PO hiding problems very well from Stakeholders. What should Scrum Master do in this case?
If PO constantly and very well hides product problems from stakeholders and management, he also says and demonstrates that very well, and says there are no problems and everything is fine. The team also can not do anything about it. This has been going on for a long time. But all is not so good in reality. What should Scrum Master do in this case?
I'm sure if the Scrum Master (SM) is noticing this that others are too.
Has the SM had a conversation with the PO to determine if there's an underlying reason to this pattern of behavior?
Another approach is to provide evidence to the PO of how this behavior can negatively impact the Product outcomes, team performance, etc. and help them come up with a plan to be more transparent about issues.
The team also can not do anything about it.
Why can’t the team do anything about product problems?
Why can’t the team do anything about product problems?
My question as well... also, during Sprint Review, would those product problems not surface when the team is demonstrating? And if not, why not?
ok
Most HR departments can answer on how to anonymous alert the management about the situation. But after they have talked to the PO, he will know that somebody in his team have done it without talking to him. You be the judge if the following method are suitable for you or not, but in "sales" when you have a customer and a hot topic, you can act a little stupid and talk about the subject like it was not a hot topic at all. In this case for example you can ignore that the PO have presented the solution as "OK" (that is just a mental blocker for you) and just treat the issues as "everybody knows it and it´s not a hot topic" and just ask the PO what to do about it. You can just ask the PO till next sprint review - "how shall we present the issue with ... A B C?" The truth is that the PO may not have the same view as you have, I have meet this many time in my carrier, and if that is the case, you will find out the way he/she answers. If the PO don´t see the problem, you can be political and suggest "I Think we have different views in group about the status and potential problem for some areas, can we have a meeting and align our thoughts?" If you have a big problem you have a compulsive liar that always ignores problems and live in denial, which happens also.
Talk to the PO and explain the effects of hiding these issues.
- Encourage developers to create new Tech Dept items.
- Hold a Retrospective without the PO. Document all the issues.
- Provide an End of Sprint report yourself, list the Retrospective items, list the Tech Dept items, the impediments met during the Sprint.
- Present this End of Sprint Report to the Stakeholders end of sprint with the PO as a silent observer.
Stakeholders will demand actions.