information and ideas. What do you do? This is exactly what happens to many project managers when they start working on their projects. Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The solution? A stand-up meeting! So what is a stand-up meeting in project management? Let’s look at this frequently overlooked practice and why it is so critical for your business if you want to succeed with your projects.
What is a Stand Up Meeting?
A stand-up meeting is a meeting between the people in your organization with authority to make decisions and take action. These actions are taken with people working on that project. It is these actions that make the project execution successful. In project management, a stand-up meeting is an informal meeting between the project manager and key stakeholders in which they discuss the project’s progress and possible issues and risks they may face. This meeting is held regularly, depending on the business needs. The frequency of these stand-up meetings can vary from daily to a couple of times a week. The nature of the project and the project managers usually decide the frequency of the meeting.
Why is Stand Up Meeting Required in Project Management?
Stand up meetings are required in project management to get everyone involved and communicate with each other. A stand up meeting has many benefits, some of which include:
– Gets everyone in the same room with each other
– Each stand up meeting should be like a get-together where people get together and talk about what’s happening in their respective departments.
– It is important to note that a stand up meeting is not an operating meeting, meaning there are no tasks or deadlines. People generally discuss issues with tasks and look for potential solutions. You are also welcome to update your tasks and the current status.
– Gets everyone focused on the project
– A stand up meeting is an excellent opportunity for the project manager to explain the project’s progress to the stakeholders, especially if the project has stalled or is about to face a problem.
– Get everyone involved
– A stand up meeting helps get everyone in the project involved, including the stakeholders from the business, the people from the development team, and the operations team. Everyone will be involved with the project at this meeting, which will help get everyone aligned.
Benefits of Stand Up Meeting in project management
There are many benefits of conducting a successful stand up meeting in project management. Some of these benefits include:
– Saves time
– Compared to operating meetings, stand up meetings are much quicker as there is no burden of scheduling a time for the meeting. The team can meet whenever they feel like it. Keeping it frequent and regular usually brings maximum productivity during these meetings.
– Maximizes time on the project – The best part about stand up meetings is that they are informal, and there is no room for misunderstandings or mistakes so that the team members can spend their time on the project more effectively.
– Enhances team morale – A poorly executed stand up meeting can lead to many issues, be it team members feeling demotivated or even getting fired. It is essential to conduct stand up meetings in a positive way and to keep the discussions on track.
How to Conduct a Successful Stand Up Meeting?
Here are a few tips for conducting a successful stand-up meeting in project management:
– Conduct the meeting – The meeting should be conducted per the company’s requirements. At the same time, it should also be relevant to the project. For instance, if the project is related to customer satisfaction, the meeting should be relevant to customer satisfaction too.
– Get people together – The meeting should be held in a place where people can physically get together and talk about the project.
– Keep the meeting short – While conducting the meeting, ensure that you keep it short and direct. This is to avoid the meeting being dragged on for too long. Long meetings make it harder for all stakeholders to get the information across.
– Allow for questions – It is important to allow stakeholders to ask questions at the meeting. This avoids the meeting being just an exchange of information and leads to everyone being engaged with the project at hand.
Example of successful stand up meetings in project management
These were some of the examples of successful stand up meetings in project management.
When the business grows, the operations team increases dramatically, and the project team has to seek approval from the operations team to make changes. The operations team decides to make a change and disallows the software produced by the development team. The project team has to blame the operations team for the delay in their delivery. The operations team informs the project team that they have to finish their work by a specific date. The development team tells the operations team about any bugs in their software. All these issues can be discussed within 20 to 30 minutes. These meetings also help people to take ownership of the issue.
What not to do at a stand up meeting?
At a stand up meeting, a project manager should not show any signs of stress or frustration. A project manager should be calm, collected and professional at all times. A project manager should not let the discussion on the project go off track or get sidetracked. The meeting should be about the project only. A project manager should not conduct a stand up session for the sake of conducting a meeting. A project manager should not keep the meeting into their office. A project manager should not blame others when things go wrong. A project manager should take responsibility for their mistakes and failures. A project manager should not talk too much and should be brief with their speech. A project manager should be respectful and diplomatic in their speech. A project manager should not give up on the meeting even if it looks like the meeting is not going anywhere. A project manager should not give up until the meeting is over.
Summary
A successful stand up meeting allows stakeholders to voice their opinions, ask questions and get involved in the project. A successful stand up meeting should not be discussed as a separate topic. Project managers should conduct stand-up meetings to keep their stakeholders informed about the project, understand their issues and risks, and ensure that their expectations are met.