Customer-Centric

5 minutes 5 Questions

The focus of scrum teams should not just survive on delivering the product but also ensure customer satisfaction. They should adopt a customer-centric approach where all team members work in unison to deliver a product that satisfies the customer's needs and preferences. Regular feedback and intera…

Guide on Customer-Centric Concept in Scrum

The customer-centric approach in Scrum refers to the focus on meeting the needs and achieving the satisfaction of the customer/client. This approach is crucial because it aligns the objectives of the cross-functional teams with that of the customer’s, ensuing that the final product/service fulfills their expectations and offers value.
What is it?: Customer-centricity means putting the customer at the heart of everything. The idea is to create a positive customer experience at the point of sale and post-sale to drive repeat business, customer loyalty, and profits.
How it works?: In a Scrum team, the end-users or customers' needs are the utmost priority. The team works together to understand the customer needs and issues and then work towards providing the best solutions through regular feedback and iterations.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Customer-Centric: A good understanding of the customer-centric approach theory is important, but you should also understand the practical aspects. Use examples where possible, link it back to the Scrum principles & values, and highlight the benefits to the team and end-customer. Your key focus should be on explaining how the cross-functional teams align their project goals with the customers needs to deliver value.
Note: In an exam scenario, do not confuse customer-centric with being solely driven to please the customer. The balance between customer satisfaction and maintaining the Scrum framework integrity is essential.

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PSM I - Customer-Centric Example Questions

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Question 1

A new feature has been proposed by a product owner to be added in the ongoing sprint. As a Scrum Master, but you noticed that it may not align well with customer's needs. How should you handle this situation?

Gather feedback from customers to validate the necessity and alignment of the new feature with customer needs before proceeding. Initiate a Sprint Retrospective session in advance to discuss the potential inclusion of the new feature and its impact on team workload, even though the current sprint is still ongoing. Immediately incorporate the feature into the sprint backlog to ensure that the team works on the latest demands. Conduct a detailed risk analysis to evaluate the potential negative impacts this feature might have on the project timeline and budget.

Correct Answer: Gather feedback from customers to validate the necessity and alignment of the new feature with customer needs before proceeding.

As a Scrum Master, fostering open communication and ensuring the team's efforts align with customer needs are pivotal. The right approach is to validate the necessity and impact of new features through customer feedback. Incorporating a new feature directly into the sprint backlog without validation can lead to wasted resources on undesired features. Conducting a risk analysis is beneficial but focuses more on project management aspects rather than customer alignment. Initiating a Sprint Retrospective prematurely doesn't address the immediate need for customer validation and might disrupt the team's focus on the current sprint goals.

Question 2

You are a Scrum Master in a software development firm. Your firm is developing a product without consultation with the customers. Some team members are concerned that the final product may not meet customer needs. What's your approach to address this situation?

Push for a change in the sprint goal to exclusively include non-customer-focused tasks, improving internal processes instead. Encourage the team and the Product Owner to invest time in market research instead of interfacing directly with customers or stakeholders, assuming it will provide all the necessary insights for product development. Promote collaboration with the Product Owner to refine the product backlog with items that more accurately reflect customer needs and expectations. Advise the team to focus solely on technical excellence and code quality, assuming this will naturally lead to a product that customers want.

Correct Answer: Promote collaboration with the Product Owner to refine the product backlog with items that more accurately reflect customer needs and expectations.

As a Scrum Master, it's crucial to advocate for practices that enhance customer satisfaction and ensure the product being developed meets customer needs. This often involves fostering a collaborative environment where the Product Owner and development team can work together to prioritize work that directly addresses user feedback and requirements. The incorrect answers misguide by suggesting actions that divert focus away from engaging with customers and their needs, which is counterproductive to Scrum values and principles.

Question 3

As a Scrum Master, your team is constantly firefighting to address complaints from dissatisfied customers. What should be your initiative to address the problem without interrupting the flow of the project?

Increase the frequency of the sprint retrospectives to identify and solve internal issues, mistakenly assuming it would reduce customer complaints. Assign a dedicated team member to handle customer complaints, freeing the rest of the team to focus on the project uninterrupted. Implement a 'Customer Feedback Loop' as part of the sprint review to understand and address customer needs systematically. Organize comprehensive training for the team on advanced customer service strategies, aiming to equip the team better for dealing with customer complaints in their daily tasks.

Correct Answer: Implement a 'Customer Feedback Loop' as part of the sprint review to understand and address customer needs systematically.

Implementing a 'Customer Feedback Loop' as part of the sprint review allows the team to systematically understand and address customer needs without interrupting the project flow. This approach incorporates customer feedback into the regular Scrum events, reducing the need for constant firefighting and ensuring that customer concerns are addressed in an organized manner. Other options either do not directly address the root cause of customer dissatisfaction, may further disrupt the team's workflow, or do not align effectively with Scrum practices.

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