Talk to the hand

This post is part of 101 ideas for agile teams.

Context

Team members are often bored during meetings (Daily Scrum, Planning, …) and meetings are not very effective.

Action

Whenever a team member thinks that the discussion currently going on does not belong in the meeting currently held, he or she raises a hand to show their concern. It’s up to the one talking to decide, whether to continue or to take the discussion out into a follow-up meeting with only the team members involved.

Several team members may rise their hands, when the discussion is not stopped.

What you gain

More focus in meetings because things not relevant to the goal of the current meeting are moved to another meeting, or simply stopped.

How to strengthen

Establish talk-to-the-hand as a team rule in a retrospective. Make clear, that a raised hand has always to be in response to a topic, and never against a team member.

Risks

People can be offended when other team members raise their hands. Establish a clear working-agreement and team rules, which everybody accepts and respects.

More ideas at 101 ideas for agile teams

Many thanks to bbv Software Services for making this blog post possible.