University of Twente Student Theses
Product Owners’ Observed Emotional Intelligence Throughout the Planning, Refinement, and Retrospective Agile Team Meetings : An Exploratory Study
Nijland, M.M. (2024) Product Owners’ Observed Emotional Intelligence Throughout the Planning, Refinement, and Retrospective Agile Team Meetings : An Exploratory Study.
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| Abstract: | In today's dynamic business environment, organizations increasingly use Agile methodologies to adapt to the evolving needs of the environment. Within Agile teams, the Product Owner plays a crucial role, not only in managing the product backlog and representing stakeholder needs but increasingly in their ability to empathize and effectively manage interpersonal dynamics. Emotional Intelligence is critical in understanding how individuals manage emotions and interpersonal relationships, thus influencing team dynamics and performance. However, gaps remain in understanding how Emotional Intelligence manifests in a team structure lacking a traditional leader. This study aims to investigate how Emotional Intelligence is expressed through Product Owners' verbal behaviors in Agile team meetings, and how their observed Emotional Intelligence differs between the Agile team meetings. It addresses the gap in knowledge by exploring EI beyond self-perceived measures, focusing on actual observed verbal behaviors. Using a mixed-methods design, three meetings of three Agile teams from a large Dutch organization in the financial services sector were analyzed using video observations, meeting transcripts, and surveys. The study focused on identifying and categorizing verbal behaviors indicative of Emotional Intelligence and comparing these behaviors across different types of meetings. The findings revealed varying levels of Emotional Intelligence among Product Owners across different Agile meetings. Specifically, planning meetings showed higher perceptions of Emotional Intelligence. Interestingly, these findings, however, varied by team; for one team, the most observed EI moments occurred during the refinement meeting, indicating a need for nuanced analysis. Moreover, the study investigated the impact of perceived Emotional Intelligence on squad and Product Owner performance. The research highlights the importance of Emotional Intelligence in Agile contexts and illustrates how Product Owners adapt their Emotional Intelligence behaviors to the specific objectives and dynamics of each meeting type. Future research should further explore, on a larger scale, how Emotional Intelligence impacts team performance and evolves across the three different meetings within the entire team. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | International Business Administration BSc (50952) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/100269 |
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