Product Owner Responsibilities

What are the Product Owner Responsibilities and how can you find the perfect Product Owner? It might come as a surprise to discover the requirements for the ideal Product Owner for a Project. We need to ensure that they can Work according to the of Agile values and principles, and the Scrum framework. They need to be immersed in the project. In Projects where the Product Owner is not immersed, and is subject to outside interference, the project could fail. Failure can occur no matter how experienced the Development Team is. The fundamental reason for this is that the Product Owner has the best understanding of the Company Environment. They have the clearest Vision of how the new Product will fit that Environment.

The Responsibilities of the Product Owner

The Product Owner has the ultimate Responsibility for a successful Product. They accomplish this by meticulous attention to the Product description, which is housed in an Artefact called the Product Backlog. The Product description differs from the Traditional Business Requirements Document. The Product Description is Documented as “User Stories”. These are atomic descriptions of an aspect of the Product that are expressed from the viewpoint of the Product User.

A typical User Story would be “As a ‘user’, I Want To Access The System, so that I can …”. This user story describes how the User logs on to the application. The User Stories are preceded by “Epics” which are broader descriptions of what the Product ought to do. “Features” are descriptions of particular characteristics of the Product. Extra Items that expand on the User Stories and Product Features are also stored in the Product Backlog. These Items will be prioritised based on their value to any particular Epic, Feature or User Story.

Choosing the Product Owner

When selecting a Product Owner, you need to keep in mind that this is a job for the entire Project. They will need to be available to field questions and offer assistance when needed. The factors for this are simple:-.

  • They are required to dedicate to the Project and can not be sidetracked by other “day task”. If the needs on their time from the Business unit end up being too intrusive, the Scrum Master will step in and escalate the problem.
  • They should have a good understanding of the Company, its Culture and Processes. There should be an understanding of the history relevant to the brand-new Product and the Project. This includes an ability to co-opt the ideal person at the ideal time to provide the material for an Epic, a Feature or a User Story.
  • They need to have an good eye for detail to ensure User Stories are aligned with the Project. The ability to analyse what the critical success factors are for the Project is also required. Every piece of Work must be inspected and agreed according to a set of Acceptance Criteria. Their Role in this is pivotal.

Decision Making

The Product Owner should be decisive and firm. The decision-making ability will be utilized in Prioritisation of the Product Backlog (which likewise speaks to their Product understanding). The Product Owner has the right to halt or even cancel the Project.

  • The Product Owner should be an extrovert and a great Communicator, who infuses the Team with enthusiasm. They do not need to be a great Team player. They ought to be a democrat and not a dictator.

It might be difficult to find the exact fit for the Role. There should however be a few people who suit the profile.

Our Favourite Agile Books

We found these books great for finding out more information on Agile Scrum:

Smoothing the Way Forward.

The Project is about a Product, the Product Owner comes to the Project informed and knowledgeable about the new Product. This means their involvement starts at Product Conception.

Product Owner Responsibilities: Prior To the Project Starts.

To get the right Product to Market in the fastest time, the Product Concept should be discussed and ratified. The output of this discussion is the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The Minimum Viable Product is a description of What the Product is. It should also detail What it is Not, and the Minimum Features needed to launch a successful Product. Naturally, the Product Owner must be included in this procedure from creation. They are the ones to carry the Vision through to the Project and the Development Team.

Product Owner Responsibilities: The Project Starts.

Ideally the Project Team should be allocated a space of their own. They are going to work in close Collaboration and need to be close to each other. This will also lower the chance for disruptions and distractions for the Product Owner. The Product Owner needs to be available for the Development Team to ask questions, and sitting with them makes this easier. The Project starts with the Team being created and introduced to each other. This is followed by the first Sprint, where the Product Owner asks the Scrum Master to convene a Project Planning Meeting.

Product Owner Responsibilities: During the Project.

The Product Owner is the keeper and the person who Prioritizes of the Product Backlog. This is a continuous task, as priorities will Change with each Iteration, or Sprint. They will also inspect what the Team considers to be a finished Work item. When inspecting this, they determine whether all the Acceptance Criteria have been met, that is, the Work is “Done”. This also applies to the Deliverables from the Sprint as a whole. When this point is reached, the Product Owner calls for a Review Meeting. During this meeting the results of the Sprint are Communicated to the Stakeholders and any other interested Parties.

Project Completion.

Once the Project is completed and the Product is delivered, the Product Owner can go back to his regular Work. The difficulty is that a truly successful Product Owner is probably more Valuable to the Company in the Product Development sphere than in their appointed task. They may be required for the next Project, based on the current projects success.

The Successful Product Owner.

The successful Product Owner is completely devoted to the Project. Their autonomy and authority is recognised by all the Stakeholders and not lessened by commands and interference from outside the Project.

They both orchestrate and contribute to the definition of the Product, either by co-opting the suitable subject matter experts to provide Epics and User Stories, or by offering such details straight, based on their own experience. By prioritising the contents of the Product Backlog (the User Stories), they could be considered as the editor of an anthology of short Stories about the Product, which, when checked out in their whole, expose the complete Product. Their assistance throughout the Project and each Sprint will enable the Team to produce the very best possible Product that fulfills the customers requirements.

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