feedback Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Annu Paganus: How to Recognize and Address Product Owner Accountability Issues

The Great Product Owner: Recognizing and Addressing PO Accountability Issues

Annu highlights several Product Owner (PO) anti-patterns, including lack of accountability and detachment from the team’s efforts. She shares a warning about POs who take undue credit for the team’s work, undermining motivation. Annu advises clarifying the servant leader role, setting clear expectations, and providing subtle suggestions for improvement. She emphasizes modeling the desired behavior and delineating PO responsibilities clearly. By addressing these anti-patterns, teams can foster a more productive and collaborative environment with their Product Owners.

The Bad Product Owner: Feedback-Driven Excellence In Product Owners

Annu defines a great Product Owner as one who welcomes and acts upon feedback, a fundamental skill. They excel in communicating the product’s future, ensuring everyone is informed. Empathy towards the team’s varying levels of engagement with the vision is vital. Annu advises making the vision visible to all team members, promoting a shared understanding. Encouraging regular interaction between the PO and the team to examine the product’s future together is beneficial. Additionally, a great PO acknowledges the value of receiving ideas and feedback from the team, emphasizing the importance of collaborative efforts.

The Ultimate Guide to Supporting Product Owners as a Scrum Master

Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

About Annu Paganus

Annu is a passionate software team Scrum Master who wants to help her team to create an environment where different kind of people can find a smooth way to work together and enjoy their work and private life. Also worked as teacher, software developer, chapter lead and Product Owner.

You can link with Annu Paganus on LinkedIn.

Anna Mbengam: When Roles Blur In Agile Teams, the Product Owner and Manager Anti-Pattern

The Great Product Owner: Personal Connection and Growth, The Power of Supportive Product Ownership

Anna shares her experience with an exceptional Product Owner who stood out for his genuine care and personal investment in team members. Beyond professional expertise, he took the time to understand Anna and offered invaluable support in communication and interactions within the organization. This Product Owner’s willingness to seek and provide feedback, both positive and constructive, played a crucial role in Anna’s growth and development. This episode sheds light on the qualities that make a Product Owner truly great, emphasizing the importance of empathy, mentorship, and effective communication.

The Bad Product Owner: When Roles Blur, The PO Who Was Also A Manager

In this episode, Anna shares the story of a PO that was too involved with the team, bordering on micromanagement. On top of that, this PO had the dual role of PO and manager, leading to confusion for the team. In the planning meetings, the PO interfered with the sizing of tasks. Anna offers valuable tips such as asking questions to highlight the impact of such behavior and providing education with respect. Addressing these patterns involves open communication with the PO, seeking their perspective, and ongoing coaching to support their evolution in the role.

The Ultimate Guide to Supporting Product Owners as a Scrum Master

About Anna Mbengam

Anna, an accomplished Scrum Master and SAFe Coach since 2018, thrives in diverse industries like Personal Investments, Healthcare, Food & beverage, and Banking. She’s authored 5 self-published guides aiding aspiring Scrum Masters, and her mentoring has transformed 200+ professionals into highly effective individuals for any organization.

You can link with Anna Mbengam on LinkedIn and read Anna’s books.

Konstantin Ribel: The Product Owner Turnaround With The Help of Real-Time Feedback By The Scrum Master

The Great Product Owner: The PO That Looked At Backlog Items As Investments

Konstantin describes for us a standout Product Owner with a strong business focus. This PO viewed work time as an investment, carefully considering the team’s use of their time. They treated backlog items as hypotheses, emphasizing the need for validation with real customers. Seeking feedback on these hypotheses and involving the team in refinement and customer reviews were key practices. The team’s active participation in feedback cycles played a crucial role in value creation. Konstantin also recommends organizing sprint reviews with customers for optimal product development.

The Bad Product Owner: The PO Turnaround With The Help of Real-Time Feedback By The Scrum Master

Konstantin describes a micromanaging Product Owner who controlled backlog and daily tasks, pushing the team to learn to just be passive. Despite good intentions, the PO needed guidance. Konstantin, observing from a coaching standpoint, intervened by suggesting private feedback sessions and offering real-time behavior insights. The fact that the team worked remotely made the issue even worse. But, with Konstantin’s help, the PO’s realization of their behavior marked a turning point. Konstantin advises using real-time feedback and creating a timeline of events to foster awareness and change within the team.

The Ultimate Guide to Supporting Product Owners as a Scrum Master

About Konstantin Ribel

Konstantin drives organizational success through innovative thinking, simplifying processes, and building high-performing teams. With a strong track record in change management and process optimization, he leads agile transformations and applies systems thinking for adaptable, thriving businesses in dynamic industries.

You can link with Konstantin Ribel on LinkedIn.

Aki Salmi: Working With BDD To Help Agile Teams Understand And Deliver On Business Needs

In this episode, Aki shares two impactful stories of change. Firstly, he recounts a scenario as a scrum master in a team with two-week sprints. Because the team was “ok” with letting a feature slip from one sprint to the other, that feature eventually took four weeks to deliver, after which the team found out that they implementation did not align with the business. Implementing Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) with tools like Specflow facilitated better communication with the business, ensuring subsequent deliveries met business needs. Aki’s second story reflects his realization about strong opinions and conflicts. Aki learned the value of active listening and being open to others’ perspectives. In this episode, we refer to Chris Argyris’ “Knowledge for Action”nd Portuguese.

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About Aki Salmi

Aki is a software crafter and shares the joy of coding and the value of empathy at work. That is, Aki works on ones and zeros (code) and everything else (humans).

You can link with Aki Salmi on LinkedIn.

Lorraine Chambers: When Product Owners Are Spread Thin, And How To Overcome The Absent PO Anti-pattern

The Great Product Owner: The Growth-Oriented PO

This Product Owner (PO) ensured every team member had a voice, fostering an environment for experimentation and ideation. They facilitated developer participation in hackathons and effectively communicated the vision and roadmap. The backlog was consistently well-organized and prioritized. The PO actively shared feedback, motivating the team. They sought opportunities for recognition and took pride in sprint reviews. This PO’s commitment extended to continuous learning and self-improvement through training, events, and meetups, reflecting a growth-oriented mindset nurtured through Lorraine’s coaching.

The Bad Product Owner: When Product Owners Are Spread Thin, And How To Overcome The Absent PO Anti-pattern

Lorraine recounts an experience with a PO that was often absent. The Product Owner was spread thin across multiple teams, leading to scheduling conflicts with scrum events. This resulted in a disorganized backlog and a lack of a clear vision. Open, candid conversations were crucial in highlighting the impact on the team. Together, Lorraine and the PO adjusted the calendar to prioritize the team’s needs. With improved availability, the team thrived. Lorraine also collaborated with the PO to advocate for more dedicated time from management.

The Ultimate Guide to Supporting Product Owners as a Scrum Master

About Lorraine Chambers

Lorraine’s vision of excellence is summed up in the words of philosopher, Lao Tzu — “A leader is best when people barely know he exists … ” She’s held several roles in the Fintech industry, including Product Owner and Quality Assurance. She’s a native New Yorker that loves travel, music and museums.

You can link with Lorraine Chambers on LinkedIn and connect with Lorraine Chambers on Instagram.