Fixing Your Scrum

The Commander in Chief

We’ve described situations where product owners aren’t given the proper time or authority to fulfill their role properly. But the opposite can be bad, too: A product owner who wields too much power and doesn’t listen to anyone else.

Here’s what that looks like:

The product owner is an almighty being who doesn’t collaborate because he is the single decision-making authority. The development team is expected to obey this person’s every command and the team’s input is not welcome. The Scrum master makes sure the development team doesn’t deviate whatsoever from the product owner’s orders.

During rare meetings with stakeholders, the product owner describes how things are going to be and what is happening. It’s purely a status ...