In part I of this three-part series, I asserted that Scrum bridges the common disconnect between solutions delivered by organizational IT management and the needs and expectations of sponsors, stakeholders, customers, and end-users. I provided a sense of the magnitude of the problem by referencing analysis from the 2015 Standish Group CHAOS Report which found that less than half of all IT projects deliver business value. I then explained how Scrum’s product management mindset differs from that of traditional project management. Finally, I explained how a product management approach aligns IT product/solution vision and strategy with organizational vision and strategy based on the concept of delivering business/mission value.
In part II, I discuss how the Scrum Product Owner (PO) defines product value and maintains alignment between his/her product vision and strategy and organizational vision and strategy.
Table of Contents
The Product Owner as Value Maximizer
In Scrum, the PO is the linchpin that connects the Scrum Team to the larger organizational product management structure. Scrum defines the PO as one of the three official roles of a Scrum Team. The PO represents the Voice of the Customer for a product/solution. The PO is responsible for fusing the various needs, wants, and perspectives of product or project stakeholders into one complete, coherent, and cohesive vision. The Development Team looks to the PO as the primary (but not necessarily the only) source of business knowledge and understanding. That understanding informs development of IT capabilities that provide maximum value to the organization and users.
In large organizations, POs may work within a product management organizational structure that coordinates product management activities across the organization. Working closely with program management offices (PMOs), product management focuses on making the right things while program management focuses on managing schedule, budget , and resource constraints.
While aligning product strategy with organizational strategy is inherently a top-down activity, both strategies must be informed by bottom-up input/feedback from development teams, customers, and end users. Product management organizations and the POs who collaborate within them are responsible for fostering and maintaining ongoing collaboration in both directions.
The Product Management Vacuum
In their book, “The Professional Product Owner: Leveraging Scrum as a Competitive Advantage,” Ralph Jocham and Don McGreal make the case that most organizations do a poor job of linking product vision and strategy to business strategy and the work performed by development teams. They call this deficiency the “Product Management Vacuum.”
The authors explain that the vacuum is typically filled by traditional project management activities. Those activities lead to wasted effort and disconnect development teams from the larger organization as well as from customers and end users. By focusing on managing tasks and people, rather than on defining the product and improving development processes, traditional project managers and the development teams they manage lose sight of product value. Resulting solutions are largely disconnected from organizational vision and strategy and from customer and end-user needs.
The Product Owner Fills the Vacuum
In Scrum, the PO fills the Product Management Vacuum:
- Product Vision – The PO is responsible for formulating and socializing the product vision among the Scrum Team, stakeholders, customers, and end users
- Product Strategy – The PO is responsible for identifying and driving development of IT capabilities that support business goals and objectives as well as satisfy customer and end-user needs and desires
- Release Management – The PO coordinates product release strategy with relevant organizational stakeholders
The PO does not carry out these responsibilities alone. The PO collaborates with the development team, sponsors, stakeholders, customers, and users but is primarily responsible for outcomes.
The Three Vs
Through their construct of “The Three Vs: Vision, Value, and Validation” Jocham and McGreal explain how Scrum maintains alignment between product vision and business value. The Product Owner leads and is ultimately responsible for the activities performed in support of the Three Vs.
The interplay between product vision, value, and validation can be summed up as:
- Vision drives the creation of value (features/functionality)
- Value created enables validation of business assumptions behind product development choices
- Validation informs changes to the product vision
On the Next Installment…
In the third and final part of this series, I will explain how POs define and manage The Three Vs by managing the Product Backlog. As part of my explanation, I will showcase three artifacts: Impact Maps, User Story Maps, and Product Roadmaps.
Conclusion
POs play a central role in aligning the IT solutions they shepherd through product management and development activities with organizational vision and strategy. To achieve that alignment, product management and organizational strategies require ongoing feedback and collaboration with customers and end users. The Scrum framework is optimal for achieving this top-down and bottom-up alignment for IT solutions.
Last Updated on February 2, 2022