Standup!

Myth: It's called "Daily Standup" for a reason!
Variations:

• No sitting or leaning.

Follow-up myths:

• No electronics

Category: Daily Scrum myths
Danger: Low

The basis of the myth

The "Standup meeting" is a classic management tool to keep meetings short, because people don't like to stand for long times. Because the Daily Scrum is supposed to be short, this one has carried over.

Why is it a myth?

The idea of a "Standup" neither originates from Scrum, nor does it belong into Scrum.
The Scrum Guide only states, "The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute time-boxed event for the Development Team to synchronize activities and create a plan for the next 24 hours." The term "Standup" is nowhere mentioned in the Scrum guide.
Scrum is not prescriptive about how this event is conducted - only about intended results, scope and timebox.


Assumption #1: Physical fitness
For a person of normal health, 15 minutes of standing is no issue - it's even good for blood circulation. But what about people with special needs? It's not called "Standup" for the very reason that Scrum does not exclude people who can't stand up.

Assumption #2: Spatial proximity

It's not even necessary for the team to gather in proximity, only to be together. This is a big issue for distributed teams, who can also use Scrum (albeit with the standard issues distribution causes). Remote team members are usually forced to use electronics just to participate.

Consequences

Standups actually can induce psychological pressure and discomfort. If this is what you're looking for, fine - otherwise: Why?

Remedies

When your team can stand up, that's good. It's healthy. If they can't, well - no problem. If they don't want to, look for the root cause rather than fixing the symptom.

When you want to add specific constraints or methods to the Daily Scrum, ask the team.

For example, "Why should we stand up?", "What difference does it make?"