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APS Secret Agent: The Absent Product Owner

It is important to assess the impact of different team behaviours on the outcomes of Sprints. The purpose of Sprint 3 is to investigate this and this activity on your part will help your team see how different dysfunctional team behaviours impact their effectiveness.

Your Scrum Master and team will not know what’s going on. Part of their role is to figure it out.

It is important to assess the impact of different team behaviours on the outcomes of Sprints. The purpose of Sprint 3 is to investigate this and this activity on your part will help your team see how different dysfunctional team behaviours impact their effectiveness.

Your Scrum Master and the team will not know what’s going on. Part of their role is to figure it out.

YOUR EYES ONLY SPRINT 3
– until the Sprint 3 Retrospective
– instructions to follow

This optional task should be performed during Sprint 3 and only be revealed during the Sprint 3 retrospective. Feel free to overact and have fun. If you are uncomfortable then don’t worry, this is optional! You are free to opt out.

Please do not reveal your secret mission until the Sprint 3 Retrospective.

Playing The Absent Product Owner

The Absent Product Owner is frequently too busy to attend to their responsibilities as prescribed by Scrum. Often, this person sees themselves as having a “real” job that doesn’t include the duties of a Product Owner in Scrum. The Absent Product Owner often wished that developers understood that they have other responsibilities and do not have time to groom Product Backlog Items to the level of detail needed by the Team.

Examples of The Absent Product Owner Behaviour

  • Late or missing from meetings like Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, and Retrospective
  • Preoccupied and dismissive during conversations with the Team
  • Not enough PBIs are ready for Sprint Planning

Typical Effects of Absent Product Owners

  • The Team chooses what to actually deliver in the increment
  • The Team chooses to work on things unrelated to the Sprint Goal or PBIs
  • The Team sees that Scrum is fundamentally not working and elects to abandon the process.

The Sprint 3 Retrospective

At the Sprint 3 Retrospective continue to play the role unless rumbled by your team members! Your mission is a success if you manage to escape detection!

After the Retro we will have a reveal!