Async standup template and questions
An async standup replaces the daily status meeting with a short prompt each person answers when it suits them. The team reads one summary, and the live time that's left goes to the things that need a conversation.
Set it up for your team
A standup repeats on a schedule, so it lives in a team and needs a free account. Each teammate gets the prompt, answers when they log on, and a skipped day is marked as skipped, one click from a backfill.
The classic three questions
The format most teams start with. It is quick to answer and easy to scan.
What did you do yesterday?
Keeps people honest about what actually moved, and gives the team context for today.
What will you do today?
Lets teammates see where they might help or where work will overlap.
What is blocking you?
The only question that needs action. A blocker nobody sees by midday is a day lost.
A goal-focused set
For teams that have drifted into reading out task lists. These tie the update back to the sprint goal.
What moved the sprint goal forward since last time?
Asks for progress rather than activity.
What is the most important thing you will do next?
Forces a priority instead of a list.
What is in the way, and who could help?
A blocker with a name attached gets picked up faster.
Optional extras
Add one at most. Every question you add shortens the list of people who answer it.
How are you feeling today, from 1 to 5?
A cheap early signal for a team that is tired or overloaded.
Anything the team should know?
Catches leave, meetings, or a thing someone is worried about.
When async beats a live standup
- The team spans time zones, so a single meeting is early for someone every day.
- People are in focus work in the morning and a meeting breaks their only long block.
- The standup has turned into status reporting to a manager rather than coordination between the people doing the work.
- The team is large enough that most of the meeting is not relevant to most of the people in it.
When to keep some of it live
Async is for status. It is a poor fit for solving problems together. If a blocker needs a conversation, the summary should surface it, and the people involved should pick it up straight away in a short call, not wait for the next day's prompt.
A common pattern is to go async on most days and keep one short live session a week, where the team talks through the blockers the summaries surfaced.
Making it stick
- Keep it to three questions. Answers should take under two minutes, or people start skipping.
- Send the prompt at the same time every day, and set it for when people typically start work.
- Read the summary. A standup nobody reads is a form people stop filling in.
- Act on blockers the same day, and say so. Nothing builds the habit like seeing a blocker disappear.
- Don't use it to monitor people. As soon as it feels like surveillance, answers get shorter and less honest.
Questions
- Can we change the questions?
- Yes. The questions are set per team, so you can start with the classic three and change them later.
- What happens if someone doesn't answer?
- The day is marked as skipped for them, and they can backfill it with one click.
- Does it replace the live standup entirely?
- It can, but it doesn't have to. Many teams use it on most days and keep a short live session once a week for the blockers.
- Does everyone need an account?
- Standups run on a team's schedule, so each member needs an account. Accounts are free.
Run your next standup without a meeting
Pick your questions, set a time and invite the team.
Set up async standups