Product ownership is the most demanding job in agile and gets the least attention. I have created a series of blog posts to explain the skills necessary to become a great product owner. Today, I want to summarize and provide some inspiration.
The first thing that a product owner should understand is the team succeeds or fails together. The scrum master, product owner, and development team all hang together. Rock stars, divas, or people seeking to punch their ticket to a higher position need not inquire into the role. The agile principles plainly state that working software is the measure of progress. The team creates working software and should receive credit because it is never about one individual. If you are looking for glory, my recommendation is reality television.
The next thing to remember is the social compact of agile. The product owner must respect the estimate of the development team, and the development team must respect the priorities of the product owner. The product owner sets the importance, and the group says how long it will take to do the work. It is a difficult balance to master, but it will build trust in the team.
Next, a product owner should adopt the DEEP model of backlog management from Roman Pichler. The DEEP model is the blueprint of your backlog. Having a backlog that is detailed, estimated, emergent, and prioritized will make everyone's life easier. Sprint planning is easier when you have correctly detailed stories and the team estimates them. Priorities help organize the social compact of agile, which builds trust.
IF the DEEP model is the blueprint for the product you want to build, then to author good user stories are the individual bricks that make it possible to construct those products. Stories that have clear descriptions of work plus acceptance criteria for getting the job done to speed up the development of the product and make it easier to test are what separate good product owners from great ones. Thus, product owners need to practice writing better user stories.
Finally, a product owner needs soft skills to deal with the "art" and the science of creating a product. It requires saying not to others because priorities do not align. Listening allows you to understand what needs doing and why. Good listening skills also allow you to build trust with other teams. Finally, diplomacy is necessary to deal with situations where there is a power imbalance of a stressful situation that requires navigation. These soft skills help build professional credibility in the job.
Most organizations do not understand the importance of quality product ownership. The DEEP model, writing good user stories, and soft skills will set you apart from a run-of-the-mill product owner. By embracing these areas of professional development, you will improve your career and your team's performance. Product ownership is the most challenging role in agile but, if done right, the most rewarding.
Until next time.
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