Addressing a "no Product owner" situation
Hi SM's
I have joined a new organization and the situation I have is, the delivery lead has already decided onto a fixed bid project with around 1000 SP's, 9 months, team size will be around 7. When I say team, its not a team as there is no PO, but just SM and dev. There will be an external Business Analyst (BA)who will be supporting when needed.
Now above is just a gist of the team I was introduced to and I am still getting on with onboarding and yet to get into the pitch to make any decisions. But I see a lot of risk here already, and how do I convey.
- Team is new to function, technology is new, I feel 1000 SP in 9 months, i.e., ~50 SP each sprint without any buffer is a real tough game.
- No PO is a bad sign. But please suggest how do I go ahead in this case, I have already told them, this would impact the vision, value and scope related issues might arise. But I also want to write them on an email. Any SM here faced the no PO situation? (FYI, there is no other way as resources are already finalized and no further budget for a PO).
Thanks in advance!
In Scrum time can be fixed and budget fixed, and quality will be fixed without compromise, but scope will not.
- Who estimated this "1000 SP" of work? Was it the Developers who will actually be doing it to the necessary level of Done quality?
- Without a PO, who is accountable for ensuring the work undertaken actually provides value, and for managing an emergent Product Backlog?
- Where is the need for innovation, and why is Scrum being attempted here at all?
These are the things I'd be looking to clarify in the first instance.
From your description, I do not see anything that indicates the Scrum framework is being used. I do not even see any agile practices in use. You have a Manager that is making decisions and then telling the staff to complete specific work in a specific period of time. The company may use some terminology from Scrum and other agile practices but that does not mean much.
@Ian's questions are spot on for this. They get to the heart of the issue. I would start with those questions and ask the "delivery lead" to answer them and explain how they expect the developers to be agile.
While the team is new to the function and technology, On what basis the 1000 SP and 9 months time was estimated ?. Were there any assumptions made and risks identified during the project planning ? Was it made transparent to all the stakeholders and agreed by them ? As you already see risks in this approach and missing accountabilities in the team, You can discuss it with the "Delivery Lead" to understand how they think this approach will work and what is their expectation from you, the team and the outcome. Put forth your points why you think this plan is not viable. If it is push from top management, raise your concern to that level as well.
Appreciate all the inputs! Agree its not true Scrum here, where the team is driven mostly by defined project deadlines. I have given my inputs to the top management and the decision is to replan risk mitigations, resources, velocity per sprint during a kick off sprint. BA will play an equivalent role to PO.