EP18: Commit/Expect: Building Working Agreements Between Product Owners and Teams

In this Agile Skills Library episode, Geoff and Paul introduce a workshop technique called “Commit and Expect,” used to clarify responsibilities and improve relationships within agile teams. They describe how a product owner and a development team (and optionally a scrum master) each create two lists: what they will commit to and what they expect from the other party, then compare lists to identify agreements and disagreements and turn shared items into working agreements. The discussion emphasises starting with areas of alignment, using facilitation to handle delicate mismatches, and treating commitments as relationship-building that can grow over time with evidence in retrospectives. They address objections that it resembles a RACI or feels transactional, arguing it prompts nuanced conversations beyond job descriptions. They also mention downloadable templates and briefly demonstrate the technique by negotiating episode editing and content hosting.

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:45 Why Commit Expect

01:36 Origins and Rediscovery

02:59 How the Exercise Works

04:10 Agreements and Working Rules

06:15 Variants and Team Charter

08:35 Conflict Case Study

10:42 Go Slow Build Trust

12:33 RACI and Transactional Concerns

16:44 Facilitation Tips and Templates

18:03 Live Commit Expect Demo

18:45 Wrap Up and Goodbye