Scrum PO (product owner) requesting status everyday! Help!

Question

We do daily scrum in which the PO does not attend. But still later PO comes and ask the status and whole team responds. So we are sort of having double daily scrums

Answer 1

John MP already has a good answer (ask the Product Owner (PO) what s/he actually needs, and then discuss options to satisfy these). However, there are two thing I'd like to add:

The Daily Scrum is not a Status Meeting

It's concerning that a whole-team status update meeting is being considered redundant with the Daily Scrum. Likewise the suggestion that the PO could just attend the Daily Scrum to get such an update. The purpose of the Daily Scrum is for the Development Team to collaborate; to keep them on the same page and help each other out (or at least, discover opportunities to do so, after the meeting). The Development Team should not be reporting to anyone (not the PO, not the Scrum Master, not a senior dev, etc.), and turning it into a status meeting is likely to violate this.

The Purpose of the Scrum Board is to provide a Status Overview

The Scrum Board should be the ideal tool to solve this. Its purpose is to provide an overview of the status of the Sprint, both to the whole Scrum Team (including the PO) and possibly even directly to external stakeholders. I see three possibilities: either the Scrum Board is not being maintained correctly, the PO is not educated in its use, or the PO has specialized needs that cannot be completed via looking at a board. The first two are problems that need to be addressed immediately. For the third, as previously suggested, you'll need to work with the PO - there has to be a better way to fulfill the PO's needs than a daily all-hands meeting.

Answer 2

Sounds like the PO herself is creating an impediment for the team by way of inefficient meetings (i.e. unnecessarily duplicating efforts). I think it calls for a discussion where the SM, in a one on one with the PO, can explain the inefficiency and suggest options. One option being moving the meeting to a time where the PO can attend.

Another option is to understand what the PO is truly looking for. As one of the roles of the PO is to work with the business stakeholders, it's possible that she is keeping an eye out for high-level updates that impact the business. If so, the SM should be more than capable to email anything of relevance that falls into the area after the meeting (assuming the PO cannot attend). For instance, a blocker that's specifically connected to a business aspect.

But coming back to my first point: I'd like to think that almost everyone is professional and open to communication. Just discuss the issue with the PO and find the best option that suits her needs without jeopardizing the team's time.

Answer 3

The Scrum Guide

"The Scrum Master enforces the rule that only Development Team members participate in the Daily Scrum." This is because "The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute time-boxed event for the Development Team to synchronize activities and create a plan for the next 24 hours."

"Significant aspects of the process must be visible to those responsible for the outcome. Transparency requires those aspects be defined by a common standard so observers share a common understanding of what is being seen." In this case the Sprint Backlog artifact is the aspect of the process in question.

One thing not desired is an absent Product Owner. It is good for the person filling that role to be asking questions and providing input. It is bad for that person to be seeking status updates.

This is a good topic for the Sprint Retrospective event. Discuss with the entire Scrum Team about the problem (not the person) and discuss options for improvement. Scrum requires the team to inspect and adapt to provide value.