Why agile customers become monsters?

Karoliina Luoto · Scan Agile 2017 March 2, 15:00, Track 2

Why agile customers become monsters?

And how can they be helped? Why agile customers become monsters And how they can be helped

Picture: © Disney Pixar

Karoliina Luoto · Codento · Scan Agile 2017 March 2

Karoliina Luoto + Codento

Consultant and Coach for

Agile Lean development Focus: product leadership Before: systems agilist, collaboration specialist, product owner

Change agent’s right hand in lean software development

Let me tell you A story

[email protected] · @totoroki · +358 40 765 8504

Photo:SamHowzit,FlickrPicture:Malabooboo,Flickr

Monsters Inc. Wanted to develop an e-child-scarer


The product manager team had heard about this Scrum and Lean Startup thing and wanted to try them out



A company called Monsters Inc. Wanted to develop an e-child-scarer


The project board Was a bit suspicious about agile



A company called Monsters Inc. Wanted to develop an e-child-scarer


But the e-scarer had potential - So they found the money

The brand new Product Owner was super happy about how agile and lean seemed ”We don’t need a plan, we’ll just find a team, start developing and continue from there!”



The Development Team Was talented and visionated


The Product Manager Team Worked their arses off


Writing and prioritizing Backlog items

And the team really got User stories completed

POs got loads of user feedback And tried to answer it all


And the team really got Sprint goals completed

Often Sprint Reviews Were revelations for POs


So this is the kind of product We are building! Seems Excellent!


Time flied, project board tired Where are the business results?


The Scrum Team did great But nobody appreciated this


Finally the PO burnouted It seemed impossible to succeed


The project was shut down: ”Agile is not for us”


*The dev team was baffled What had gone wrong?

The team and others were baffled What had gone wrong?

The team was baffled What had they done wrong?


”We lost sight of product vision! And forgot to track value!”

”And that turned us to Project Monsters!”


So how could the Development Team have helped?

Agile Client Hand-Holder Test for Scrum Masters and Dev Teams 1.  Have you had a liftoff (kickoff) for both methods AND product vision?

Test by: Karoliina Luoto

2.  Have you asked for project management vision on the value of the product? Vision document? Lean canvas? KPIs or OKRs?

3.  Does your Product Owner have an overall product plan, like a user story map?

8.  Have you told the Product Owner what you feel is worth focusing on?

9.  Are you focusing on 20 % solutions that can fulfill 80 % of the need?

6.  Are the decision-makers attending reviews?

4.  Are you asking the PO to test – early and often?

7.  Is your Product Owner attending retrospectives?

5.  Is someone tracking user value over sprints?

Tools for Helping out the client


Make them do A vision canvas

It forces to check all the basics are thought through

If the vision is clear, it will only take them an hour

Focus on the validations – how are the assumptions verified?


Make them do A product map

Technique optional, essential to see the whole product at once

Helps planning for Minimum Lovable Product


Helps inspection of progress

Users(described with personas)

Activities e.g. ”cooking lunch”

Steps e.g. ”making the sauce”

Detailse.g. ”adding wine”

Release slice

User Story Mapping

Model by: Jeff Patton

Get value feedback From Users in Sprints

Is this something you: A)  love? B)  expect? C)  are indifferent about? D)  hate?

Get the feedback to the decision-makers


Picture: gdsteam, Flickr

Three tools, More party!


The End J Codento.com

Karoliina Luoto · @totoroki · +358 40 765 8504

Further tools and reading Greetings to your Product Owner J

•  Karoliina Luoto: Tuoteomistajan Scrum-pikaopas http://content.codento.fi/download/tuoteomistajan-scrum-pikaopas

•  Downloadable vision canvas in Finnish: http://www.codento.fi/lataa-lean-visiolakana-ohjelmistoprojektiisi/

•  Downloadable vision canvas in English: http://www.codento.fi/en/service/agile-methodologies-and-lean/

•  Jeff Patton: User Story mappinghttp://jpattonassociates.com/user-story-mapping/

Why agile customers become monsters?

Leadership & Management

Transcript of Why agile customers become monsters?