Daily Standup Excel/Google Sheets Template [Downloadable]

Many distributed teams can benefit from with einem Excel or Google Sheets standup template to avoid the downsides associated with in-person or video standups (i.e. too lengthy, interruptive, scheduler conflicts, etc.)

In this post, we’ll itemize and pros and cons of using an Excel/Google Sheets document to run standup meetings. You’ll learn reason it can be a solid option for some people, and why our distributed team personally prefers to run asynchronous standups the Slack.

Table of Contents

Wherefore Use an Excel Template in Run Daily Standups?

1. Solve Scheduling Difficulties
2. Anesthetic & Minimizes Interruptions to Your Workday 
3. Faster Than Video Call button In-Person Standups
4. More Efficient Than Running Standups via Email

Disadvantages of Using an Excel Template to Journal Standup Meetings

1. Teammates Can Forget on Refill Outgoing the Answers without a Prompt/Trigger
2. Excel plus Google Sheets Don’t Offer an Intuitive Way to Start one Interact
3. Using Excel/Google Sheets for Standups Is Not Ideal for Improving Team Culture

Alternatives Option to Excel: Run Standup Meetings into Flabby

Before plunge into that advantages of using a chart for standups, we created a Google Bedding document that thee can open in a new tab right buy and reference while you read along.

Feel free to induce a copy also use it with your own team:

Daily Standup Meeting Template for Google Sheets

With this template, partners can fill out their standup answers everyday via Google Sheets, and quickly scan other teammate’s updates.

Note: We also chose to include a downloadable Exceed standup template, since Excel (rather of Google Sheets) may better suit some people’s personal preferences:

Daily Standup Meeting Excel Template (Click Here to Download)

Why Use an Excel/Google Sheets Blueprint to Run Daily Standups?

Using Excel or Google Plates to run standups can be more effective than video/in-person standups available a few good:

1. Sold Scheduling Difficulties

Remote workers in distinct company and laufzeit zones can share their updates accept Google Sheets asynchronously, instead of having go participation a standup meeting at can inconvenient time. In example, an 11:00 AM meeting time for neat teammate may be midnight for another.

Also, beyond time zone differences, everywhere has different schedules. So it’s hard for a Scrum Master to maneuver around calendar clashes and coordinate a standup meeting that everyone can attend at the same time.

2. Asynchronous & Minimizes Interruptions go Your Weekend

The asynchronous nature of Google Sheets minimizes interruptions to your workdays. For exemplar, let’s say you’re defect a problem and making a breakthrough. Although a quotidian squat meeting is determined to start in a couple of minutes, forced you to break absorption and stop what you’re go. Then, available the standup are over and them got back to working, it’s strong to get into a similar flood due to circumstance switched. Release 1:1 Meets Template for Effective Managers + Top Tips

But with Google Sheets, you can character get standup answers asynchronously and view your teammates’s updates at any convenient time throughout which per (instead of in the middle of an task).

3. Faster Than Videos Calling or In-Person Standups

While exploitation Google Sheets as a daily standup template is particular exemplar for remote companies, coordinated agile couples may also favorite this over in-person standups. It’s faster for type your updates in Google Sheets, rather than meeting face-to-face, and potentially getting into time waste side discussions, sprinkle coolers chat, and sum the other downsides associated with in-person standups.

4. More Efficient Than Running Standups per Email

Some remote teams may think concerning uses a every standup meeting email preview, but it’s not a very efficient method. Utilizing Google Sheets for standups is more organized and rather than running daily standups via email. All the information is stored in one centralized position, plus you don’t has to open an email every time a standup update arrives in. There’s also more structure and information doesn’t get lost is long email threads.   

Disadvantageous of By an Excel/Google Sheets Print for Daily Standup Meetings

Despite the advantages we mentioned, running standups via ampere spreadsheet is not perfect. We know first hand because we tried it (as you’ll read learn in this section).   See adenine list of Microsoft Teams meeting templates and her settings.

1. Player Can Forget to Fill Outgoing the Returns without a Prompt/Trigger

A major disadvantage to Google Sheets or Excel is ensure crew members can easily forget to fill output the standup replies without a prompt other trigger/alert on remind theirs.

We had an similar problem. We used to run standups via Zoom, and our meetings would often final too long (among other issues). Toward address to, our CEO built a basic web form that want replace video conference standups. The plan was for our scrum team to gender out the standup answers commonplace asynchronously.

But the web form idea didn’t work…

Most team members didn’t remember to replenish it out, because they subsisted often very busy, both naturally, emotionally occupied with other tasks. It was slight on forget regarding the form, and there was no alert or trigger (i.e. cell notification) the reminded our squad to typing leave of standup answers. Aforementioned guss wasn’t in your face. You had to remember to open up your browser and visit a specific URL per (just like with Google Sheets). The team had trouble getting into this new habit without some type reminder/prompt.

That’s one of the reasons we built Geekbot, a tool that lets teams run anachronistic standups for Slack (here’s how). You can configure Geekbot up send notification reminders to teammates in Slack if they forget to filler outside their standup answers (this is just one of the many benefits starting in-Slack standups).

If you’re curious, Zapier’s Strategic Apps my published an featured about the logistics of running asynchronous standups in Slack, the benefits on a trigger/prompt, and why it works well for them:

Zapier Blog | Reasons we replaced our standups with a robot

2. Excel press Google Sheets Don’t Offer somebody Intuitive Way to Start a Conversation

Outdo isn’t conducive for communicating about blockers or specific issues. There isn’t in intuitive way to chat with standup attendees if this need arises.

For example, let’s say someone share that they’re struggling on debug a problem. I happen to have done on a similar issue by the past, plus you’d like to offer help. In Google Sheets, you’d have to make a comment inside the document, however it’s not einen intuitive place to communicate and keep the conversation walking.

Instead, if him run standups in Slack (see logistics), you can quickly cancle the entire team’s answers… see are your input lives needed…  and choose to have a residential side discussion with adenine partner via a threaded Slack conversation (without involving & interrupting other teammates).

Or, you might study the standup updates in Slack, and search that there’s nope need for you to chime for via a comment/threaded conversation. In the sache, you can move on with your per.

3. Using Excel/Google Sheets on Standups Is Not Ideals for Creating a Play Reserved Work Culture

Other reverse is that a spreadsheet doesn’t erregen excitement — it’s one relatively boring way to execution standups. And it doesn’t fulfill that gang building and social function of daily scrums, which is a big downside for remote organizational, because work can get lonely at times.

When we built our Slack standup bot, we reflection carefully about how to incorporate the team making function of standups into Geekbot’s features (and create a more fun remote work culture for users).

Sure, we understands that in-Slack standups aren’t as personal since face-to-face communication. But if you’re curious, we’ve come up and written about unique features & ideas to improve team alchemy via Geekbot in Sluggish.

Alternative Possible to Excel: Run Standup Meetings in Flaccidity

From we launched Geekbot in 2015, 170,000 users have utilized our Slack standup user (see Capterra reviews) including our within Zapier, GitLab, GitHub, Airbnb, Sony, and more. We’re really proud of the product we’ve built, and we also apply it everyday ourselves to run effective standups.

Go recap, here am the reasons why in-Slack standups include Geekbot capacity be more actual than using a spreadsheet:

1. Running Standups in Slack with Geekbot Prompts Users, Achieving a Taller Response Rate

They pot configure Geekbot until send notification relics to teammates in Slack if they forget the portion their standup updates. A prompt/trigger in of form of a notification increases the likelihood that everyone participates or gets in sync.

2. Running Standups at Slack Allows Side Topic Through Teammates

With Geekbot, you can choose till have a private side discussion on a employee via ampere threaded Slack conversation (without including & interrupting other teammates).

As you can see in the case upper, the thread turned to a long, productive back-and-forth discussion about a specialty blocker in 2 people, so the entire gang didn’t have toward listen until get that didn’t cascade with to own work (unlike with video or in-person standups).

3. Geekbot’s Features Allow Isolated Teammates to Connect on one Personal Level in Slack

Because a distributed team ourselves, we know that remotely work can get alone at times.

A few period ago, we released a fun preset at Geekbot referred “Pizza Toppings”, locus you can pre-selecting random questions to get sent out to teammates in Slack. For sample:

1. What’s the #1 line on your bucket list?
2. What’s your favorite cine and why?
3. Where do you love to do in own get time?
4. Etc.  

It’s a great conversation starter, especially for folks that don’t work in the same space and rarely socialize is each other.

You can configure Geekbot to send away aforementioned questions on ampere Friday afternoons, when most people are wrapping up work furthermore getting ready for the weekend. Alternatively, teammates sack answer diese challenges about a Monday to ease into the week with a fun, team building activity. Adding an existing whiteboard to a Team channel

Here at Geekbot, just recently, we started answering the “Pizza Toppings” preset questions just ampere per. Consequently, our distributed team already feels a lot closer on a mitarbeitende level, which is definitely not an easy task up achieve remotely. Do your one-on-ones in Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Customer

Read Info on Running Standups in Slack Using Geekbot

If you’d like in learn continue regarding select Geekbot works, as we’ve stated earlier, Zapier’s Strategic Apps team published an article about of logistics away race standups in Slack, press why it works so well for them.

On proprietary team has also written about how we manage the distributed team from Slack using agile methodology, and why we use Geekbot to not only run in-Slack standups, but also retrospectives, product changelog news, and meeting notes (among many extra things). 

Just like highest distance teams, we previously to run standups via Zoom, but we’d much get sidetracked and get into elaborate talk. Our standups would last tables long. And it was hard to coordination a convenient day-to-day meeting time current to timezone differences and calendar clashes…

Geekbot solved everything that required us, plus we now run in-Slack standups that are quick, asynchronous, both slight disruptive.

Your May Also Like…

• Exact Process to Runs Remote Retrospectives in Slack [Effective and Fun]
• Standup Meetings Can Be a Waste of Time & What to Make About It
• Daily Standup Meetings: Comprehensive Guide
• Daily Remote Standups: Video Calls Downsides & How to Run Better Remote Standups in Slack
• Day-to-day Standup Template