Team Time!

Myth: The Daily Scrum is exclusively for the developers
Variations:

• The Product Owner must not attend
• Outsiders must not attend
• "Chickens" don't speak

Category: Daily Scrum myths
Danger: Moderate

The basis of the myth

The Scrum guide states, "The Scrum Master enforces the rule that only Development Team members participate in the Daily Scrum."
The simple word "participate", which indicates "take an active part" is sometimes confused with "attend".

Why is it a myth?

The myth is that the Daily Scrum is some kind of protected, high confidence environment where nobody except developers are welcome. The idea behind the Daily Scrum is that it's a highly efficient, focused, short meeting.
The rule that "only Development Team members participate" exists because non-developers may not understand what developers do. When others cause distraction that impedes the synchronization and planning, they overstep their welcome. But they are welcome.


Assumption #1: PO can not contribute
It's not necessary, but sometimes, the Product Owner has information that will help the Developers reach their Sprint Goal. Even though the Daily is not the meeting to share this information in detail, the Product Owner needs to inform the team that there is information which may affect their next planning steps.

Assumption #2: "Chickens" don't contribute

Derailing the Daily Standup by asking questions is not welcome, but if an outsider has information that is absolutely relevant for plan currently being created by the developers, at least they should be aware that this plan would deprecate before the meeting ends.

Consequences

Ineffective Planning

When the team makes a plan that is wrong, and someone can help the team move in the right direction, that person should be heard. Purposefully ignoring available information is very un-agile and has nothing to do with Scrum.

Morale effect

When outsiders who have important information are told by the Scrum Master to withhold this information, they will. This may demoralize those who can help the team, weakening overarching collaboration. 

Extra meetings

When outsiders (e.g., members from other teams) are "invited out" for no reason, then extra meetings for synchronizing with these people will be required. Silent attendance should always be welcome.

Remedies

The Daily Scrum should enable synchronization and collaborative planning. Any person who does not distract from these goals may be welcome, because this increases transparency, understanding and trust.

The Scrum Master should not be hasty to hush up or invite others out, but rather spend time educating/coaching them regarding their effect on the meeting. 

At best, the Daily Scrum could be a kind of "fish bowl" meeting where the entire stage belongs to the team, while others draw all the necessary information they can. This can eliminate huge amounts of otherwise needed coordination meetings that would otherwise draw capacities from the team.