The Great Product Owner: Navigating the product predictably, and inviting criticism enables great product conversations
Great PO’s are well organized, as that helps the team know what to expect, and when to expect it. Not only the features/work to do, but also the type of information they get as well as when they can interact with the PO. But the good organization of the PO goes beyond their relationship with the team, and also includes having a good understanding of what the stakeholders needs.
We also discuss how the PO invites, and welcomes criticism of the product and their work, and is not afraid of calling the team out when they are gold plating, and not focusing on the customer/user/stakeholder needs.
The Bad Product Owner: Stepping back so much that the team got lost
This PO had no say on what the team was doing. The PO acted almost as a secretary because someone else was defining and scheduling the stories for the team. Even if the PO role was not clear in this organization, the fact that the PO was stepping back so much let the team in limbo. We discuss how the PO role is critical in enabling the team to succeed!
Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.
About Linda van Sinten
Linda van Sinten is an experienced Scrum Master and creator of the Liberating Structures Visual design cards. She combines her knowledge of Scrum with the powerful skill of creating visualizations and visual tools to drive teams forward. She has trained over 500 people in making powerful visuals out of ideas, structuring strategies and product visions in Tech, Healthcare and other industries.
You can link with Linda van Sinten on LinkedIn.
