This is a template. Copy and adapt it for your team. It should live somewhere everyone can edit it.
Ceremonies
Standup — 25 minutes, daily
Keep it short. The goal is shared context on progress and blockers, not status reporting to management.
- 10 min — Updates and blockers on active work, plus any support needed
- 5 min — Logistics, upcoming events, team announcements
- 10 min — Parking lot for anything that needs a quick follow-up
Retro — 70 minutes, every 3 weeks
Celebrate what's working. Surface friction before it becomes dysfunction.
- Wins and shoutouts
- Roadmap and priority review
- Retrospective cards (what went well, what didn't, what to try)
- Action item assignment
Use a facilitation tool (Mural, FunRetro, etc.) and rotate the facilitator.
Tech Huddle — 45 minutes, weekly
Technical knowledge sharing, architectural discussions, and communication skill development. Pre-registered topics only — no ad hoc agenda items. Assign a facilitator for the week.
Engineering Kickoffs — as needed
Run when new work begins. Present problem context, architectural overview, and story map. Prefer in-person or synchronous video.
Flow of Work
| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| Analysis | Work is being scoped and broken down |
| Ready for Dev | 15-minute kickoff done, acceptance criteria clear |
| In Progress | Active development |
| Done | Work complete, deskcheck requested |
| Released | Deployed to production, deskcheck confirmed |
Spikes are timeboxed research cards. Define the question you're answering and the timebox upfront. The output is a decision or a recommendation, not code.
Core Practices
Pair Programming — The default working modality. Reduces knowledge silos. Uses an anchor rotation model (see Pairing Guidance).
Documentation — Maintained continuously, not in a crunch before a release. Includes architecture diagrams, API specs, event schemas, and operational runbooks.
Support Rotation — Weekly rotation for first-line team support. One person is the designated responder so the rest of the team can stay focused.