When trying to decide when is the right time to perform a Daily Huddle (also known as Daily Scrum, or Daily Stand-Up Meeting), Teams have four options. Each of them have pros and cons.

Option 1: First thing in the morning

This is probably the most common time. Depending on the arrival time, it can be sometime between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM. This is a good way to kick-off the day all together as a Team and get everyone aligned and focused on today’s objectives.

Unfortunately, it may create problems when people don’t arrive at the same time at work. If Jenny arrives at 8:00 AM and Paul at 9:00 AM, the Huddle is more likely to be planned at 9:00 AM.

Or the Team (worse, a manager) may say it’s a good idea to schedule it at 8:30 AM… That means Jenny will start doing something (probably a task that doesn’t require full concentration) and will have to interrupt her work for the Huddle. And Paul will try to be on time but may not be able to everyday.

Option 2: Closing of the day

It didn’t work for me so far, so I don’t recommend this option, but it’s up to you to make it work! Teams tend to spend a lot of time talking about the current day and what has been done, more than forecasting and committing to future work.

Moreover, even if they try to coordinate next activities, the actions will be set for the day after with a high risk of having forgotten them when the new day comes… Ending the day with a Huddle have nonetheless one advantage: people will strive to keep it short!

Option 3: First thing in the afternoon

This option is a good compromise as it can kick-off the afternoon with a lower risk of context-switching for Team members and the actions can be implemented immediately. However, the day is already well-engaged and the Team may not be willing nor able to change the plans for the rest of the afternoon.

Option 4: Last thing in the morning

According to Stray et al.’s study, this option seems to be the best approach for most of the cases. There is absolutely no risk of interrupting someone’s work as it’s lunch time, so she would have stopped anyway.

People have had time in the morning to finish their activities. Actions can be implemented after the lunch break. But the most beneficial aspect will be that it combines three things:

• Teams will try to keep it short
• They will be more inclined to have lunch together (acting as a way to reinforce the Team spirit and the motivation)
• And they may continue some of the discussions during lunch

Whatever option you choose for your Daily Huddle, the idea is to find the least disruptive time for the Team. This is the time during the day where the Team is less likely to loose focus and productivity, and more likely to have gathered useful knowledge to share it with the others.

Experiment, try new things, forge your own opinion and choose what fits better, that is the only thing I can recommend.