We were running standups the usual way. Everyone updates, everyone stays, everyone hears everything whether it's relevant to them or not.
It works until it doesn't. At some point the team grows enough that half the people in the call have nothing to contribute to the second half of the conversation - but they're still there, context-switching out of whatever they were doing, waiting for the part that matters to them.
The fix is obvious in retrospect: separate the update from the discussion.
New format: everyone gives a 2-3 minute update. Then the standup is over for the people who don't need to stay. What's left is a working group - the people who actually need to resolve something.
We call it the parking lot. Anything that needs more than a quick answer goes there. If you're not involved, you drop off. If you are, you stay.
The result: standups are shorter for most people. The conversations that need to happen actually happen, with the right people, without the audience.
There's a failure mode in most standups that nobody names: the performative update.
When everyone is watching, updates drift toward completeness over relevance. People report what they did, not just what the team needs to know. It's not dishonest - it's social. You're in a room (or a call), people are listening, you give a full picture.
The parking lot format breaks that dynamic. The update is genuinely short because the discussion happens separately. You're not trying to pack everything into two minutes because the two minutes is just the update, not the whole conversation.
Small change. Bigger impact than I expected.
Most people now drop off after updates. That's back time in their day, multiplied across the team, every day. The remaining conversation is tighter because it's only the people who need to be there.
The standup is supposed to be a coordination mechanism, not status theater. This format is closer to that.
TL;DR
- Separate the update (everyone) from the discussion (only who needs to stay)
- Anything that needs resolution goes to the parking lot - others drop off
- Removes performative updates and restores time for everyone not involved
- The standup is a coordination tool, not status theater