Standup

Standup

Generate sprint summary for team standups with focus on state changes and stagnant tickets.

Overview

Analyzes active sprint tickets with focus on state changes, stale/blocked items, and team velocity. Provides detailed narrative with wins, concerns, and patterns. Works with any Mailchimp board through dynamic discovery - no configuration needed.

Default: Inline output with option to create gist.

Usage

Interactive search:

/standup

Prompts for team/board name, searches JIRA, lets you select from results.

Quick search by name:

/standup XP
/standup "DB Engineering"
/standup Commerce

Searches boards matching the term, auto-selects if only one found.

Direct board ID:

/standup 51025

Uses board ID directly (power user mode).

With options:

/standup XP stale=45
/standup 51025 focus=blockers
/standup Commerce format=gist
/standup XP format=slack

Parameters

Steps

1. Parse input and determine search strategy

• If no input provided: Prompt user for search term
  • Ask: "Enter team name, board name, project key, or board ID:"
  • Examples: "XP", "Database", "Commerce", "51025"
• If input is numeric (e.g., "51025"): Treat as board ID, skip search
• If input is text (e.g., "XP", "DB Engineering"): Search boards by name

2. Search JIRA boards (if needed)

• Call get_boards(name=search_term)
• For each board result, check for active sprint:
  • Call get_board_sprints(boardId, state='active')
  • Mark boards with active sprints (✅) vs without (⚠️)
• Sort results:
  • Priority 1: Boards with active sprints (scrum boards)
  • Priority 2: Boards without active sprints
  • Within each group: Alphabetically by name
• Display results as numbered menu:

  Found N boards matching 'XP':
  
   1  XP Team Board                      ✅ Sprint 12 active
      Board: 51025 | Project: XP | Scrum
      
   2  Expert Experience                  ✅ Sprint 8 active  
      Board: 14593 | Project: EXPXP | Scrum
      
   3  XP Planning Board                  ⚠️ No active sprint
      Board: 52341 | Project: XP | Kanban
  
  Select board (1-3):
  

3. Handle search results

• 0 results:
  • Show: "No boards found for '{search_term}'. Try different spelling, project key (XP, MCDBEN), or partial board name."
  • Prompt to search again or exit
• 1 result:
  • Auto-select and show confirmation: "Using board: {name} ({id})"
  • Proceed to sprint fetch
• 2+ results:
  • Show numbered menu
  • Prompt user: "Select board (1-N):"
  • Validate selection is valid number

4. Validate board and get active sprint

• If board has no active sprint:
  • Show: "⚠️ Board '{name}' has no active sprint."
  • Offer options:

    Recent sprints:
    • Sprint 11 (Closed Dec 26)
    • Sprint 10 (Closed Dec 13)
    
    Analyze most recent closed sprint? (y/n):
    

  • If user declines: Exit gracefully
  • If yes: Use most recent closed sprint
• If multiple active sprints (rare):
  • Show list, prompt user to select
• Extract sprint metadata:
  • Sprint name, ID
  • Start date, end date
  • Days elapsed (today - start date)
  • Total days (end - start)
  • Sprint goal (if any)

5. Fetch sprint issues with state history

• Call get_board_issues(boardId, sprintId) with:
  • fields: ["key", "summary", "status", "priority", "issuetype", "assignee", "created", "updated", "storyPoints"]
  • includeChangelog: true (critical for state analysis)
  • maxResults: 50
• If total > 50: Paginate with startAt parameter
• For each issue, parse changelog for status field changes

6. Analyze state changes and patterns

For each issue:

• Calculate days in current state:
  • Find most recent status change in changelog
  • Days = (now - last_status_change_date)
  • If no changelog: Days = (now - created_date)
• Track complete state history:
  • Record all status transitions with dates
  • Calculate total time in each previous state
  • Identify if recently unblocked (e.g., "234 days blocked → NOW ACTIVE")
• Count state transitions: Total status field changes
• Detect patterns:
  • QA loop: >3 transitions between "In Progress" ↔ "Verify"
  • Backward movement: Any transition to less advanced state (In Progress → Open)
  • Long blocked: "Blocked" status for >14 days
  • Recent wins: Tickets unblocked or completed in last 7 days
  • Ancient tickets: >90 days in any state
  • Sprint carryover: Tickets appearing in multiple sprints
• Flag severity:
  • 🚨 Critical: >60 days (or custom critical threshold)
  • ⚠️ Warning: >30 days (or custom stale threshold)
  • ✅ Normal: <30 days
  • 🎉 Win: Recently unblocked after long period

7. Group and organize data

• Primary grouping: By assignee (alphabetically)
  • "Unassigned" group if assignee is null
  • Within each assignee: Sort by days in state (descending)
• Create focused views:
  • Critical issues section: All tickets >60 days
  • Blocked tickets section: All "Blocked" status with duration
  • Unassigned section: All tickets without assignee
• Calculate sprint metrics:
  • Total tickets in sprint
  • By status: Open, In Progress, Verify, Blocked, Closed
  • WIP percentage: (In Progress + Verify) / Total
  • Completion rate: Closed / Total
  • Days remaining in sprint

8. Generate markdown output

Create comprehensive markdown with narrative style:

Header Section:

# 🎯 {Board Name} Sprint Summary: Sprint {Name}

**Sprint Period:** {start_date} - {end_date} ({total_days} days)
**Current Day:** {today} (Day {elapsed}/{total})
**Total Issues:** {count} tickets
**Board:** [Board Link](https://jira.your-company.com/secure/RapidBoard.jspa?rapidView={boardId}) | **Project:** {projectKey}

Summary by Assignee (Alphabetically):

For each assignee, create section with:

• Table format:
  • Ticket (clickable link)
  • Summary
  • Status
  • Days in State
  • Last Change (date)
  • Activity Pattern / Notes
• Status narrative: Summary of assignee's work with concerns/wins
• State change history: For tickets with interesting patterns
  • "234 days blocked → NOW ACTIVE ✅" (recently unblocked)
  • "In Progress → Open" (backward movement)
  • "Multiple verify toggles" (QA loop)
• Epic focus: If assignee working on specific epic

Critical Issues Section:

• Top 5-6 longest stuck tickets with detailed history
• Show complete state transition narrative
• Highlight recent wins (unblocks)
• Flag critical blockers requiring escalation

State Change Patterns Section:

• Tickets with frequent transitions (QA loops)
• Backward movement examples
• Tickets spanning multiple sprints
• Pattern analysis with recommendations

Sprint Metrics Section:

• Status breakdown table
• By Epic breakdown
• By Priority breakdown

Key Insights & Concerns:

• 🎉 Wins This Week (completions, unblocks)
• ⚠️ Areas of Concern (ancient tickets, high WIP, blockers)
• Narrative analysis of patterns

Recommended Actions:

• Immediate actions (before sprint end)
• Sprint retrospective topics
• Sprint health indicators table

Team Velocity Section:

• Most active contributors
• Specialist focus areas

Historical Context:

• Tickets spanning multiple sprints
• Pattern notes about long-running work

9. Output the report (format-dependent)

• markdown (default): Display full report inline in chat
• gist: Create shareable gist
  • Write markdown to temporary file: /tmp/standup-{projectKey}-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md
  • Create gist using gh CLI:

    gh gist create /tmp/standup-{projectKey}-{date}.md \
      --desc "{Board Name} Standup - Sprint {N} - {date}" \
      --public
    

  • Display gist URL and inline summary
• slack: Format condensed version for Slack, offer gist option
• csv: Export CSV file to /tmp/standup-{projectKey}-{date}.csv

10. Detect Slack channel (heuristic)

Use pattern matching to suggest channel:

• Project "XP" → "#xp-team"
• Project contains "DBEN" → "#dbeng-help"
• Board name contains "Commerce" → "#mc-commerce"
• Board name contains "Mobile" → "#mc-mobile"
• Board name contains "Analytics" → "#mc-analytics"
• Fallback: "#mc-{projectKey-lowercase}"

Display as: "Suggested Channel: {channel_name}"

11. Handle focus modes

If focus parameter provided:

• blockers: Filter to show only "Blocked" status tickets
• stale: Filter to show only tickets >stale_threshold days
• changes: Show only tickets that changed state in last 7 days
• unassigned: Show only tickets without assignee
• all (default): Show everything

12. Handle output formats

• markdown (default): Display full markdown inline in chat
  • Complete narrative with all sections
  • Formatted tables with emojis
  • Clickable JIRA links
  • No gist creation (faster, cleaner)
• gist: Create GitHub gist and display summary
  • Write to /tmp/standup-{projectKey}-{date}.md
  • Create public gist with gh CLI
  • Display gist URL + condensed summary inline
• slack: Format with Slack markdown (condensed):

  📊 *{Board} Sprint {N} Standup*
  📅 Sprint: {dates} (Day {X}/{Y})
  
  🎯 *Sprint Health*
  • In Progress: X tickets (Y%)
  • Blocked: X tickets
  
  🚨 *Critical*
  • <link|TICKET> - X days stuck
  
  💬 Share in: {channel}
  

  • Offer: "Create gist for full details? (y/n)"
• csv: Export as CSV with columns: Ticket, Summary, Status, Assignee, Days in State, Priority, Epic, State Transitions, Days Blocked (if applicable)

Validation Rules

Must validate:

• ✅ Board exists and is accessible
• ✅ Board has at least one sprint (active or recent)
• ✅ Sprint has at least 1 ticket
• ✅ Search term produces results (or prompt to retry)

Graceful degradation:

• ❌ Don't fail if changelog is empty (use created date)
• ❌ Don't fail if assignee is null (group as "Unassigned")
• ❌ Don't fail if sprint has no goal (show "No goal set")
• ❌ Don't fail on large sprints (paginate, show progress)

Examples

Example 1: Interactive discovery (inline output)

User: /standup

AI: Enter team name, board name, project key, or board ID:
    Examples: "XP", "Database", "Commerce", "51025"

User: XP

AI: Searching boards for 'XP'...
    
    Found 2 boards:
    1. XP Team Board (51025) ✅ Sprint 12 active
    2. XP Planning Board (52341) ⚠️ No active sprint
    
    Select (1-2):

User: 1

AI: Using board: XP Team Board (51025)
    Active sprint: XP Sprint 12 FY26 (Dec 29 - Jan 9)
    Analyzing 74 tickets...
    
    [Full markdown report displayed inline]
    
    💬 Share in: #xp-team
    📎 Want a gist? Use: /standup 51025 format=gist

Example 2: Quick search (inline output)

User: /standup XP

AI: Found board: XP Team Board (51025)
    Active sprint: XP Sprint 12 FY26
    Analyzing 74 tickets...
    
    [Full markdown report displayed inline with all sections]
    
    💬 Share in: #xp-team
    📎 Want to create a gist? Add format=gist

Example 3: Direct board ID with gist

User: /standup 51025 format=gist

AI: Board: XP Team Board
    Sprint: XP Sprint 12 FY26 (Day 10/12)
    Analyzing 74 tickets...
    
    ✅ Created gist: https://github.your-company.com/gist/...
    
    [Condensed summary displayed inline]

Example 4: Focus on blockers (inline)

User: /standup XP focus=blockers

AI: XP Team Board - Sprint 12
    
    [Detailed report showing only blocked tickets with full context]
    
    🚨 **2 Blocked Tickets:**
    
    1. [XP-5479] Create audience/add-contact endpoint (Elina)
       - Status: Blocked for 36 days (since Dec 2, 2025)
       - History: Open → In Progress (19 days) → Blocked (36 days)
       - Action: Needs unblocking or reassignment
    
    2. [XP-5506] Lazy Load Checkout/UpgradeMoment (George)
       - Status: Blocked for 28 days (since Dec 8, 2025)
       - History: Open → In Progress (5 days) → Blocked (28 days)
       - Action: Identify blocking dependency

Error Handling

No boards found:

No boards found for '{search_term}'.

Try:
• Different spelling (e.g., "Experience" vs "XP")
• Project key (XP, MCDBEN, MCCOM)
• Partial board name
• Board ID if you know it (e.g., 51025)

Search again? (y/n):

No active sprint:

⚠️ Board 'XP Team Board' has no active sprint.

Recent closed sprints:
• Sprint 11 (Ended Jan 5, 2026)
• Sprint 10 (Ended Dec 15, 2025)

Options:
1. Analyze most recent sprint (Sprint 11)
2. Search for different board
3. Exit

Choose (1-3):

Board not accessible:

❌ Cannot access board {id}. 

Possible reasons:
• Board doesn't exist
• You don't have permission
• Board ID is incorrect

Try searching by team name instead of board ID.

Enhanced State Analysis

Calculating State Transition Narratives

For tickets with interesting history, create narratives:

Pattern 1: Recently Unblocked (Win!)

🎉 Unblocked after 234 days!
History: Blocked May 16 → Unblocked Jan 5 (8 months)
Status: Now In Progress (2 days)

Pattern 2: QA Loop

Multiple verify toggles
State Changes: 10 transitions since Jun 2025
Pattern: In Progress ↔ Verify cycling (4 times)
Suggests: Acceptance criteria or edge case issues

Pattern 3: Backward Movement

Moved back to Open
History: Open → In Progress (25 days) → Open (5 days)
Concern: Why moved backward? Scope change or blocked?

Pattern 4: Ancient Stuck

🚨 CRITICAL - 108 days In Progress
Last Activity: Sep 19, 2025 (no update 3.5 months)
Action Needed: Escalate or reassign immediately

Detecting Major Wins

Look for:

• Tickets blocked >60 days that recently unblocked
• Burst of completions (3+ tickets closed in 3 days)
• Long-running tickets finally completed
• P0/P1 items moving to Verify/Closed

Pattern Detection Rules

• QA Loop: >3 status transitions with In Progress ↔ Verify
• Backward Movement: Any transition to "earlier" state (map: Closed > Verify > In Progress > Open > Backlog)
• Ancient Blocker: Ticket blocked or in same state >90 days
• Sprint Carryover: Ticket in >3 sprints
• Velocity Burst: Assignee closes 3+ tickets in one week

Notes

• Zero configuration - works immediately with any Mailchimp board
• Self-discovering - finds boards and sprints automatically
• Maintenance-free - no registry files to update
• Fast execution - ~5-10 seconds for typical sprint (50-100 tickets)
• Rich narrative - celebrates wins, identifies concerns, detects patterns
• Cross-team compatible - works for XP, DB Eng, Commerce, Mobile, etc.
• Default inline - faster, cleaner output without gist creation

Output Sample

The generated report includes:

Main Sections:

1. Sprint Overview - Dates, progress, board link
2. Summary by Assignee - Detailed tables with state history
3. Critical Issues - Top 5-6 longest stuck with narrative
4. State Change Patterns - QA loops, backward movement analysis
5. Sprint Metrics - Status/Epic/Priority breakdown
6. Key Insights & Concerns - Wins and risks with narrative
7. Recommended Actions - Immediate and retrospective items
8. Team Velocity - Contributor analysis and focus areas
9. Historical Context - Multi-sprint tickets and patterns

Key Features:

• ✅ Celebrates wins (unblocks, completions, velocity)
• 🚨 Highlights critical issues with escalation recommendations
• 📊 Pattern detection (QA loops, backward movement, ancient tickets)
• 📈 State transition history (e.g., "234 days blocked → NOW ACTIVE")
• 🎯 Actionable recommendations for team
• 📅 Historical context for long-running work

All JIRA ticket IDs are clickable links to actual tickets.

See Also

• Reference format: https://github.your-company.com/gist/99aed799682fc39ebee01a9f4277e495 (model for output style)
• Related ticket: https://jira.your-company.com/browse/XP-5799

Changelog

• v2.0 - Default to inline markdown output (gist optional), enhanced state change narratives, celebration of wins, pattern analysis matching reference gist format
• v1.0 - Initial version with gist-first output