Introduction: What You’ll Learn
This simulation walks through a typical daily standup — nothing urgent, just a smooth sequence of updates with light blockers. You'll get a feel for the pacing, tone, and flow of a well-run standup.
You’ll practice:
- Kicking off and guiding the flow
- Identifying blockers and follow-ups
- Keeping updates focused and on track
- Wrapping up with clarity and momentum
Step-by-Step Simulation
Scene 1: Opening the Standup
Facilitator: "Good morning, everyone. Let’s keep this short and sharp. Please share what you did yesterday, what you're working on today, and if you have any blockers. I’ll go first."
Facilitator (as a developer): "Yesterday I reviewed the API integration for the auth service and opened a pull request. Today I’ll finish the error handling and respond to feedback. No blockers."
Facilitator: "Thanks. Let’s go to Sara next."
Scene 2: Teammate Updates
Sara: "Yesterday I paired with Alex on the dashboard bug. Today I’ll finalize the styling and write tests. I’m a bit blocked waiting on final designs — still pending from UX."
Facilitator: "Got it. We’ll follow up with UX after this. Thanks, Sara. Alex, you’re up."
Alex: "Yesterday was mostly pairing with Sara, and I helped fix the flaky test in the CI pipeline. Today, I'm doing code reviews and might spike on that new auth feature. No blockers."
Facilitator: "Thanks, Alex. Let’s hear from Priya."
Priya: "Yesterday I wrapped up the onboarding checklist page. Today I’ll demo it to Product. No blockers for now, but I’d like to know if we’ve finalized the release schedule."
Facilitator: "Good point — I’ll confirm and post it after standup. Appreciate it. Leo, you're up."
Leo: "So yesterday I was kind of bouncing between a few things — mostly trying to debug some weird state issue, and then I also helped QA with something. Today I’ll keep working on that bug, and maybe review some code... I think that’s it? No blockers really, I guess."
Facilitator: "Thanks, Leo. Let’s sync after this to clarify that bug — want to make sure we’re aligned."
Scene 3: Wrapping Up and Recap
Facilitator: "Quick recap: Sara is blocked on final UX for styling — I’ll ping the design team. Priya raised a question on the release schedule — I’ll follow up on that. Leo has a tricky bug we’ll touch base on separately. Thanks, everyone. That’s it for today. Have a great one, and feel free to reach out if you’re pairing or stuck later on."
Mini Roleplay Challenges
Challenge 1: Sara starts explaining design decisions in depth. What do you do?
- a) Let her continue.
- b) Gently refocus her.
- Best Response: “Thanks Sara, let’s circle back to design after standup.”
Challenge 2: Alex says he’s done early and has no tasks today.
- Best Response: “Let’s sync after this to see where you can help or pick up a task from the backlog.”
Challenge 3: Leo gives a vague update. What do you do?
- Best Response: “Thanks Leo — let’s chat right after this to make sure the bug path is clear.”
Optional Curveball Mode
Add one of these scenarios during practice:
- One teammate doesn’t show up.
- Someone reports a major blocker that wasn’t mentioned earlier.
- A teammate challenges a decision mid-standup.
- The standup starts going off-topic.
Practice handling each one without derailing the standup.
Reflection Checklist
Standup Flow
- Did I keep the standup under 15 minutes?
- Did I explain the format clearly?
- Did everyone speak and feel included?
Blocker Awareness
- Did I recognize blockers quickly?
- Did I assign or note follow-ups?
Leadership & Tone
- Was I focused but approachable?
- Did I help keep updates brief?
- Did I create a safe and clear space for updates?
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Letting one person dominate the meeting
- Failing to catch blockers
- Turning the standup into a problem-solving session
- Not recapping or following up