Why might leaders turn to the Product Operating Model (POM) after a previous Agile transformation, for example, based on SAFe, failed?
This article uncovers the psychological, organizational, and strategic reasons behind this seeming contradiction, exploring what motivates leaders to believe that a new approach will succeed where others have not.
By all means, the “Product Operating Model” (POM) has surged in popularity, especially among traditional organizations keen to prove their adaptability. (And, of course, among the McBostonians who, now that ”Agile” is dead, need a substitute to bill their junior consultants.) Which brings us to the problem of Product Washing.
On the surface, the product operating model promises a more customer-focused, outcome-driven approach. Empowered teams create value iteratively rather than following rigid, output-focused roadmaps. Best of all, they do so autonomously, well-aligned with the organization’s overall strategy and the possibly myriad other teams working on different initiatives. Think of SAFe done right.
Yet, for all its promise, the product operating model risks becoming another buzzword rather than an actual driver of transformation. Organizations that tout a “product-led” philosophy often do so without making the profound changes needed to live by it. This hollow adoption of product practices, or what we might call “Product Washing,” leaves companies stuck in the same old dynamics but with a new vocabulary: transformation by reprinting business cards. (Does this sound familiar?)
The purpose of this anonymous Scrum Master salary report is to create a clear, data-backed benchmark that allows everyone in the Agile community to understand whether their compensation is adequate. The report will cover Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, both employed and freelancing.
The goal is to have at least 1,000 replies by the end of December 2024 to create the report in time for February 2025. The report will be available for free.
📈 Join the Anonymous Poll for the Upcoming Free Scrum Master Salary Report 2025.
We’re thrilled to announce that the virtual Hands-on Agile 2025 is officially on the horizon and will be free to attend from February 4-6, 2025. This time, we will focus on how Agile needs to evolve from concept-based agility to context-based agility.
But before we discuss what that means, let’s take a step back and consider why Hands-on Agile 2025 is going to be a can’t-miss event for everyone in the agile community.
For those unfamiliar, Hands-on Agile isn’t just another conference. It’s an event built around the Barcamp model, meaning it’s a self-organized, community-driven gathering with one goal: Sharing knowledge and experiences.
From February 4 to 6, 2025, we will spend three energizing days engaging in sessions, practicing agile games, sharing war stories, and learning directly from each other. Hands-on Agile is all about creating a space for practitioners, coaches, leaders, and newcomers to connect in a truly hands-on way.
Are you facing challenges in aligning vision, stakeholders, and your team and delivering real value? Then, prepare to transform your career with my comprehensive, self-paced online class: The Advanced Product Backlog Management Course.
Dive deep into professional Product Backlog management techniques supported by videos, exercises, and an engaging online community of like-minded peers supporting each other:
👉 Transform Your Skills, Transform Your Career — all for an Introductory Price of $99!
Please note:
Are you considering a new Scrum Master or Agile Coach job? However, you are not sure that it is the right organization? Don’t worry; there are four steps of proactive research to identify suitable employers or clients for getting hired as a Scrum Master and avoid disappointment later.
I have used those four steps for years to identify organizations I would like to work with, and they never failed me. Read on and learn how to employ search engines, LinkedIn’s people search, reach out to peers in the agile community, and analyze the event markets in the quest for your next Scrum Master job.
ChatGPT can be an excellent tool for those who know how to create prompts. The simplest form of prompting ChatGPT is to feed it the task and ask for results. However, this approach is unlikely to trigger the best response from the model.
Instead, invest more time in prompt engineering, and provide ChatGPT with a better context of the situation, desired outcomes, data, constraints, etc. The following article offers a primer to creating ChatGPT prompts for Scrum practitioners to get you started running. You will learn:
In this comprehensive Scrum Master Interview guide, we delve into 83 critical questions that can help distinguish genuine Scrum Masters from pretenders during interviews. We designed this selection to evaluate the candidates’ theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and ability to apply general Scrum and “Agile “principles effectively in real-world scenarios—as outlined in the Scrum Guide or the Agile Manifesto. Ideal for hiring managers, HR professionals, and future Scrum teammates, this guide provides a toolkit to ensure that your next Scrum Master hire is truly qualified, enhancing your team’s agility and productivity.
If you are a Scrum Master currently looking for a new position, please check out the “Preparing for Your Scrum Master Interview as a Candidate” section below.
So far, this Scrum Master interview guide has been downloaded more than 25,000 times.
If you are looking to fill a position for a Product Owner in your organization, you may find the following 82 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. They are derived from my sixteen years of practical experience with XP and Scrum, serving both as Product Owner and Scrum Master and interviewing dozens of Product Owner candidates on behalf of my clients.
So far, this Product Owner interview guide has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.
Age-of-Product.com’s parent company — Berlin Product People GmbH — offers Scrum training classes authorized by Scrum.org, Liberating Structures workshops, and hybrid training of Professional Scrum and Liberating Structures. The training classes are offered both in English and German.
Check out the upcoming timetable of training classes, workshops, meetups, and other events below and join your peers.
Welcome to the 469th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,993 peers. This week, Benji Portwin shares a leadership framework for balancing risks and outcomes to support ‘Disagree And Commit,’ and Mike Cottmeyer tackles Scrum’s limitations with proactive orchestration, while Maarten Dalmijn critiques Scrum’s decline. Also, Greg Satell highlights fostering change through shared values, and we explore “Product Washing,” where superficial Product Operating Model adoptions hinder real transformation.
Next, Roman Pichler examines using the product lifecycle model to sustain value, and John Rossman shares insights on bold leadership and AI innovation. Moreover, Melissa Perri unpacks Product Owner and manager roles while critiquing SAFe, and Maja Voje offers frameworks for scalable go-to-market strategies focusing on positioning and systematic approaches.
Lastly, John Cutler focuses on actionable behaviors over abstract concepts. Chris Matts critiques misused value streams and SAFe, and Christina Wodtke discusses OKRs and collaboration. Finally, Ian Vanagas shares PostHog’s agile tech strategies, and Dean Peters humorously tackles product management ‘nightmares’ with sharp insights and actionable control tips.
Welcome to the 468th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,965 peers. This week, Ned O’Leary advocates streamlined, minimalist product processes to improve product velocity, while John Cutler addresses organizational inertia through adaptive structures. Also, Max Levchin shares Affirm’s integrity-driven productivity approach, Maarten Dalmijn analyzes Waternet’s failed SAFe transformation, and Shubham Sharma advocates lean, continuous feedback over traditional Retrospectives.
Next, Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden reveal updated Lean Product and Strategy Canvases for holistic product alignment, Aakash Gupta interviews Maria Cuasay on accelerating growth through focused culture and processes, and Paweł Huryn identifies ten productivity drains in product management. Moreover, Alex Debecker highlights scope bloat’s pitfalls.
Lastly, Adam Ard contrasts collaboration styles, stressing individual ownership vs. team-driven consistency to boost productivity. Kyle Crawford advocates for embracing ambiguity in overcoming barriers to social impact, and Manu Kapur emphasizes “productive failure” as a structured growth tool. Finally, Sheril Mathews reinforces that blending psychological safety with high standards creates an optimal “Learning Zone” for high performance.
How do you deal with prioritization of the flood of new requirements, requests, and ideas? Let’s talk about the challenges of mastering work intake to achieve sustainable productivity and flow. Expect new ideas from authors Jeremy Willets and Tom Cagley on a classic challenge for every team in this fantastic recording of the 64th Hands-on Agile Meetup. (The video was recorded in English.)
📺 Watch the video now: Mastering Work Intake w/ Jeremy Willets and Tom Cagley — Hands-on Agile #64.
Welcome to the 467th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,944 peers. This week, John Cutler explores the adaptive nature of messy product management, emphasizing real-world learning over fixed roles, while Scott Ambler critiques Agile’s “gold rush,” urging a move away from certifications and frameworks toward genuine improvement. Allan Kelly reflects on Art Kleiner’s Age of Heretics, highlighting Agile’s enduring influence despite early transformation failures. Research from Aaron De Smet, Gemma D’Auria, et al. underscores the value of trust and collaboration over “superstar” individuals for team success, and Andy Cleff shares Bob Anderson’s insights on advancing leadership beyond reactive mindsets as essential for true Agile transformation.
Next, Joe Procopio cautions against AI-driven standardization, arguing that real product managers are needed to revive customer-centered innovation, and Noa Ganot offers a three-step approach for maintaining strategic alignment in bottom-up planning, ensuring initiatives align with larger goals. In a podcast, Jason Knight and Jas Shah challenge the “CEO of the product” myth, describing product management as unglamorous and marked by coordination challenges and limited authority. Also, Thijs Morlion and Bart Schroyen introduce a seven-layer model to bridge silos, promoting a collaborative, purpose-driven approach to product development.
Lastly, Jonatan Kruszewski debunks the myth of “zero tech debt,” advocating for manageable debt to enhance delivery and business alignment. Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick delve into Toyota Kata, illustrating how Improvement and Coaching Kata elevate team quality and delivery. Paul Grew introduces a Monte Carlo tool to refine Scrum forecasting, though he emphasizes that data quality and judgment are key. Moreover, Deirdre Cerminaro unpacks systems thinking, presenting mindsets for reframing complex problems. Finally, Dan Shipper suggests that product creation thrives on dynamic, sequence-based thinking over fixed needs, fostering genuine customer engagement through experimentation.
