Harri Tunturivuori: Helping Product Owners, and navigating conflicting priorities as a Scrum Master: A case study

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

In this episode, Harri discusses a challenging situation he faced while working as a Scrum Master on a product that had three internal customers in different countries with different needs. The biggest problem was getting an ordered backlog, which was difficult because they did not have a product owner. Instead, they agreed on a committee of product owners consisting of one representative from each country. However, it was difficult to get agreements on what was most important, so Harri ended up making the decision of what the team should work on. To shield the team from the confusion with the product owners, Harri only relayed the technical details to them. The team was happy with the work, but unfortunately, when they presented the product to stakeholders, it did not meet their expectations.

Harri's personal failure as a Scrum Master in this situation was that he did not engage with customers and stakeholders enough. He emphasizes the importance of having a single product owner and engaging with customers and stakeholders to avoid similar issues. Harri also mentions that he loved the product, which made it easier to work with the team, but he should have focused more on meeting the stakeholders' expectations. This episode serves as a great lesson for other Scrum Masters and product owners who may be struggling with similar situations, and Harri's tips on engaging with stakeholders and having a single product owner can help them avoid similar failures.

[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.

 

About Harri Tunturivuori

Harri is an experienced leader, Scrum Master, and Agile Coach who was introduced to the world of agile software development in 2010. Since then, Harri has had the pleasure of leading great agile teams in various forms.

Harri enjoys working in a fun environment where there is room for innovation, and Harri is driven by the challenge of growing a group of good people into a great team.

You can link with Harri Tunturivuori on LinkedIn.