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Tag: Product Owner

  • How to Sabotage A Product Owner — 53 Anti-Patterns from the Trenches

    TL; DR: How to Sabotage A Product Owner — 53 Anti-Patterns from the Trenches to Avoid

    One of my favorite exercises from my Professional Scrum Product Owner classes is how to best sabotage a Product Owner as a member of the middle management. The exercise rules are simple: You’re not allowed to use any form of illegal activity. So, outsourcing the task to a bunch of outlaws is out of the question. Instead, you are only allowed to use practices that are culturally acceptable within your organization.

    Read on and learn more on how to best sabotage a Product Owner from the exercise results of more than twenty PSPO classes. (I edited the suggestions for better readability.)

    How to Sabotage A Product Owner — 53 Anti-Patterns from the Trenches — Berlin Product People GmbH

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  • Scrum Certification: Is It a Sound Investment for Your Career?

    TL; DR: Is a Scrum Certification a Sound Investment Advice?

    Do you need a Scrum certification to become good at what you do? Not really. It took me nine years after I started working in this industry to get my first certificate.

    What are the benefits then of having a Scrum certification? Well, becoming certified by a recognized Scrum certification organization such as Scrum.org is sound investment advice, as documented by the Scrum Master Salary Report 2022: There is a statistical correlation between your remuneration and the certificates you hold.

    Also, prospective clients and employers use, for example, PSM and CSM as search terms on LinkedIn. Scrum certificates are hence an affordable way of signaling competence and dedication. However, be smart about where to become certified and avoid investing in Scrum certificates that have no brand recognition.

    Scrum Certification: Is It a Sound Investment for Your Career? Age-of-Product.com

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  • Product Owner Interview Guide: The Product Mindset

    Product Owner Interview Guide: The Product Mindset

    TL; DR: Product Owner Interview Questions: The Product Mindset

    If you are looking to fill a position for a Product Owner in your organization, you may find the following 82 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. This 8th set of Product Owner interview questions addresses the product mindset.

    The questions are derived from my sixteen years of practical experience with XP and Scrum, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master and interviewing dozens of Product Owner candidates on behalf of my clients. So far, this Product Owner interview guide has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.

    Product Owner Interview Guide: The Product Mindset — Berlin Product People GmbH

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  • Scrum 2022: Getting You Started as Scrum Master or Product Owner

    TL; DR: Scrum 2022 — Getting You Started as Scrum Master or Product Owner

    Probably, you are considering how to further your Scrum Master career or Product Owner career in 2022. Maybe, I can support you in that regard with a set of articles, documents, and LinkedIn polls I authored that proved to be the most popular in 2021. They range from Product Owner and Scrum Master interview questions to a variety of Scrum anti-patterns to the most engaging polls on seemingly simple questions on “agile” in general and Scrum in particular. All articles feature free ebooks that delve into the problems and provide hands-on advice on how to solve them. Good luck with Scrum 2022—just stick to first principles!

    Scrum 2022: Getting You Started as Scrum Master or Product Owner — Berlin Product People GmbH

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  • Overruling the Product Owner? — Making Your Scrum Work #21

    TL; DR: Overruling the Product Owner

    There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Since Scrum is an intentionally incomplete framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. For example, what if the stakeholders—who bring the budget that is funding your Scrum team—insist on calling the shots by overruling the Product Owner’s prerogative to define the composition and the ordering the Product Backlog? What if your stakeholders suffer from the “my budget, my feature” syndrome?

    Join me and delve into the effects of overruling the Product Owner in less than 140 seconds.

    Overruling the Product Owner? — Making Your Scrum Work #21 — Berlin Product People GmbH

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  • Product Owner Interview Guide: PO Anti-Patterns

    Product Owner Interview Guide: PO Anti-Patterns

    TL; DR: Product Owner Interview Questions: PO Anti-Patterns

    If you are looking to fill a position for a Product Owner in your organization, you may find the following 82 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my fifteen years of practical experience with Scrum and XP, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master and interviewing dozens of Product Owner candidates on behalf of my clients.

    This latest update to the interview guide addresses Product Owner anti-patterns from Product Backlog management and refinement to the Sprint Review.

    So far, this Product Owner interview guide has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.

    Hiring: 82 Scrum Product Owner Interview Questions: PO Anti-Patterns — Berlin Product People GmbH

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  • The Oversized Product Backlog Will Cost You Dearly — Making Your Scrum Work #11

    TL; DR: The Oversized Product Backlog Problem — When Noise Interferes with Signal

    There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Given that Scrum is a framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. Neglecting the critical Scrum artifact for continuous value creation is one of the common Scrum anti-patterns. If your Scrum Team strives to make your customers’ lives easier Sprint after Sprint, beware of the oversized Product Backlog.

    ???? Join me and explore the consequences of inadequate Product Backlog management in less than three minutes.

    The Oversized Product Backlog Will Cost You Dearly — Making Your Scrum Work #11 — Berlin Product People GmbH

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  • Hiring: 82 Product Owner Interview Questions—Sprint Planning, Review, and Retrospective

    Hiring: 82 Product Owner Interview Questions—Sprint Planning, Review, and Retrospective

    TL; DR: 82 Product Owner Interview Questions to Avoid Imposters

    If you are looking to fill a position for a Product Owner in your organization, you may find the following 82 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my sixteen years of practical experience with XP and Scrum, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master and interviewing dozens of Product Owner candidates on behalf of my clients.

    So far, this Product Owner interview guide has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.

    Hiring: 82 Product Owner Interview Questions—Sprint Planning, Review, and Retrospective — Berlin Product People GmbH

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  • The ‘Developers Code’ Fallacy — Making Your Scrum Work #9

    TL; DR: The Developers Code Fallacy — They Should Talk to Customers, Too, Though

    There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Given that Scrum is a framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. The Developers Code Fallacy starts with the idea that Developers are rare and expensive and should focus on creating code. Business analysts or customer care agents can talk to customers instead. However, in practice, it has a diminishing effect on a Scrum team’s productivity and creativity. It is a sign for an organization still profoundly stuck in industrial paradigm thinking.

    Join me and explore the reasons and the consequences of this Scrum anti-pattern in 110 seconds.

    The Developers Code Fallacy — Making Your Scrum Work #9 — Berlin Product People GmbH

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  • Four Scrum Master Success Principles

    TL; DR: Four Scrum Master Success Principles

    Contrary to popular belief, the Scrum Master success principles are tangible, when we guide the analysis with an outside perspective.

    Read on and discover four Scrum Master success principles: From when not to use Scrum to product quality to supporting the Product Owner to putting self-management at the center.

    Four Scrum Master Success Principles — Berlin Product People GmbH

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