A few weeks ago, I ran a simulated job interview with ChatGPT for a fictitious Scrum Master position. Admittedly, I would not have invited this “interviewee” for an interview with other team members; however, the interview produced some remarkable answers. Consequently, I tried the same with a Product Owner position, aware of the challenges this would pose, as the Product Owner role is significantly fuzzier than the one of a Scrum Master. So, I took a few questions from the Hiring: 82 Scrum Product Owner Interview Questions guide and ran a ChatGPT Product Owner job interview.
Read on and learn whether a statistical model will challenge product people in the near future.
TL; DR: How ChatGPT Works — Food for Agile Thought #380
Welcome to the 380th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 36,747 peers. This week, we learn how ChatGPT works; Stephen Wolfram wrote an epic article essential for everyone working in the knowledge space. Moreover, we introduce a new category — 🍋 The Lemon of the Week — for pieces that get everything wrong. It would be best if you were strong for the first example; someone built a stack-ranking system for Developers based on velocity. Back to the real world: We share a simple revelation, explaining all: ‘We cannot know the value of our work until it’s done and in use.’ (Of course, everyone wants us to predict what value will be created in advance precisely; you notice the contradiction.) Also, we push back against the consensus and delve into the possibilities to overcome the ‘various hurdles keeping us from doing our best work.’
Then, we compile a comprehensive list of behavioral anti-patterns for newbies and seasoned product practitioners alike, from building your work on assumptions to falling in love with your solution. Roman Pichler addresses how to best utilize Scrum’s potential to deliver valuable Increments as a product mensch, from including product discovery to aligning stakeholders, and we put ‘forward an alternative mental model for product development: think about building a garden, not a factory.’
Finally, the Scrum Master Salary Report 2023 is out; see below. Additionally, Teresa Torres shares the result of the first Continuous Discovery Habits survey. On the tool side, we found a simple yet helpful tool identifying the key features of your product and an introductory guide on supporting your CoP to mature, from guiding principles to meeting formats.
TL; DR: The Scrum Master Salary Report 2023 — How Do You Compare?
The Scrum Master Salary Report 2023 is the fourth edition of the industry survey after 2017, 2019, and 2022. This free report is based on the answers of 1,143 participants globally. If you are considering a career decision this year, maybe, whether you should join the industry as a junior Scrum Master or move to a new organization or go independent, you will find the report’s information beneficial.
By the way, the average salary of the participants in the survey is US-$80,995, with a standard deviation of about US-$53,700. In the complete report, you will find more detailed information; download your copy below.
Welcome to the Download Page of the Scrum Master Salary Report
How do you compare? The Scrum Master Salary Report 2024 is based on 1,100-plus replies from practitioners gathered globally during the 4th quarter of 2023. Learn more about your Scrum Master career opportunities for free.
The Background of the Scrum Master Salary Report
The Scrum Master Salary Report 2024 is the fifth edition of the industry survey after 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023. This free report is based on the answers of 1,114 participants globally. If you are considering a career decision this year, maybe whether you should join the industry as a junior Scrum Master, move to a new organization, or go independent, you will find the report’s information beneficial.
By the way, the average salary of the participants in the survey is $87,800, with a standard deviation of about $46,400. In the complete report, you will find more detailed information. But see for yourself by downloading your copy of the Scrum Master Salary Report 2024:
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TL; DR: Patton’s Product Vision — Food for Agile Thought #379
Welcome to the 379th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 36,703 peers. This week, we follow Jeff Patton when he revisits his beliefs on the product vision. Also, Henrik Kniberg reflects on the ‘Spotify Model,’ if there is such a model, to begin with, how it started, what its principles are, and whether copying it is a good idea, and Reforge engages in more Scrum bashing with little knowledge of how Scrum works in practice when not run by dogmatic lunatics. Moreover, we sketch how to help your stakeholders build trust in your delivery capabilities and point to twelve success principles of employing a Definition of Done to ensure that.
Then, we learn why Rebecca Ackermann fears that, instead of democratizing access to design, Design Thinking accomplished the opposite, and we reject the idea that ‘90% of product managers are incompetent or lazy or quietly quitting’ because stakeholders consider them unresponsive to their product requests. Our weekly dose of AI is provided by Lenny Rachitsky and Marily Nika, who delve into the importance of artificial intelligence concerning the future of product management.
Finally, we enjoy Tanmay Vora’s illustration of ‘six components of creating a culture of change acceptance based,’ from ownership to relevance, and listen to Jocko Willink diving into decision-making and why people closest to problems need a voice in how to solve them. Lastly, Dan Shipper details how he used GPT-3 and the content from a newsletter archive to create a niche chatbot.
TL; DR: The Definition of Done: Business Agility & Technical Excellence
Most of the time, stakeholders are not interested in how we solve their problems as long as we ethically play by the rules. Instead, they are interested in the regular delivery of valuable Increments as these pave the road to business agility. However, there is no business agility without technical excellence, which brings us to today’s topic: the importance of an actionable Definition of Done.
Learn more about twelve success principles of employing such a Definition of Done as a Scrum team to help your organization become agile.
