Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

Why Your Process Changes Are Failing—The Stakeholder Alignment Problem | Deniz Ari

May 21, 2025

Deniz Ari, an Agile coach and delivery manager, discusses the pitfalls of process changes in organizations. They share a personal journey of attempting to streamline project visibility using JIRA, only to discover misalignment among stakeholders. The conversation emphasizes the necessity of understanding diverse perspectives of product owners and developers before implementing changes. Deniz also reflects on how emotional responses to change impact team dynamics, offering insights into bridging gaps for successful collaboration.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Change is a Long Emotional Process

Change is a long process requiring patience and trust in the change curve phases.
People react emotionally to change as they protect what they already have.

ANECDOTE

Struggles With Tool Adoption

Deniz introduced BigPicture under Atlassian to improve project visibility for 10+ in-flight projects with many dependencies.
Despite liking the tool, only she kept updating it while others stuck to their own project plans.

ANECDOTE

Conflicting Tool Preferences

Teams used Microsoft Project plans instead of the shared Jira tool, causing a disconnect.
Product Owners preferred high-level milestones, while teams needed detailed tasks for sizing and sprint goals.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Deniz Ari: Why Your Process Changes Are Failing—The Stakeholder Alignment Problem

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

Deniz explores the challenges of implementing change in organizations, emphasizing that change is always a long and difficult process requiring patience and trust. Drawing on the Change Curve concept, Deniz shares a personal experience trying to improve project visibility by cleaning up backlogs in JIRA for 10 in-flight projects. Despite good intentions, Deniz found themselves as the only person using the tool, with team members and Product Owners using different systems that better suited their specific needs—POs wanting only high-level items while the development team needed to split items into smaller tasks. Through this experience, Deniz learned the crucial importance of having all stakeholders (Product Owners, development teams, and managers) aligned on using the same tool, and understanding the unique perspectives of each group before implementing process changes.

In this episode, we refer to the Change Curve.

Self-reflection Question: What changes have you attempted to implement that failed because you didn't fully understand the different needs and perspectives of all stakeholders involved?

[The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn’t just about innovation—it’s about coaching!🔥

Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she’s caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t just about the product—it’s about the people.

🚨 Will Angela’s coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue.

Buy Now on Amazon

[The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

About Deniz Ari

Deniz is an innovative, driven professional with expertise in Agile coaching, delivery management, data science, and technology transformation. As a Scrum Master and Agile Coach, Deniz builds high-performing teams, drives strategic execution, and fosters collaboration. Passionate about continuous improvement, they lead cultural shifts, optimize processes, and deliver scalable, high-quality outcomes.

You can link with Deniz Ari on LinkedIn.