Advanced Scrum Case Studies Vol 5

An Unloved Product Backlog Item

By: Frederik Mark Fowler

Narrated by: Frederik Mark Fowler

You are a Scrum Master and you are joining an existing team. There is a problem, though. The Product Owner is unhappy. There is a high priority item on the Product Backlog that the developers are refusing to add to their Sprint. They say that Scrum gives them the right to choose the work they do, and they claim the so called "high priority" item is not very important at all.

What should you do?

This case and the others in the series come from the real-world experiences of a group of Scrum professionals who meet regularly to discuss the Scrum Framework and how to apply it to actual situations they have encountered. These discussions have been led since 2015 by Frederik Mark Fowler, A Doctor of Scrum and Holder of the Professional Scrum Master level III certification awarded by Scrum.org. Fred has worked with the Scrum Framework for almost 20 years and has trained more then 300 people to become Scrum Masters and Product Owners. For more information, visit www.Patreon.com/SiliconValleyScrum.

©2025 Frederik Mark Fowler (P)2025 Frederik Mark Fowler