Product Owner Tips
--
In an agile development environment, the role of product owner is an integral part of the equation. The product owner has a significant responsibility to the project, as they are the one who decides what goes on a project.
In more detail, the project owner is responsible for developing the product goals, creating and communicating product backlog items, and prioritizing them. They decide if a PBI conforms to the required specification or if it still needs some work.
Those responsibilities are enormous. Here are a few tips to help anyone trying to be a product owner.
Note that the tips are what I got from my experience as a product owner and may not fit every team’s requirements.
- Be decisive
The development team depends on you to decide the development goal and priorities. If you are indecisive, it will negatively impact the development process. - Be strict
If a PBI does not conform to your requirements, tell the team that it doesn’t. Don’t play down the missing feature or bugs. It will haunt both you and the developer in the future. - Communicate clearly
Communicate your requirements for a PBI in clear, simple, yet comprehensive terms. Don’t assume anything; other people may have different assumptions than you. Miscommunication is one of the most common causes of delay in product delivery.
Being a product owner is not an easy job, but the feeling of seeing your product gets launched and used by people makes it worth it.
