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What is Scrum?
Scrum is a framework of Agile Methodology that is used by teams to self-organize to achieve a common goal. It is iterative, lightweight and flexible management framework that helps to implement Agile principles efficiently in an organization. This is one of the most common and popular frameworks as it simplifies the process and defines the product vision clearly. The benefits of Scrum are as follows:
Introduces flexibility in the process.
Allows the team to innovate.
Improves the quality of the product.
Customer involvement leads to customer satisfaction.
Employee engagement improves.
Roles in a Scrum Team
There are three major roles in a Scrum team that have to do their share of divided tasks. The Scrum team consists of 10-15 members who work together to accomplish the goals. The core roles of a Scrum team are as follows:
Development Team
Stakeholders are not active members of the team but have to be updated regularly about the project progress in order to make any changes if required.
Who is a Product Owner?
A Product Owner is a professional who is a representative of the stakeholders of the project whose main responsibility is to make sure that value is delivered as per the needs. The Product owner is responsible to prioritize the tasks in the backlog for each sprint.
Key responsibilities of a Product Owner
Product Owner represents the stakeholders or customers so the main responsibility is to align their needs with the process. There are other key responsibilities of Product Owner throughout the process that include:
Defining the vision- One of the most important aspects behind the successful delivery is how well the product vision has been defined. It is the work of the PO to clearly define and communicate the vision to the rest of the team so that everyone is on the same page.
Creating and managing the Product Backlog- It is not enough to just know the vision a team also needs description of the flow. The Product Owner creates the product backlog with the help of SAFe Scrum Master through which the work is divided as per the need and urgency. The PO has to update the backlog to track the progress and what’s left on the list.
Prioritizing needs and tasks- The needs of the customer is best known to the Product Owner so their job is to prioritize the tasks that fulfill the needs. The team only executes the list in the order that is listed by the PO.
Acting as a communicator- The Product Owner is the point of contact for the team as well as stakeholders. The PO is the communicator between both the parties.
Participating in Scrum Events- Scrum Events are organized and managed by Scrum Master but it is the duty of the PO to be a part of some of the mandatory events. These events are important as it makes sure that everyone is one the same page and also it helps to communicate any issue with the workflow.
Review and evaluate feedback- The role and responsibility of a Product Owner does not end with the delivery of the product. Evaluating the feedback received from the consumer is part of effective product ownership. Po and other team members together review the feedback and list out the things that could have worked better.
Product Owner Stances
A Product Owner has to take many stances in order to increase efficiency and maximize value. The stances of a Product Owner are:
Visionary
Collaborator
Communicator
Decision Maker
Customer Representative
Experimenter
Influencer
Conclusion
SAFe POPM is a certification course for Product Owners to learn all the techniques and practices required for the role. This certification and many other courses are offered by Acekube that has a team of expert trainers and coaches to help you.
FAQs
What challenges do Product Owners typically face in their role within Scrum?
As mentioned earlier, a Product Owner has to take various stances for the sake of the project. These come with a number of foreseen and unforeseen challenges for the PO to face in Scrum. Some of the challenges that Product Owner typically face for effective product ownership are:
Lack of customer data.
Change in priorities during sprints.
Maintaining the backlog.
Forecasting deliverables and time.
Aligning the team with the stakeholders.
Managing the needs of stakeholders.
Too many decisions in a short time.
2. What qualities make a great Product Owner in Scrum?
Scrum is a very popular Agile framework that is being adapted by many companies for management. SAFe Scrum Master is one of the most important roles in a Scrum team but a Product Owner is the face of the product. There are many qualities and skills that make a great Product Owner in Scrum that include:
Knows how to ideate the vision.
Detailed knowledge about the product and the process.
A good communicator.
Very good at resolving issues.
A patient listener is a trait that is needed to accomplish the goals.
Having an understanding of customer needs.
Decision making skills at different levels.
Knows how to voice out disagreements.
3. How does a Product Owner prioritize the backlog in Scrum?
There are multiple techniques in which the Product Owner can prioritize the backlog in Scrum:
Stack Ranking- This is the most common method in which the tasks are ranked according to the priority.
CD3- The product owner uses this method to evaluate the risk of losses while defining product vision. They prioritize the task with the highest cost and risk for losses.
Custom and intuitive formula- This method depends on the team, their intelligence and ideals to get the work done.
MoSCoW- Must-have; Should-have; Could-have; Won’t-have.
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