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Module: Meetings and standups

Talking about today's plan

Meetings & Stand-ups: Talking About Today's Plan

Here's how to effectively communicate your plan for the day in software professional settings, covering both formal meetings and quick stand-ups.

I. Key Phrases & Structures

A. Starting Your Update (Stand-up Focus - Concise!)

  • "Good morning/afternoon, everyone." (Standard greeting)
  • "Yesterday, I..." (Briefly recap what you completed)
  • "Today, I'm planning to..." / "Today, I'll be focusing on..." (The core of your plan)
  • "My goal for today is to..." (More specific, outcome-oriented)
  • "I'm aiming to..." (Indicates a target, potentially with some flexibility)
  • "First up, I'll be..." (Highlights the priority task)

B. Detailing Your Tasks (More detail for meetings, still concise for stand-ups)

  • "I need to finish [task name/feature]."
  • "I'll be working on [specific part of the project], specifically [detail]."
  • "I'm going to investigate [issue/bug] and try to find a solution."
  • "I'll be implementing [new functionality] based on the designs from [designer's name]."
  • "I'll be writing unit tests for [module/component]."
  • "I'm scheduled to have a meeting with [person's name] to discuss [topic]."

C. Identifying Blockers & Dependencies (Crucial!)

  • "I'm blocked by [issue/person/resource]. I need [what you need] to proceed."
  • "I'm waiting on [person's name] to [action] before I can start [task]."
  • "I'm facing a challenge with [technical problem]. I might need some help with [specific area]."
  • "I anticipate needing input from [team/person] on [aspect of the task]."
  • "There's a dependency on [another task/feature] being completed."
  • "I'm unsure about [specific detail] and would appreciate some guidance."

D. Estimating Time (Optional, but helpful)

  • "I estimate this will take [timeframe] – probably around [number] hours."
  • "I think I can get this done by [time/end of day]."
  • "This is a quick task, should take about [short timeframe]."
  • "This is a larger task, and I'll break it down into smaller steps."

II. Example Updates - Stand-up (Short & Sweet)

Example 1:

"Good morning, everyone. Yesterday, I finished the user authentication flow. Today, I'm planning to start working on the password reset functionality. I'm aiming to have a basic version implemented by the end of the day. No blockers at the moment."

Example 2:

"Hi team. Yesterday, I fixed the bug causing the error message on the payment page. Today, I'll be focusing on writing unit tests for that fix. I'm blocked by needing access to the staging environment. I've requested it from DevOps."

Example 3:

"Good afternoon. Yesterday, I completed the API documentation. Today, I'll be working on integrating the new search feature. I estimate this will take around 4 hours. I'll need to collaborate with Sarah on the UI components."

III. Example Updates - Meeting (More Detailed)

Example 1:

"Okay, so yesterday I finalized the design for the new reporting dashboard. Today, I'm going to begin implementing the front-end using React. I'll be focusing on the data visualization components first. I'm planning to use Chart.js for the graphs. I anticipate needing some input from the data science team on the best way to represent the data. I estimate this will take about two days to complete the initial implementation."

Example 2:

"Following up on our discussion from yesterday, I've started investigating the performance issues with the database queries. Today, I'll be profiling the queries to identify the bottlenecks. I'm hoping to pinpoint the slow queries and then explore options for optimization, such as adding indexes or rewriting the queries. I'm blocked slightly by needing access to the production database logs. I've submitted a request to security. I'll also be documenting my findings as I go."

Example 3:

"I spent yesterday refactoring the user profile service. Today, I'm going to be working on adding the ability for users to upload a profile picture. I'll be handling the image upload, resizing, and storage. I'm waiting on the design team to provide the final specifications for the image dimensions and acceptable file types. Once I have those, I can proceed. I'm also planning to write comprehensive unit tests to ensure the functionality is robust."

IV. Tips for Effective Communication

  • Be concise: Especially in stand-ups, get to the point quickly.
  • Be specific: Avoid vague statements like "I'll work on the project." Instead, say "I'll be implementing the user login feature."
  • Prioritize: Focus on the most important tasks.
  • Be honest about blockers: Don't hide issues. Raising them early allows the team to help.
  • Use technical language appropriately: Adjust your language to your audience.
  • Listen actively: Pay attention to what others are saying and offer help if you can.
  • Focus on what you're doing, not how you're doing it: Details of implementation are often less important than the overall goal.