This document describes the author's career journey from analyst to product owner to scrum master within one year. It provides examples of phrases someone in each role might say. For analysts, examples include enjoying giving progress updates and writing reports. For product owners, examples include bringing value to customers and knowing the product backlog well. For scrum masters, examples include facilitating retrospectives and ensuring team health. The document concludes with tips for talking to one's boss about a desired next career step, such as knowing one's goals and getting feedback on strengths and areas for growth.

1. JOURNEY FROM ANALYST
TO PRODUCT OWNER TO
SCRUM MASTER IN THE
SAME YEAR
Katrina L. C. Tanner
Scrum Master II
ktanner@cvent.com
770.778.3321

2. AGENDA
Intro – Who am I?
My journey
 LA – 2016-2018 – Analyst but earned my CSM and CSPO
 EQX – 2018-2019 – Hired as a BA/PO, became SM at the same time
 Cvent – 2019-current – SM
You might be a good ___ if you say things like ____
 Analyst
 Product Owner
 Scrum Master
Tips on How to talk to your boss about your next step

3. MY JOURNEY

4. MY JOURNEY FROM BA TO PO TO SM
• Agile Consultant firm – March 2016- March 2018 – hired as Analyst, role was in the making,
performed as Exec Assist to the COO for the first year while also performing as Analyst as it
developed – was on a team of 3 other analysts all with different clients
• Credit Bureau – May 2018- March 2019 – Hired as Product Owner, Person serving as SM was
also the Tech Lead and People Manager so I ended up served as Scrum Master at the same time
“temporarily” and then a Program Manager was hired and I ended up being a Scrum Master
that managed the backlog and prioritization – 1 team with 8-12 people rotating almost every
sprint
• Event Planning Software Technology– April 2019 to current – Fully Dedicated Scrum Master to 3
mostly stable teams – 2 remote and 1 local (plus following a fourth contract team with their
own contract SM)

5. YOU MIGHT BE A
BA/PO/SM IF…

6. YOU MIGHT BE A GOOD ANALYST IF YOU SAY THINGS
LIKE…
“I love being a liaison.”
“I prefer being in the background, coordinating things behind scenes.”
“I enjoy giving progress.”
“I love writing reports.”
“The contract shows the client is expecting an Agile 101 course for Team A, but it looks like that did not
happen. Why is that?”
“The team ended up not needing the Agile 101 course because all the attendees had already attended
one.”
“We have $5000 left in the budget, $2500/dy per consultant, and I see we still have 5 calendar days left in
the contract.”
“I am editing the workshop final report and noticed there is “bitching” in the text referring to people
corresponding. Is that industry standard?”
“I enjoy writing summaries and comprising information.”
“The client wants all of our materials rebranded in their templates. I can own that, I just need the
templates from Marketing.”
“We completed an Agile Foundations, Backlog Refinement Workshop, and Certified Scrum Master
Trainings for Teams A and B. Too many people from Team C were on vacation at the time, so they have
deferred and would like to schedule at a separate date when everyone can attend.”

7. YOU MIGHT BE A GOOD PRODUCT OWNER IF YOU SAY
THINGS LIKE…
“I love working directly with customer, doing a needs assessment and following the product from idea to release.”
“I love seeing the development of products ensuring they are good quality and meet the customer needs.”
“I love bringing value to the client and the business.”
“I know the backlog like the back of my hand.”
“I enjoy solving problems.”
“The client specifically wanted the login button to be blue.”
“It is cool to build cool stuff, but we have to remember we have a client paying us to build what they want us to build.”
“Not only do we have to care about revenue generating items, we have to care about cost-generating items if they are not done.”
“I am working with Corporation A to get the credentials we need to login to their prod environment. We will need that before we can
move forward.”
“We are still waiting on the patent for Product X. We cannot go live until we get that. Once we go live, it is no longer eligible for a
patent.”
“Corporation Z is our largest client. If we don’t get Product Z out by ____, they already confirmed they will go to ___.”
“We completed Feature T 2 sprints (4 weeks) sooner than planned, and it will be ready to push to prod by ___. We can start on
Feature R now and have it ready by ____, by this end of this quarter, instead of next (3 months early).”
“We can do that, but we won’t be able to complete the other two features lined up within the same timeline without more money or
team members.”

8. YOU MIGHT BE A GOOD SCRUM MASTER IF YOU SAY
THINGS LIKE…
“I love working in a team and making sure my team is healthy.”
“I love ceremonies, especially the retrospective!”
“I am a good listener and have an eye for details.”
“I love to celebrate wins!”
“I noticed that Todd has been “sick” and “working from a home a lot.” When he is in the office, he is more quiet than usual.”
“Sam’s manager, a UI/UX dev, reached out to me this morning and said he will start working with us. Is he going to work with a specific team or across all teams in the department?”
“In my 1:1s with all the team members, everyone called out Angela as a problem. I have also observed this person yelling, coming in late, and using passive aggressive comments shutting down team
members ideas. When she is not there, team members comment on how things just go smoother and without arguments.”
“Jamie is currently working on two teams. He says he feels pulled in multiple directions and unable to give his undivided attention in either way. Can you tell me more about his roles and what we can
do to roll him off one team or the other so he can be fully dedicated?”
“Abby and Jonathan are on Team B, but they are not working on Scrum team related items. What are they working on? What was the thinking of having them on this team? It is creating a distraction
for the other team members.”
“Team C was not able to meet their sprint commitments because they had a team member go on an emergency leave.”
“I noticed there are team members who are online late every Tuesday for a release. Is there a policy for them to leave early or come in late the next day? I am concerned about them getting burnt
out?”
“Annette, you seem really frustrated right now? Are you frustrated that you are receiving the request? Or are you frustrated that you may have to fulfil the request?”
“How are you doing today, really?” “Thank you! “Great job!”
“Standups are only 15 minutes and there are other teams waiting for the conference rooms for their standups. We really nee to be ontime. If we cannot be ontime, do we want to move the standup
time to a later timeslot?”
“I don’t mind accommodating but I really don’t like people messin’ with my schedule!”
“It seems we have been waiting on the client credentials for a few sprints now. Who is the POC and would you like to me to reach out to see how I can move things along?”
“Being a Scrum Master is more than just the surface level activities like facilitating ceremonies. It involves following up on items, making connections, reaching out via phone, email, instant chat to
whoever I am talking to. It’s not only compassion, but also very operations based – scheduling meetings with 30+ invitees and working around each person’s schedule, ordering food, setting up
necessary trainings.”, .

9. NEXT STEPS

10. TIPS FOR TALKING TO YOUR BOSS ABOUT YOUR NEXT
STEP
Know what you want, or at least don’t want, and WHY you want it – career growth, more money,
more flexibility, etc.
Start researching the role you are interested
Talk to people already in that role about what they love about the role and challenges they
experience
Get feedback from people that know skills you already have to excel at the role vs things you might
want to improve
Be intentional, genuine and have courage
***When you have this conversation, be prepared to move on
Question to ask yourself: Where will you thrive, not just survive?