Why is Being an Agile Product Owner so Difficult?

The Product Owner is the KEY role on any agile Scrum Team. This role (now known as an “accountability”) is also the most difficult. The tagline most often associated with a PO is “value maximizer”. I love the sentiment, but there is so much more to the role than that.

As I see it, a Product Owner may be part Project Manager, part Product Manager, part Leader, and part Business Analyst. The reason it is so difficult to be a Product Owner is because you need diverse skills in these four areas, plus a lot of knowledge and experience. As a Product Owner, you will likely perform many activities that used to be associated with these individual roles and professions. It’s a lot to learn, and a lot to do, but it is possible to be a good Product Owner.

Project Management

In the realm of Project Management, a Product Owner may perform any of these activities:

• Develop a Business Case – create a Business Case in order to justify the product
• Secure Funding – using the Business Case, obtain approval and funding for the product
• Manage Budget – once approved and funded, manage the budget for the product
• Obtain Resources – identify, line up, and obtain people (aka resources) to build out a fully cross-functional team to develop the product
• Evaluate Return on Investment – ensure that the product is providing a return on investment
• Create a Timeline (Release Roadmap) – perform product planning at a higher level (think product, portfolio / program, and strategy) and develop a release roadmap or a rough timeline

Product Management

As it relates to Product Management, the Product Owner may be involved with these activities:

• Create the Product Vision – own the vision for the product, and share that vision with others
• Craft a SMART* Product Goal – with measurable objectives that define product success
• Stay Current on Market Knowledge – be keenly aware of what is going on in their market or markets, and regularly monitor it
• Identify Business Drivers – understand what drives the business forward, and what the organization’s strategy is
• Perform Competitive Analysis – be aware of competitors and analyze them to look for opportunities or weaknesses to exploit
• Maximize Product Value – maximize the value of the product by understanding what value is and order the Product Backlog accordingly
• Evangelize the Product – be the key evangelist or cheerleader for the product
• Review the product – look at the product; gather and provide feedback
• Work with stakeholders – work closely with the stakeholders to identify requirements and gain user acceptance
• Create the Product Roadmap – create an overall roadmap and plan for the product and its development

Leadership

The Product Owner is very much a leader on a Scrum Team, and also serves the team. In this context, a PO may:

• Lead creation of Sprint Goals – create a Sprint Goal with the team for each new Sprint
• Communicate the Product Vision – whether it’s an elevator pitch, product vision board, or vision box – be able to clearly articulate the vision, goal, and objectives of the product
• Set an example to the Scrum Team – set an example to the team on how to behave, how to work together, how to communicate, how to deal with conflict, how to collaborate, how to negotiate, etc.
• Act as a Servant Leader – act not as a dictator, but rather a leader who also serves the team – work with and as a part of the Scrum Team, being available to them to answer questions and clarify requirements
• Ensure Shared Understanding  – validate a shared understanding the product (who, what, when, where, and why)
• Make Decisions – make decisions about the product including the priority order of the product backlog, what to do when there is a conflict, and when to release the product
• Make trade-offs, when needed – be willing to give something up to get something, knowing that not everyone will always be happy. Communicate decisions made

Business Analysis

Last, but not least, a Product Owner is also part Business Analyst. The PO may:

• Own the Product Backlog – own the Product Backlog, but may delegate team members to assist in building and maintaining it
• Prioritize the Product Backlog – order the backlog based on value and/or risk (or any other factors that are appropriate for the context of the situation)
• Discover Requirements – work with stakeholders to discover their needs and desires for the product
• Refine the Product Backlog – refine the the Product Backlog regularly and provide “ready” stories for the team to pull from each Sprint Planning
• Validate that Backlog items are “Ready” – make sure that items in the Product Backlog are “suitable for development”, that they have been well-written, and they include all necessary acceptance criteria and/or models necessary for the Scrum Team to build the feature
• Be available to the Scrum Team – answer any questions that come up during sprinting

The Product Owner job is undoubtedly a challenging one. It’s a multi-faceted job that requires many different types of skills and abilities. If you are a Product Owner (as aspiring to be one), which of these activities do you do? Why do you think it’s such a hard job?

* SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound