You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for today's lesson on participating in a Scrum stand-up meeting.
Most people I know would agree that the best meetings are those that are short and focused.
And that's exactly how a Scrum stand-up meeting is designed.
Scrum is an approach to project management, especially in software development.
Every day, the Scrum team has a short meeting where everyone gives an update.
In a good Scrum meeting, those updates should only take 15 minutes.
The Scrum master keeps everyone focused.
That may mean he or she sidebars any discussion that doesn't relate to the three questions everyone should answer.
And what are those three questions that you should answer in a Scrum stand-up meeting?
Firstly, you should report what you've been working on.
That normally means telling everyone what you accomplished the day before.
Next, you'll let everyone know what you're going to work on next, or on the day of the meeting.
Already you can notice that the meeting focuses on a limited time period.
The third question you'll answer is whether you face any impediments.
An impediment is an obstacle or challenge.
Removing those impediments is the job of the Scrum Master, but your fellow team members may also be able to help.
For that reason, you might ask for assistance during the meeting.
When everyone's finished their updates, the Scrum Master will close the meeting, but not before outlining sidebar topics for discussion after the meeting.
In today's dialogue, we'll rejoin a Scrum meeting at a software company.
The team is working on a new piece of software for a logistics company.
We'll hear Jill, the Scrum Master, and Catherine, who's giving her daily updates.
We'll also hear from Sam, who you might have heard give his own updates in our last lesson.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What does Catherine say she will be working on today?
2.
What is the first impediment Catherine reports?
3.
What does Catherine want help with?
All right, Catherine.
Looks like you're last.
When you're ready.
Okay.
I guess I can start off by saying that I've been working on the app side of things.
Yesterday, I did some wireframing based on the paper prototype we worked up last week.
Nice work.
Yeah, happy to get a draft done.
And that's it for my completed stuff.
So what I'm going to do today hopefully with Paul's help is run through some more use case scenarios and see if we're on the right track.
Those can be a bit involved, so you might want to touch base with Greg.
I know he's done a lot in that area.
Sure, will do.
Now, as far as impediments go, I do have a couple of things.
For one, I'm finding that back room really hot and stuffy.
It's like an oven in there.
Hard to keep focused without taking a break.
No reason you have to be back there, Kath.
I think we just used that room for the prototyping session because it has a whiteboard.
But there's a whole row of stations down the hall you can use.
Okay, great.
I'll take a look later.
Oh, and one more thing.
I know someone suggested using Sketch instead of Illustrator for wireframing, but I'm finding it a little hard to get up to speed.
Wondering if anybody might be able to help me out with that.
It's been a while, but I'm sure I can help.
What is it you're having trouble with?
Uh, maybe we can sidebar that for after the meeting.
I'd like to keep us within the 15 minutes if we can.
Sure thing.
Well, that's it for me as far as impediments go.
Great.
So, a few things on the sidebar here.
We've got dealing with Liam, some questions for the product owner and now we've got Catherine's questions about Sketch.
Feel free to hang around if you've got anything you'd like to contribute on those issues.
Oh, and before you go, Sam, could you update the burndown chart?
Then that's a wrap.
Nice work, everyone.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques used in the meeting.
We begin as Jill asks Catherine for her update.
All right, Catherine, looks like you're last.
When you're ready.
Okay, I guess I can start off by saying that I've been working on the app side of things.
Yesterday, I did some wireframing based on the paper prototype we worked up last week.
Catherine knows how a Scrum meeting works, and so she immediately reports on what she's been working on.
First, she mentions that she's involved on the app.
Then, she mentions more specifically that yesterday she did wireframing.
A wireframe is a rough framework or blueprint for an app or website.
One thing you'll notice is that Catherine uses two different verb tenses.
She uses have been doing to talk generally about her recent work, and she uses did when she reports her specific activities yesterday.
Let's practice some more ways of reporting what you've been working on using both these verb tenses.
Yesterday I worked with Adam on the database.
I've spent the past two days checking code for the website.
I've been focused on testing the mapping tool.
I managed to finish the audio files late yesterday.
Now let's listen as Catherine moves on to the next part of her update.
Nice work.
Yeah, happy to get a draft done.
And that's it for my completed stuff.
So what I'm going to do today hopefully with Paul's help is run through some more use case scenarios and see if we're on the right track.
As you can hear, Catherine doesn't go into a lot of detail about what she did yesterday.
It's enough just to say she got a draft or a first version done before talking about what she's going to do today.
Her plan is to run through or examine some use case scenarios.
In simple terms, that means she'll look at how users will engage with the app.
As with her report on yesterday's activities, Catherine keeps her update on planned activities short and to the point.
What are some other ways we can give simple and concise updates on our next steps?
Let's run through a few more examples.
Today I'm going to continue testing the web-based interface.
What I'll do next is figure out what we'll need in terms of video.
My next steps are working with the client's IT people on testing.
Next, I'd like to get started on the Help section.
What does Jill think of Katherine's next steps?
Those can be a bit involved, so you might want to touch base with Greg.
I know he's done a lot in that area.
If you tuned in to our last lesson, we practiced different ways for a Scrum Master to suggest collaboration.
That's what Jill does when she suggests Catherine touch base or contact Greg.
Next, Catherine answers the third question in a Scrum update.
Sure, will do.
Now, as far as impediments go, I do have a couple of things.
For one, I'm finding that back room really hot and stuffy.
It's like an oven in there.
Hard to keep focused without taking a break.
Catherine very clearly introduces the fact that she's going to talk about impediments or problems next.
By stating that she has a couple of things and then saying for one, Catherine is making this part of her update easy to follow.
She then identifies her first problem, which is that the back room is uncomfortable.
Let's try some more examples of identifying impediments.
And notice that when we talk about challenges, we often introduce them with a bit of extra language just to make them softer.
I'm dealing with the fact that we don't have enough testers for this feature.
One challenge I have is lack of training in Java.
As for impediments, I'm finding it difficult to adapt to everyone else's schedule.
For me, it's tough when the product owner keeps interfering with what I'm doing.
Remember, as Scrum Master, it is Jill's job to help remove impediments.
Let's hear how she does this before Catherine reports her second impediment.
No reason you have to be back there, Cath.
I think we just used that room for the prototyping session because it has a whiteboard, but there's a whole row of stations down the hall you can use.
Okay, great.
I'll take a look later.
Oh, and one more thing.
I know someone suggested using Sketch instead of Illustrator for wireframing, but I'm finding it a little hard to get up to speed.
Wondering if anybody might be able to help me out with that.
Again.
You can hear Catherine softening the problem a bit with language, like I'm finding it a little hard.
It's important to treat problems carefully.
It's also important to show you're looking for solutions, which is why Catherine asks whether anybody can help her out.
Reporting impediments isn't a chance just to complain.
If you're having difficulty, don't be afraid to ask for assistance.
Let's practice asking for help with some more examples.
Would anyone be able to help me populate the database?
I'd appreciate some assistance designing the next round of tests.
I think I'll need some help today going over the list of requirements.
So, can anyone help Catherine with the software she's using?
It's been a while, but I'm sure I can help.
What is it you're having trouble with?
Maybe we can sidebar that for after the meeting.
I'd like to keep us within the 15 minutes if we can.
Sure thing.
Well, that's it for me as far as impediments go.
It's enough for Sam to just offer to help, without asking for more information about Catherine's problem.
A more detailed discussion between two people can wait until after the meeting.
This is why Jill wants to sidebar the issue.
Now, if Catherine has finished reporting impediments and if she was the last person to give updates, then what's next?
Great.
So a few things on the sidebar here.
We've got dealing with Liam, some questions for the product owner and now we've got Catherine's questions about Sketch.
Feel free to hang around if you've got anything you'd like to contribute on those issues.
Since the last person has finished her updates, the meeting is basically finished.
But at several points during the meeting, Jill asks participants to sidebar certain topics.
So now she outlines these topics and invites anyone to hang around or stay if they want to discuss them.
If you're the scrum master or leading any kind of meeting for that matter.
It's important to come back to sidebarred issues at the end of the meeting.
Let's try some more ways of outlining these issues.
Okay, now we can come back to the issue of bringing on another engineer.
If anyone wants to talk about testing or color schemes now, feel free to stay.
On the sidebar now, we've got spreadsheet issues and workspace.
We're all done, but you can stay if you'd like to discuss team dynamics or bugs in the database.
Now that Jill has outlined the topics she has sidebarred, she can close the meeting.
Oh, and before you go, Sam, could you update the burndown chart?
Then that's a wrap.
Nice work, everyone.
In a Scrum project, the burned-down chart is a graph that shows remaining work and time.
It helps people see what they have to do and how much time it should take them.
Updating this chart is the last thing to be done in a Scrum stand-up.
And, as you can hear, Jill closes the meeting in the same way.
She has conducted it briefly and to the point.
The expression, that's a wrap, is an informal way of saying we're finished.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you are on a Scrum team that is developing a new game.
You're attending the daily Scrum meeting.
You'll hear a statement by the Scrum Master.
Then I'll give you a suggestion for what you can say in response.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
First, let's hear about what you did yesterday.
Start by saying that you worked with the designers on the game map.
Answer Well, yesterday I worked with the designers on the game map.
That sounds good.
And so what's next on your list?
Now say that today you're going to show the game map to the artists.
Answer.
Next I'll be showing the game map we created to the artists.
Super.
And do you have any impediments to report?
Next, say that it's difficult using the small meeting room for your discussions.
Answer Yes, actually, I'm finding it difficult to use the small meeting room for discussions.
Well then, you can use the boardroom, but you'll have to move the tables around.
Now ask for some help moving the tables in the boardroom.
Answer.
Okay.
And would anyone be able to help me move those tables around?
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear It usually takes new workers a couple of weeks to get up to, You can say It usually takes new workers a couple of weeks to get up to speed.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
Okay team, thanks for coming.
That's a... Answer Okay team, thanks for coming.
That's a wrap.
Hey, could you read my report and tell me if I'm on the right?
Answer.
Hey, could you read my report and tell me if I'm on the right track?
Well, it was great to talk, and I'll call again next month just to touch.
Answer.
Well, it was great to talk, and I'll call again next month just to touch base.
Tony, do you mind hanging for a few minutes after the meeting?
Answer.
Tony, do you mind hanging around for a few minutes after the meeting?
We've reached the end of this lesson, the fifth in our series on project management and the second on Scrum stand-up meetings.
We've learned how to report on what you've done and what you will do.
We've also covered how to identify an impediment and ask for help.
And finally, we've practiced outlining sidebar topics for after the meeting.
Thanks for listening and see you again soon.
