The Desirable Characteristics Of A Good And Effective Product Owner

The role of a product owner is very important in scrum. Besides representing the client and the stakeholders in the project, the  “PO” also has several responsibilities to fulfill with regards the scrum team and the scrum master. The role is not an easy one. The challenges faced by a PO extend far beyond the capacity of a traditional product manager. Besides being responsible for the project’s success, the PO has to carry out several other activities such as:

• Preparing the product backlog
• Defining the product backlog items
• Working out the sprint releases
• and reviewing the work carried out by the development team.

The person is also responsible for defining the acceptance criteria linked with the user stories, and accepting the work as “Done” during the sprint review meetings. Product owners are often pressed for time, and may face certain difficulties while carrying out their work.

It is worth knowing what makes an ideal product owner. Some of the most important characteristics are mentioned herein.

A visionary and a “Doer”

The individual should have the vision to imagine what the final product should be like, and communicate his or her vision to the entire scrum team. The person should also be a “Doer.” He or she should lead by example and preferably use a servant-leader role while delegating authority. The effort should be made to facilitate the scrum proceedings, rather than to issue orders and wait for the team to fulfill them. The person should be able to capture the ideas regarding the requirements as to how the development should be carried out, in what manner, and collaborate closely with the team to avail proper and useful feedback, and analyze it to make informed decisions. The PO should possess the capability to steer the project in the right direction and forecast its progress from time to time. The individual should also think as an entrepreneur and provide valuable suggestions regarding the product to the stakeholders and the investors. It is important to facilitate creativity, encourage and support new ideas and vision, motivate the team members, and feel comfortable while dealing with the changes in the product definition as and when the stakeholders apprise him or her about new product related requirements to be carried out in the functionality developed till date.

Be a leader and a great team player

While talking about the scrum framework, a good PO should be able to create a vision, articulate it, passionately own it, nurture it, and relentlessly strive to achieve the vision in real life by presenting the product to the stakeholders – exactly as they want it. It is exceedingly important to guide the team and everyone involved with the project, and be ready to make tough decisions when they are called for. Above all, the PO should encourage and promote collaboration as it is the base upon which the scrum methodology operates and delivers the results. It is not recommended for a product owner to dictate decisions and delegate authority in an autocratic manner. Moreover, even though the PO is empowered to make decisions, the person should ideally seek the team’s consensus for all scrum related activities. If possible, the team ought to be involved in the decision making too, although few product owners actually prefer to do it in real life.

A good communicator and an effective negotiator

To be a good product owner, and an effective one, the person should possess the skills necessary to negotiate successfully with the customers, end users, development and engineering teams, marketing and sales executives, service personnel, operations department, and the management. It is also important to be a good communicator and have the ability to explain complex ideas and thoughts in a simple and straightforward manner to people who are not technically sound or who are naive.

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