Being an Effective Product Owner Roman Pichler
The Many Views of a Product 1 How the customer described it 1 2 3 3 How the architect designed it 2 How the project manager understood it 4 How the programmer wrote it 4 5 6 5 What operations installed 6 What the customer really needed 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 2
The Product Owner Traditionally, the Product Owner is used to Describe requirements completely and precisely upfront and then to Throw the requirements over the wall and hold development responsible for meeting needs Scrum put this responsibility back on the Product Owner; requirements are now detailed just in time 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 3
Scrum Flow Daily Scrum Product Backlog Sprint Backlog Shippable Product Increment Prio Theme Item COS Effort Max. 30 Days 1 2 3 Calendar Calendar Calendar Teste das Eingeben ungültiger Werte, z.b. Endzeit liegt vor Startzeit. Teste, dass dieselbe Besprech ung nicht zweimal gelöscht werden kann. Teste, dass die Änderungen persistiert wurden. Als Basisanwende r möchte ich eine Besprech -ung anlegen Als Basisanwende r möchte ich eine Besprech -ung storniere n Als Basisanwende r möchte ich eine Besprech -ung ändern 2 3 1 Create documentation for remote service components Create design for remote service components Execute tests for remote service components Sprint 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 4
Product Owner Responsibilities Voice of the customer Defines customer value-added and the key features of the product Describes, priorities and refines requirements continuously 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 5
Product Owner Responsibilities Responsible for the project success and ROI Decides on release date, content and budget Creates and updates the release plan and reports Manages stakeholders and interests proactively 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 6
Product Owner Responsibilities Selects the sprint goal, steers and guides the work, answers questions on a daily basis Attends all Scrum meetings Accepts or rejects work results in the sprint review meeting 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 7
Desirable Product Owner Characteristics Understands customer needs thoroughly Able to create and communicate the product vision Empowered to make decisions, is decisive and knows when to say no Has good working relationships with the stakeholders Understands value creation Leader and facilitator 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 8
A Day in the Life of the Product Owner Time 09:00 10:00 10:00 10:15 10:15 11:00 11:00 12:00 12:00 13:00 13:00 15:00 15:00 17:00 17:00 17:30 Attend the Daily Scrum Activity Work through new requirements and add them to the product backlog Sit with the team and answer questions Meet with stakeholders and discuss product backlog modifications and priorities Lunch with Sarah, the portfolio manager, to discuss product roadmap and upcoming releases Prepare upcoming sprint planning meeting; flesh out conditions of satisfaction for new user stories Run the estimation workshop and facilitate planning poker Catch up with emails, then leave the office early to recover from a busy and intensive day 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 9
The Two Perspectives Outward looking Voice of the customer Inward looking Value stream manager 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 10
Common Product Owner Pitfalls Not empowered Lack of guidance, direction and decision making Poor availability Collaboration with the team suffers; lack of direction and decision delayed Poor prep work for the next sprint Poorly trained Lack of Scrum knowledge and useful techniques such as user stories There is a strong correlation between a Product Owner who is trained, available and empowered and a successful Scrum project 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 11
The Lean Product Owner Lean companies like Toyota have used a Product Owner role successfully for decades Toyota s Product Owner is called the Chief Engineer The Chief Engineer plays a key role in Toyota s product development system The Chief Engineer is appointed by and reports to senior management 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 12
The Lean Product Owner The Chief Engineer combines the following traditional roles in one person Product manager Project manager Chief architect The Chief Engineer is an outstanding, highly regarded senior engineer 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 13
The New Value Stream Traditional Processes Portfolio Management Product Management Development QA/Test Scrum The Product Owner manages the value stream from concept to cash! 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 14
The End 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 15
Contact Information Roman Pichler Consultant, Certified Scrum Trainer Tel.: +44 7974 203772 Email: roman.pichler@romanpichler.com www.romanpichler.com Upcoming Certified Scrum Product Owner courses: 22-23 Nov 2007, London, UK 06-07 Dec 2007, Munich, Germany 2007 Pichler Consulting Ltd 16