Are you afraid of user feedback?

While sprint reviews or system demos are meant to focus on feedback from users, so that you can deliver more value…

…some PMs and POs are afraid that user feedback could challenge their plans/backlogs.

What I see play out almost every week is the struggle to adopt an agile mindset:

? Tayloristic project managers see user feedback as threat to their plan. 

They fear to be embarrassed, if the user brings up an idea they haven‘t thought about. A user saying that a feature does not work for them is their biggest nightmare. It challenges their very understanding as a professional manager!

? Agile product managers see feedback as a gift. 

They demand it, if it doesn‘t come automatically. A user saying that a feature does not work for them is their biggest dream. It helps them prevent developing useless features and nudges them in the right direction.

This attitude clearly shows in reviews and demos. While truly agile companies focus on eliciting feedback and humbly accepting it, the vast majority of companies focuses on presenting progress and preventing changes to the plan.

If you wanna be agile, assess what your attitude is.

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