The Essential Product Owner: Partnering with Your Teams

While the Scrum product owner is arguably the most crucial role within agile teams, we often hear horror stories about POs who aren’t available to their teams, change their minds incessantly on business priorities, or ignore quality requirements and technical debt. Even the best POs struggle to meet the demands of their “regular business-focused job” while providing sufficient team guidance. Bob Galen shares real-world situations where he’s observed product owners who deliver truly balanced value for their business stakeholders. Find out how story mapping and release planning set the stage for effective team workflow by establishing a big-picture product view for everyone to see. Explore ways to develop shared goals—at both the iteration and release levels—to cement the partnership between the product owner and the rest of the team. You'll learn how to set a tempo of regular, focused backlog grooming sessions to enable the team and the PO to prioritize well-nuanced and high-value backlogs. Leave with ideas for establishing an ecosystem where the product owner and the entire team strive to continuously improve their performance.