In a bricks-'n-mortar setting, morning roundups are just a short meeting where everyone states what is on his or her plate and any critical information is shared. 37Signals has everyone post first thing in their morning (they have employees all over the world), prefixing the post with "[IN]" and writing a short sentence or paragraph. At the end of their day they write another post "[OUT]" which covers what was actually accomplished.
Sharing a quick synopsis of what is being worked on and what is "hot" serves several functions:
- Team members can see if work they are doing (or knowledge they have) will affect another team member.
- Managers can keep track of workflow
- Everyone sets out a goal for the day, first thing, which impels them which moves them forward
