The Power of Storytelling in Product Ownership | Dominika Bula

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

Dominika Bula: The Power of Storytelling in Product Ownership

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

The Great Product Owner: Storytelling and Focus

Dominika shares a story about a great Product Owner (PO) who excelled in communicating the essence of what the team was doing through storytelling. This PO acted as an ambassador, bridging the gap between the team and stakeholders. They knew when to step in and when to step back, allowing the team to contribute their ideas. This PO also helped the team focus by presenting clear objectives and guiding the team through challenges without micromanaging. Their ability to communicate and foster collaboration made them an excellent example of what a Product Owner should strive to be.

The Bad Product Owner: Overwhelmed and Isolated

In contrast, Dominika highlights a negative Product Owner pattern where the PO tried to take on too much by themselves. Lacking a holistic view of their role, this PO attempted to manage everything alone, making decisions without team input and feeling overwhelmed as a result. This led to a lack of team collaboration, with the team feeling unappreciated and their feedback ignored. The PO, in this case, failed to justify or validate their decisions, leading to disengagement and frustration for both the PO and the team.

Self-reflection Question: Are you fostering collaboration as a Product Owner, or are you trying to manage everything on your own? Leave your answer in the comments, let’s get this conversation started!

About Dominika Bula Dominika is an Agile Coach at SAP Signavio with a strong background in agile practices from her experiences at Oracle and Red Hat. She is passionate about Kanban and firmly believes that Agile and DevOps are the perfect combination. As a facilitator for the Women in Agile mentorship program, Dominika is dedicated to supporting and nurturing the next generation of agile leaders. You can link with Dominika Bula on LinkedIn.