Say Yes to New Adventures

"Product Owner often change the priorities mid-sprint and adds new work. This impacts the Sprint Plan." 

Yesterday, I interviewed a candidate for the post of an Agile Project Manager role. When I interview a candidate, I typically look for a candidate who understands the fundamentals so well, to be the perfect match to the culture of the company.

So, while I was interviewing a candidate we discussed many topics. One of the important topic we discussed was handling the changing priorities. I always enjoy hearing different point of views about Agile and Scrum. Let’s see how it unfolded.

Ready? Let’s begin.

Me : Sam, what is one thing you hate the most about Product Owner?
Sam : This is very unusual question. But I hate when they keep adding requirements mid sprint. This makes me rework with team, and that irritates the team. I wish if Product Owner avoids this.
Me : I see. But why you think it should irritate you as an Agile Project Manager?
Sam : It's a re-do of the priorities and results in re-work for the team. This goes against the Sprint plan and Sprint goal.
Me : But Agile Manifesto says, Responding to change over following a plan. So why should we have a sprint plan ?

Sam : I understand it, but there needs to be some plan for effective delivery. Correct ?

This was an interesting conversation about the changing priorities. It gives an idea about different schools of thoughts about changing priorities. Its indeed a common challenge every scrum team faces and yet struggles to find a right solution to it.

Now, I want to ask you:

based on this conversation, would YOU hire Sam?

Whether your answer is yes or no, please explain your reasoning in the comments below.

If you want to master this topic and run Scrum like a pro, consider joining my Agile Project Manager course. Don't miss out on the opportunity to elevate your skills!