Somya Mehra: When Technical Expertise Becomes Product Owner Micro-Management

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The Great Product Owner: The Clear Communicator and Dependency Master

Somya worked with an exceptional Product Owner on a project with multiple team dependencies. This PO excelled at clear, direct communication with both stakeholders and the team. They were proactive in stakeholder communication and maintained strong focus on what was needed and why. Their backlog management was exemplary, creating proper epics with comprehensive information including dependencies, enabling the team to easily know who to contact. This approach led to a much more motivated team.

The Bad Product Owner: The Technical Micro-Manager

Somya encountered a technically strong Product Owner whose knowledge became a liability. While technical strength can be beneficial, this PO used their expertise to control the team, telling developers exactly what solutions to implement. Initially, developers accepted this direction, but it escalated to every feature and task. The developers became uncomfortable voicing their perspectives, creating an unhealthy dynamic where the PO's technical knowledge stifled team autonomy and creativity.

Self-reflection Question: How do you help Product Owners leverage their technical knowledge without falling into micro-management patterns?

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About Somya Mehra 

Somya is a Scrum Master at u-blox with nearly 7 years of IT experience across India and Finland. With experience in Waterfall and Agile models, she leads with empathy and a people-first approach. Somya is deeply interested in human behavior and understanding the motivations behind people's actions.

You can link with Somya Mehra on LinkedIn.