Why Software Developers Hate Daily Stand-Ups [Part 1]

The Problem

I recently came across a video of a well-known software developer expressing gratitude for not having to attend daily stand-ups at the large company where he works.

It caught me off guard.

Why was he thankful? Aren’t daily stand-ups a staple of agile teams? Are there really large, established tech companies where daily stand-ups are not mandatory?

This led me down a rabbit hole.

First, What Are Daily Stand-Ups?

For those unfamiliar: a daily stand-up is a short, focused meeting where team members quickly share project updates. It's called a stand-up because standing encourages brevity—meetings are typically limited to 15 minutes.

Each attendee answers just three questions:

1. What did you do yesterday?
2. What will you do today?
3. Are there any blockers in your way?

Longer discussions or technical deep-dives? Those are meant to happen outside the stand-up.

So Why Bother With Daily Stand-Ups?

When done right, daily stand-ups can offer huge benefits:

• Transparency: Everyone knows what others are working on.
• Proactive problem-solving: Blockers are raised early and addressed quickly.
• Accountability: Team members are expected to regularly share progress.

They’re not limited to agile teams—they can be useful for almost any collaborative project. So why all the hate?

Why Developers Dislike Stand-Ups

After some research and conversations with developers, I found that frustration with daily stand-ups is surprisingly common. Most complaints boil down to four recurring issues:

1. Team Size: Too Big, Too Long

When the team grows beyond 7–10 people, the stand-up starts to break down. You end up sitting through 15+ updates, most of which don’t concern you. The meeting drags beyond 15 minutes, defeating its purpose.

Hint: Ever heard of the "Two Pizza Rule"? More on that in a future post.

2. Pointless Updates

Sometimes the updates are too vague:

"I worked on some bugs yesterday. Still working on them today."

Or they spiral into full-blown troubleshooting sessions. Either way, the value of the stand-up decreases rapidly.

3. Losing Focus

If one or two people take too long to answer or go off-topic, the entire meeting slows down. Others get bored. Important updates get rushed. You can see how this connects with the first two problems.

4. The “One-Man Show” Syndrome

In some teams, one person dominates every stand-up. It becomes their personal update session while others barely speak or switch off entirely.

This is a team meeting—not a solo act.

So, Are Stand-Ups Worth It?

They can be—if done right.

But if these issues aren’t addressed, the very meeting meant to boost productivity can start to drain it instead.

In an upcoming post, I’ll share practical solutions to make stand-ups effective again—whether you're a five-person startup or a scaled enterprise team.