Breaking Records! 34 Participants Join Shin Kong Bank’s CSPO Training, Highlighting Taiwan’s Agile Growth
In this rapidly changing and innovative era, I am delighted to have the opportunity to conduct a Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) training course for colleagues at Shin Kong Bank. Shin Kong Bank has a department dedicated to studying digital transformation, which is staffed by professionals from various backgrounds, including IT personnel and project managers. The participants in this training came from this department, some of whom attended to meet company needs. They are passionate about learning the skills of a Product Owner (PO), and with as many as 34 participants, this was the largest CSPO course we have conducted in the past eight years.
Interestingly, the number of CSPOs in Taiwan is increasing year by year. Although it is still significantly fewer than the number of Certified Scrum Masters (CSMs), more and more people are choosing to become POs, symbolizing the emphasis and demand for agile development. According to statistics from Scrum Alliance, there is one CSPO for every ten CSMs. However, currently in Taiwan, the number of CSPOs has reached 350, while there are 2,000 CSMs, making the ratio 1 to 6. Clearly, the number of people learning CSPO is increasing.
In the two-day course, I co-taught with instructor Bill Li. The enthusiasm and active participation of the students made the classroom atmosphere lively. They eagerly participated in class discussions, and we used diverse case analyses to enable them to integrate theoretical knowledge with real-world situations, transforming it into substantive PO learning experiences.
This yellow book is actually an ideal reference book for a Product Owner (PO). Therefore, before the official start of the course, students had already read through it once. Despite the considerable length of the book, I still selected some core concepts and attitudes that a product owner needs to understand for the students to pre-study. In the classroom, what they learned aligned highly with the spirit of this book. Thus, when the students completed the review needed for CSPO, they could go through this book again to revisit and reinforce the concepts they learned in class.
On the first day of the course, we designed a queue game to allow the students to personally experience the contrast between traditional command-style leadership and the charm of self-organization. We discussed the basics of Scrum, including the role and importance of the PO in the five Scrum events. The students gained a deep understanding of the essence of Scrum 33355 through visualization techniques. During the learning process, the students mastered the core skills and knowledge of a PO, including continually conducting experiments to discover and correct discrepancies, enhancing communication skills, and having the courage to say “no” when resources are limited.
On the second day of the course, we focused more on pushing boundaries and initiating innovation. Starting with an seemingly impossible A4 paper loop game, we encouraged students to think outside the box, innovate, and create products that meet user needs. This included tools and techniques such as the SCAMPER method, user stories, and story maps. The students further learned that product development does not need to be perfect in one step. Instead, it is important to get feedback from stakeholders and then adjust and improve the product based on this feedback.
Finally, regarding how the banking industry can promote agile development, I believe it’s crucial for the general manager of the business group to understand and accept agile mindset training (CSM). The IT department can start with the simplest and most easily achievable project, attempt to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and then gradually expand the scope. In addition, I suggest that colleagues in the legal department join cross-functional teams so they can better understand and address any regulatory issues that may arise during the promotion of agile development.
The wave of digital transformation is rapidly advancing in various industries around the world. To avoid falling behind competitors in this digital revolution, your enterprise might be considering how to more effectively implement agile development. In this process, CSPO certification and the knowledge and skills it brings will be an indispensable resource. A senior executive trained in CSPO can act as a pioneer in leading the agile transformation, but true change requires a team that deeply understands and practices Scrum principles. Establishing a group of CSPOs with a common language and shared vision can form a strong PO platform and process, which will be a key advantage on the road to agile digital transformation. We look forward to working with you to explore the possibilities brought by CSPO and co-create a successful future.
