Friday, August 26, 2011

Product owners?

What are some of the things to look for when starting up an agile team and choosing the product owner?

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A good product owner must have:

Knowledge
·      Knows enough about the product to create and maintain a backlog – can write reasonable requirements and eventually stories.
·      Knows enough about the product and it’s context to conveys the vision and goals of the project and each sprint.
·      Understands the needs of the customer.
·      Knows enough about the technology to make reasonable decisions.

Authority
·      Can carry through the result of any tough decisions.
·      Owns the product success (or failure), so can prioritize the backlog and eliminate stories if they’re not high value.
·      Represents the customer, interfaces and engages the customer.
·      Can change the course of the project at the end of every Sprint.
·      Can terminate a Sprint if he/she determines such action is required.
·      Has the recognition to communicate status externally.

Availability
·      Has the time to work on the product backlog, despite other responsibilities.
·      Can actively participate in the daily Scrums, Sprint Planning Meetings and Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives.
·      Has enough time to quickly respond to questions (that day) and sit with the development team when needed.
·      Actively inspects the product progress at the end of every Sprint and has complete authority to accept or reject work done.

Aptitude
·      Able to resist the temptation to micromanage.
·      Not be afraid to make tough decisions.
·      Able to work in a team environment.
·      Focused, proactive, and engaged in the product.   
·      Good negotiator.
·      Deeply interested in helping the team be successful.
·      A “People Person” with patience.
·      Willing to learn and flexible enough to deal with the changes of agile.

 



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