Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches

• AI Assisted Coding: From Designer to Solo Developer - Building Production Apps with AI With Elina Patjas

  AI Assisted Coding: From Designer to Solo Developer - Building Production Apps with AI In this special episode, Elina Patjas shares her remarkable journey from designer to solo developer, building LexieLearn—an AI-powered study tool with 1,500+ users and paying customers—entirely through AI-assisted coding. She reveals the practical workflow, anti-patterns to avoid, and why the future of software might not need permanent apps at all. The Two-Week Transformation: From Idea to App Store "I did that, and I launched it to App Store, and I was like, okay, so… If I can do THIS! So, what else can I do? And this all happened within 2 weeks."   Elina's transformation happened fast. As a designer frustrated with traditional software development where maybe 10% of your original vision gets executed, she discovered Cursor and everything changed. Within two weeks, she went from her first AI-assisted experiment to launching a complete app in the App Store. The moment that shifted everything was realizing that AI had fundamentally changed the paradigm from "writing code" to "building the product." This wasn't about learning to code—it was about finally being able to execute her vision 100% the way she wanted it, with immediate feedback through testing. Building LexieLearn: Solving Real Problems for Real Users "I got this request from a girl who was studying, and she said she would really appreciate to be able to iterate the study set... and I thought: "That's a brilliant idea! And I can execute that!" And the next morning, it was 9.15, I sent her a screen capture."   Lexie emerged from Elina's frustration with ineffective study routines and gamified edtech that didn't actually help kids learn. She built an AI-powered study tool for kids aged 10-15 that turns handwritten notes into adaptive quizzes revealing knowledge gaps—private, ad-free, and subscription-based. What makes Lexie remarkable isn't just the technology, but the speed of iteration. When a user requested a feature, Elina designed and implemented it overnight, sending a screen capture by 9:15 AM the next morning. This kind of responsiveness—from customer feedback to working feature in hours—represents a fundamental shift in how software can be built. Today, Lexie has over 1,500 users with paying customers, proving that AI-assisted development isn't just for prototypes anymore. The Workflow: It's Not Just "Vibing" "I spend 30 minutes designing the whole workflow inside my head... all the UX interactions, the data flow, and the overall architectural decisions... so I spent a lot of time writing a really, really good spec. And then I gave that to Claude Code."   Elina has mixed feelings about the term "vibecoding" because it suggests carelessness. Her actual workflow is highly disciplined. She spends significant time designing the complete workflow mentally—all UX interactions, data flow, and architectural decisions—then writes detailed specifications. She often collaborates with Claude to write these specs, treating the AI as a thinking partner. Once the spec is clear, she gives it to Claude Code and enters a dialogue mode: splitting work into smaller tasks, maintaining constant checkpoints, and validating every suggestion. She reads all the code Claude generates (32,000 lines client-side, 8,000 server-side) but doesn't write code herself anymore. This isn't lazy—it's a new kind of discipline focused on design, architecture, and clear communication rather than syntax. Reading Code vs. Writing Code: A New Skill Set "AI is able to write really good code, if you just know how to read it... But I do not write any code. I haven't written a single line of code in a long time."   Elina's approach reveals an important insight: the skill shifts from writing code to reading and validating it. She treats Claude Code as a highly skilled companion that she needs to communicate with extremely well. This requires knowing "what good looks like"—her 15 years of experience as a designer gives her the judgment to evaluate what the AI produces. She maintains dialogue throughout development, using checkpoints to verify direction and clarify requirements. The fast feedback loop means when she fails to explain something clearly, she gets immediate feedback and can course-correct instantly. This is fundamentally different from traditional development where miscommunication might not surface until weeks later. The Anti-Pattern: Letting AI Run Rampant "You need to be really specific about what you want to do, and how you want to do it, and treat the AI as this highly skilled companion that you need to be able with."   The biggest mistake Elina sees is treating AI like magic—giving vague instructions and expecting it to "just figure it out." This leads to chaos. Instead, developers need to be incredibly specific about requirements and approach, treating AI as a skilled partner who needs clear communication. The advantage is that the iteration loop is so fast that when you fail to explain something properly, you get feedback immediately and can clarify. This makes the learning curve steep but short. The key is understanding that AI amplifies your skills—if you don't know what good architecture looks like, AI won't magically create it for you. Breaking the Gatekeeping: One Person, Ten Jobs "I think that I can say that I am a walking example of what you can do, if you have the proper background, and you know what good looks like. You can do several things at a time. What used to require 10 people, at least, to build before."   Elina sees herself as living proof that the gatekeeping around software development is breaking down. Someone with the right background and judgment can now do what previously required a team of ten people. She's passionate about others experiencing this same freedom—the ability to execute their vision without compromise, to respond to user feedback overnight, to build production-quality software solo. This isn't about replacing developers; it's about expanding who can build software and what's possible for small teams. For Elina, working with a traditional team would actually slow her down now—she'd spend more time explaining her vision than the team would save through parallel work. The Future: Intent-Based Software That Emerges and Disappears "The software gets built in an instance... it's going to this intent-based mode when we actually don't even need apps or software as we know them."   Elina's vision for the future is radical: software that emerges when you need it and disappears when you don't. Instead of permanent apps, you'd have intent-based systems that generate solutions in the moment. This shifts software from a product you download and learn to a service that materializes around your needs. We're not there yet, but Elina sees the trajectory clearly. The speed at which she can now build and modify Lexie—overnight feature implementations, instant bug fixes, continuous evolution—hints at a future where software becomes fluid rather than fixed. Getting Started: Just Do It "I think that the best resource is just your own frustration with some existing tools... Just open whatever tool you're using, is it Claude or ChatGPT and start interacting and discussing, getting into this mindset that you're exploring what you can do, and then just start doing."   When asked about resources, Elina's advice is refreshingly direct: don't look for tutorials, just start. Let your frustration with existing tools drive you. Open Claude or ChatGPT and start exploring, treating it as a dialogue partner. Start building something you actually need. The learning happens through doing, not through courses. Her own journey proves this—she went from experimenting with Cursor to shipping Lexie to the App Store in two weeks, not because she found the perfect tutorial, but because she just started building. The tools are good enough now that the biggest barrier isn't technical knowledge—it's having the courage to start and the judgment to evaluate what you're building.   About Elina Patjas   Elina is building Lexie, an AI-powered study tool for kids aged 10–15. Frustrated by ineffective "read for exams" routines and gamified edtech fluff, she designed Lexie to turn handwritten notes into adaptive quizzes that reveal knowledge gaps—private, ad-free, and subscription-based. Lexie is learning, simplified.   You can link with Elina Patjas on LinkedIn.

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• Coaching Product Owners from Isolation to Collaboration | Sara Di Gregorio

  Sara Di Gregorio: Coaching Product Owners from Isolation to Collaboration 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. The Great Product Owner: Using User Story Mapping to Break Down PO Isolation "One of the key strengths is the ability to build a strong collaborative relationship with the Scrum team. We constantly exchange feedback, with the shared goal of improving both our collaborating and the way of working." - Sara Di Gregorio   Sara considers herself fortunate—she currently works with Product Owners who exemplify what great collaboration looks like. One of their key strengths is the ability to build strong collaborative relationships with the Scrum team. They don't wait for sprint reviews to exchange feedback; instead, they constantly communicate with the shared goal of improving both collaboration and ways of working.  These Product Owners involve the team early, using techniques like user story mapping after analysis phases to create open discussions around upcoming topics and help the team understand potential dependencies. They make themselves truly available—they observe daily stand-ups not as passive attendees but as engaged contributors. If the team needs five minutes to discuss something afterward, the Product Owner is ready. They attend Scrum events with genuine interest in working with the team, not just fulfilling an attendance requirement. They encourage open dialogue, even participating in retrospectives to understand how the team is working and where they can improve collaboration. What sets these Product Owners apart is their communication approach. They don't come in thinking they know everything or that they need to do everything alone. Their mindset is collaborative: "We're doing this together." They recognize that developers aren't just executors—they're users of the product, experts who can provide valuable perspectives.  When Product Owners ask "Why do you want this?" and developers respond with "If we do it this way, we can be faster, and you can try your product sooner," that's when magic happens. Great Product Owners understand that strong communication skills and collaborative relationships create better products, better teams, and better outcomes for everyone involved.   Self-reflection Question: How are your Product Owners involving the team early in discovery and analysis, and are they building collaborative relationships or just attending required events? The Bad Product Owner: The Isolated Expert Who Thinks Teams Just Execute   "Sometimes they feel very comfortable in their subject, so they assume they know everything, and the team has only to execute what they asked for." - Sara Di Gregorio   Sara has encountered Product Owners who embody the worst anti-pattern: they believe they don't need to interact with the development team because they're confident in their subject matter expertise. They assume they know everything, and the team's job is simply to execute what they ask for. These Product Owners work isolated from the development team, writing detailed user stories alone and skipping the interesting discussions with developers. They only involve the team when they think it's necessary, treating developers as order-takers rather than collaborators who could contribute valuable insights.  The impact is significant—teams lose the opportunity to understand the "why" behind features, Product Owners miss perspectives that could improve the product, and collaboration becomes transactional instead of transformational. Sara's approach to addressing this anti-pattern is patient but deliberate. She creates space for dialogue and provides training with the Product Owner to help them understand how important it is to collaborate and cooperate with the team. She shows them the impact of including the team from the beginning of feature study.  One powerful technique she uses is user story mapping workshops, bringing both the team and Product Owner together. The Product Owner explains what they want to deliver from their point of view, but then something crucial happens: the team asks lots of questions to understand "Why do you want this?"—not just "I will do it."  Through this exercise, Sara watched Product Owners have profound realizations. They understood they could change their mindset by talking with developers, who often are users of the product and can offer perspectives like "If we do it this way, we can be faster, and you can try your product sooner."  The workshop helps teams understand the big picture of what the Product Owner is asking for while helping the Product Owner reflect on what they're actually asking. It transforms the relationship from isolation to collaboration, from directive to dialogue, from assumption to shared understanding.   In this segment, we refer to the User Story Mapping blog post by Jeff Patton.   Self-reflection Question: Are your Product Owners writing user stories in isolation, or are they involving the team in discovery to create shared understanding and better solutions?   [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 Sara Di Gregorio   Sara is a people-centered Scrum Master who champions trust, collaboration, and real value over rigid frameworks. With experience introducing Agile practices, she fosters empathy, inclusion, and clarity in every team. As an Advanced Scrum Master, she helps teams grow, perform, and deliver with enthusiasm and purpose.   You can link with Sara Di Gregorio on LinkedIn.  

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• How to Know Your Team Has Internalized Agile Values | Sara Di Gregorio

  Sara Di Gregorio: How to Know Your Team Has Internalized Agile Values 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.   "Scrum isn't just a process to follow, it's a way of working." - Sara Di Gregorio   For Sara, success as a Scrum Master isn't measured by what the team delivers—it's measured by how they grow. She knows that if you facilitate team growth in communication and collaboration, delivery will naturally improve.  The indicators she watches for are subtle but powerful. When teams come to her with specific requests outside the regular schedule—"Can we have 30 minutes to talk and reflect mid-sprint?"—she knows something has shifted. When teams want to reflect outside the retrospective cycle, it means they've internalized the value of continuous improvement, not just going through the motions. She listens for the word "goal" during sprint planning.  When team members start their planning by talking about goals, she feels a surge of recognition: "Okay, for me, this is very, very, very important." Success shows up in unexpected places. One of her colleague's teams pushed back during a cross-team meeting, saying "We're going out of the timebox" and suggesting they move the discussion to a different time. That kind of proactive leadership and accountability signals maturity. It means the team isn't just attending Scrum events because they have to—they truly understand why each event matters and actively participate to make them valuable.  When Sara first met a team, they asked if she wanted to change things. She said no. What she focuses on is how people improve and understand the process better. For her, it starts with the people—when people change and understand the value, that's when real changes happen in the company. It's about helping people feel good and be guided well, because when they're working well, that's when transformation becomes possible. As Sara reminds us, Scrum isn't just a process to follow—it's a way of working that teams must embrace, understand, and make their own.   Self-reflection Question: Are your teams coming to you asking for reflection time outside scheduled events, and what does that tell you about how deeply they've internalized continuous improvement? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Unstructured Retrospective After facilitating many structured retrospectives, Sara started experimenting with an unstructured format that brought new energy to team reflection. Instead of using predefined frameworks, she brings white paper, sticky notes, and sharpies of different colors. She opens with a simple question: "Guys, what impacted you mostly during the last week? How do you feel today?" Sometimes she starts with data and metrics; other times, she begins with how the team is feeling.  The key is creating open space for conversation rather than forcing it into a predetermined structure. What Sara discovered is remarkable: "They are more engaged, more open, and more present in the conversation, maybe because it was something new." Instead of the same structured format every time, the unstructured approach breaks the routine and creates space for true reflections that bring out something deeper and more meaningful. It allows people to express what's genuinely going on for them, not just what fits into a predefined template.  Sara doesn't abandon structured formats entirely—she alternates between structured and unstructured to keep retrospectives fresh and engaging. She also recommends, if you work hybrid, trying to schedule unstructured retrospectives for days when the team is in the office together. The physical presence combined with the open format creates an environment where teams can be more vulnerable, more creative, and more honest about what's really happening. The unstructured retrospective isn't about chaos—it's about trusting the team to surface what matters most to them, with the Scrum Master providing light facilitation and space for authentic reflection.   [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 Sara Di Gregorio   Sara is a people-centered Scrum Master who champions trust, collaboration, and real value over rigid frameworks. With experience introducing Agile practices, she fosters empathy, inclusion, and clarity in every team. As an Advanced Scrum Master, she helps teams grow, perform, and deliver with enthusiasm and purpose.   You can link with Sara Di Gregorio on LinkedIn.

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• Facilitating Deeper Retrospectives—When to Step In and When to Step Back | Sara Di Gregorio

  Sara Di Gregorio: Facilitating Deeper Retrospectives—When to Step In and When to Step Back 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.   "When they start connecting and having an interesting discussion, I go to the corner, and I'm only trying to listen." - Sara Di Gregorio   Sara faces a challenge that many Scrum Masters encounter: teams that want to discuss too many topics during retrospectives without going deep on any of them. The team had plenty to talk about, but conversations stayed surface-level, never reaching the insights that drive real improvement. Sara recognized that the aim of the retrospective isn't to talk about everything—it's to go deeper on topics the team genuinely cares about.  So she started coaching teams to select just three main topics they wanted to discuss, helping them understand why prioritization matters and making explicit which topics are most important. But her real skill emerged in how she facilitated the discussions. When she saw communication starting to flow and team members becoming deeply connected to the topic, she moved to the corner and listened. She didn't abandon the team—she remained present, ready to help shy or quiet members speak up, watching the clock to respect timeboxes.  But she understood that when teams connect authentically, the Scrum Master's job is to create space, not fill it. Sara learned to ask better questions too. Instead of repeatedly asking "Why? Why? Why?"—which can feel accusatory—she reformulated: "How did you approach it? What happens?" When teams started blaming other teams, she redirected: "What can we influence? What can we do from our side?" She used visual tools like white paper, sharpies, and sticky notes to help teams visualize their discussion steps and create structured moments for questions.  Sometimes, when teams discussed complex technical topics beyond her understanding, she empowered them: "You are the main expert of this topic. Please, when someone sees that we're going out of topic or getting too detailed, raise your hand and help me bring the communication back to what we've chosen to talk about."  This balance—knowing when to step in with structure and when to step back and listen—is what transforms retrospectives from checkbox events into genuine opportunities for team growth.   Self-reflection Question: In your facilitation, are you creating space for deep team connection, or are you inadvertently filling the space that teams need to discover insights for themselves?   [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 Sara Di Gregorio   Sara is a people-centered Scrum Master who champions trust, collaboration, and real value over rigid frameworks. With experience introducing Agile practices, she fosters empathy, inclusion, and clarity in every team. As an Advanced Scrum Master, she helps teams grow, perform, and deliver with enthusiasm and purpose.   You can link with Sara Di Gregorio on LinkedIn.

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• Rebuilding Agile Team Connection in the Remote Work Era | Sara Di Gregorio

  Sara Di Gregorio: Rebuilding Agile Team Connection in the Remote Work Era 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.   "The book helped me to shift from reacting to connecting, which completely changed the quality of conversation." - Sara Di Gregorio   When COVID forced Sara's team into full remote work, she noticed something troubling—the team was losing real connection. Replicating in-office meetings online simply didn't work. People attended meetings but weren't truly present. The spontaneous coffee machine conversations that built relationships and surfaced important information had vanished.  So Sara started experimenting. She introduced 5-minute chit-chat sessions at the start of every meeting: "Guys, how are you today? What happened yesterday?" She created "coffee all together" moments—10-minute virtual breaks where the team could drink coffee or have aperitivos together, sometimes three times per week. She established weekly feedback sessions every Friday morning—30 minutes to recap the week and understand what could improve.  These weren't just social niceties; they were deliberate efforts to recreate the human connections that remote work had stripped away. Sara recognized that mechanized interactions—"here are the things I need you to do, let's talk next steps"—kill team dynamics. Teams need moments where they relate to each other as people, not just as functions.  The experiments worked because they created space for genuine connection, allowing the team to maintain the trust and collaboration that makes effective teamwork possible, even when working remotely.   In this episode, we refer to Non-Violent Communication concepts and practices.   Self-reflection Question: How are you creating moments for your remote or hybrid team to connect as people, not just as colleagues executing tasks? Featured Book of the Week: Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg Sara credits Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg (translated in Italian as "Words are Windows, or They are Walls") as having a deep impact on her career. The book explores how to listen without judging, how to ask the right questions, and how to observe people to understand their real needs. But above all, it teaches how to communicate in a way that builds connection rather than creating barriers.  For Sara, the book was remarkably practical—she didn't just read it, she experimented with the techniques afterward. She explains: "I think that without this mindset, it's easy to fall into reactive communication, trying to defend, justify, or give quick answers. But that often blocks real understanding." The book helped her shift from reacting to connecting, which completely changed the quality of her conversations.  As a Scrum Master working with people every day—facilitating meetings, mediating conflicts, supporting teams—the way we communicate determines whether we open dialogue or close it. Sara found that taking time to reflect instead of giving quick answers transformed her ability to help teams discover dependencies, improve dialogue, and address communication issues. For anyone in the Scrum Master role, this book provides essential skills for building the kind of connection that makes true collaboration possible. In this segment, we also refer to the NVC episodes we have on the podcast. Check those out to learn more about Nonviolent Communication   [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 Sara Di Gregorio   Sara is a people-centered Scrum Master who champions trust, collaboration, and real value over rigid frameworks. With experience introducing Agile practices, she fosters empathy, inclusion, and clarity in every team. As an Advanced Scrum Master, she helps teams grow, perform, and deliver with enthusiasm and purpose. You can link with Sara Di Gregorio on LinkedIn.

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O Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches