Product owners have a lot on their plate. They have to manage the development team,understand what customers want and how they might use the product, and keep track of allthe new features that come across their desk. It’s not an easy job, but it can be done if youknow what you’re doing—and that starts with having a good mindset and approach as aproduct owner. Follow these five tips to be your best self at work:
Keep a helicopter view
A good product owner has a bird's eye view of the whole product. They have to understand:
- The big picture (business goals, company culture/values)
- Company history (competitors, customers)
- Products and services
Question the status quo
Be a good product owner. Good product owners ask questions. They don't accept the firstanswer they hear, but rather they ask why and challenge it until they understand how thingsare (or have been) working. By asking questions, you'll be able to make informed decisionsabout your product's future and its features. Maybe there's a better way than what's currentlybeing done? You won't know unless you stop accepting "that's just how it is."
If there's something that doesn't sit right with you as an individual or team member, bring itup! Sometimes we're afraid of being seen as difficult because we want everyone else aroundus to like us—but don't worry about that stuff here! We care about getting our work donewell and efficiently so long as it meets our objectives; if something doesn't meet thoseobjectives then someone needs to call them out on it (and in this case that person can verywell be YOU).
Don't be bound to frameworks
- Be open to learning. Don't be bound by frameworks.
- Don't be bound by the status quo.
- Don't be bound by rigid processes, especially if they're designed to prevent mistakesrather than learn from them.
- Finally, don't be afraid of change itself—even radical change that might seem out-of-thebox at first glance!
Don't stick to rigid processes
It is important to remember that being a top product owner does not mean following thesame rigid process over and over again. To be successful, you'll need to be flexible and willing powered by copy.aito try new things. You should also be willing to break rules or change things up if they are notworking for your team or project.
One way of doing this is by experimenting with new processes that work better than the onescurrently in place. As an example, let's say there is a process where we conduct an initialbacklog grooming session every two weeks, followed by another grooming session two weeks later at which time we prioritize items based upon their business value (deciding whatfeatures should be built next). The problem here is that it takes too long between grooming sessions for us all to get together again; it's hard for us all remember what we decided during those meetings when there's been so much time since them; plus some people aren't able to attend both sessions because their schedules are busy so they end up feeling excluded fromthe process because they weren't part of making decisions about what gets done next. Theseare all problems that could easily solved by adding more frequent grooming sessions (maybeonce per week instead of once every other week), but our current method isn't conducive towards doing this effectively either because then we'd have too many meetings on top ofeverything else going on during our sprint cycle.
Focus on data and evidence, not opinions
A product owner must focus on data and evidence, not opinions. You should use data to support your ideas, make decisions and make predictions. A good product owner will also beable to make adjustments based on changing data patterns.
Be agile and flexible
The product owner should be ready to change course. If new information becomes available and it’s relevant to your project, you have an obligation to make adjustments based on that information. The same goes for any changes in circumstances or requirements that may affect your project.
The product owner should also be ready to adapt his or her priorities based on changing needs and priorities within the company. For example, a new person may join the team who has a different set of interests than you do—perhaps they're more interested in creating reports than improving customer experience—and so now you must adjust how much time is spent on each task accordingly.
Keep people informed and engaged
As a product owner, it's your job to keep everyone informed and engaged. This can be toughbecause there are so many moving parts. You have to make sure that all stakeholders knowwhat's going on in order for them to contribute their best work. You also need input fromyour team so you can build the right features for them.
Here are some tips for keeping people informed:
- Make sure everyone is on board with the roadmap before sending it out publicly (orsharing it privately). If there are any questions about what you've included, take time outof your schedule to answer those questions immediately and clearly.
- Keep up with communication channels like Slack or email so that when there's somethingimportant happening, you know about it as soon as possible and can include others whomight not be following along closely enough otherwise!
The best product owners don't stick to the rules
Product owners are not dictators. They're not managers, developers or designers. And theydefinitely aren't project managers. Instead, the best product owners are visionaries who cansee the big picture and understand what features will work best for customers—whether ornot it follows any set of processes or organizational rules.
Product owners must be able to understand how their team works together in order to getthings done efficiently and effectively. This means being able to communicate with everyoneon your team in an open manner that allows everyone's needs to be met without sacrificingquality workmanship or sacrificing deadlines (or vice versa). As a result, this role requiresstrong communication skills so that you're able to effectively convey information back andforth between your stakeholders regarding new ideas/features/innovations etc., whichultimately helps people make better decisions faster when coming up against certainobstacles during development cycles within different departments within the organizationitself (e.g., IT vs Product Development vs Sales).
Conclusion
We've covered a lot of ground here, but these are just some important ideas to keep in mindwhen you're working as a product owner. As we see from the examples above, being a goodproduct owner doesn't necessarily mean following any specific method or framework—it'sabout being flexible and adaptable to your particular environment.
