The Essential Product Owner Partnering with the Team

Transcription

1 The Essential Product Owner Partnering with the Team Bob Galen President & Principal Consultant RGCG, LLC Introduction Bob Galen Somewhere north of 30 years experience Various lifecycles Waterfall variants, RUP, Agile, Chaos Various domains SaaS, Medical, Financial Services, Computer & Storage Systems, ecommerce, and Telecommunications Developer first, then Project Management / Leadership, then Testing Leveraged pieces of Scrum in late 90 s; before agile was Agile Lucent in using Extreme Programming Formally using Scrum since 2000 Currently independent Agile Coach at RGCG, LLC and Director of Agile Solutions at Zenergy Technologies From Cary, North Carolina Connect w/ me via LinkedIn and Twitter if you wish Bias Disclaimer: Agile is THE BEST Methodology for Software Development However, NOT a Silver Bullet! Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 3 1

2 When I say Product Owner? Customer Business Analyst Stakeholder Product Manager Requirement Provider Anyone tasked with describing and accepting business facing value produced by an agile team Clearly the reference is Scrum-centric Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 4 Audience? Truly not Product Owner centric Agile methodology agnostic I m trying to imply a whole-team view, where the entire team: Collaborates on the work Elaborates stories Delivers on value Delivers on quality Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 5 2

3 My focus: Simple Patterns vs. Essential Patterns Simple Patterns Good! Essential Patterns Collaborative & Better! Stories from the Trenches Some patterns, some anti-patterns Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 6 Who owns the Backlog? Simple pattern: The Product Owner Owns the Product Backlog Essential pattern It Takes a Village to Own the Backlog Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 7 3

4 It Takes a Village to Own the Backlog Product Organization Product Owners Stakeholders Business Analysts Executives Testers Software Programmers, Developers, Engineers Scrum Masters Project Managers Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 8 Injection / Influence Points Active in Sprint Reviews Sit with or visit the team; daily interactions! Have courage to Tell Truth to Leadership & the Team Working code reviewed accepted deployed Shared vision, goals, ownership, challenges, successes & failures But importantly a singular, decisive voice! Is there only one? Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 9 4

5 Goal Setting? Simple pattern: Defining a Sprint Goal Essential pattern Leading with your Goals Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 10 Leading with Goal Setting Release Goals Sprint Goals Feature Acceptance Over Features, Stories, and Tasks Value-driven Envisioning Chartering Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 11 5

6 Goal Setting Stories A Survival Goal (Michael) Startup, first Scrum sprint, early financing, successful DEMO A Quality Goal (Jon) Complex errors, $$$, explore ATDD, correct business logic, Stretch -- innovation Release Goals (Rob) New message creation engine; intuitive for SMB customers, Release #1 MMF / Entry, Release #2 Stabilization & Templates and Release #3 Complex Editing Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 12 Backlog Management? Simple pattern: Backlog Grooming Essential pattern Active & Congruent Backlog Grooming Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 13 6

7 Influencing Grooming Dynamics Stories PO Influence (Max) ecommerce company PO was incredibly well-liked; influential Team was there to please to a fault Product Owner Founder Leadership Influence (Todd) Start-up CTO was founder, architect, developer Planning poker with a twist Team Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 14 Active Backlog Grooming Bring goals & stories to the table; but be open to change Listen actively Don t predetermine size nor complexity; trust your team Don t negotiate collaborate Organic explorations of scope and options as you get closer to execution Explore execution dynamics architecture & design, testing, non-functional, deployment, and risk Apply pressure on value flow, quality & sustainable pace Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 15 7

8 Active Backlog Grooming Remembering that the backlog is a shared construct that represents a workflow. It s not simply a set of features, but teams need to be able to see the big picture and flow from here-to-there as well. Visit it often; take your time to gather understanding and determine your path Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 16 Big Picture? Simple pattern: Release Planning Essential pattern Multi-threaded Look Ahead Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 17 8

9 A Tapestry that Includes Threads for Things to do Features Value increments Architecture Design Process Quality Testing In a Context-Based fashion Deployment Regulatory Dependency Risk Feedback Customer timing Tempo Guiding us towards customer value Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 18 Unhealthy Backlogs Anti-patterns PO drops off a list Overloaded priority Too short-sighted (small) or too robust (long) Dependencies trivialized or not there Simplistic testing assumed No consideration for technical debt Development, testing, legacy code, defect backlogs, etc. Ignore value Trivialize deployment Miss the opportunity for investigation Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 19 9

10 Healthy Postures in Creating the Backlog Allow the solution to emerge; just-in-time; KISS Look-ahead, but not too far; iterate Quality / Debt recovery should result in stories Thoughtful workflow matters; so trust your teams input Think in terms of Delivery to your customer and Done Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 20 Big Picture? Innovation? Simple pattern: Work With The Team Essential pattern Cementing a Creative Partnership Between PO and Team Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 21 10

11 Partnership Story Link was a Product Owner in an ecommerce company Conversations around the competitive landscape Technology innovation that might be useful Quarterly presentation on long term strategy; inclusive of teams ideas Team included in corporate strategy sessions What do you think it drove? Shared Ownership True, Wisdom of Crowds innovation & creativity from the team Teams understanding of value and problem domain KISS solutions Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 22 Round-trip Exposure Allow the team time to Explore Allow the team to Experiment, Stretch, and Fail Proudly share failures; stretch points; innovative efforts Always draw learning from Retrospective, Know when to Push and when to Pull Share your Pressures Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 23 11

12 Built to Last? Simple pattern: Of Course, Quality Essential pattern Build it Right & Keep it Clean No Matter the Cost Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 24 Who Decides on Quality? Of Course, Quality isn t a simple pattern, it s a façade Jim Coplien responding to a point on Scrum Alliance leadership (paraphrased) Value doesn t matter when examining technical debt. Rather, that cleaning up after yourself transcended the normal determination of business value and was simply an inherent part of delivering software. That it is our responsibility and is non-negotiable. The decision-making wasn t FOR the business-side, but instead resides within the team. Listen to your team! Ask the Right questions! Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 25 12

13 Technical Debt Intentional vs. We don t have the time, you re simply gold-plating, I don t trust you or your overreacting Unintentional Mistakes, M&A activity, poor design choices, skill gaps, etc. Warning signs & terms Hacking, Crufty Code, Over complexity Fear Factor (FUD), Estimate Inflation Annual pilgrimage for debt relief (Mark) Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 26 Manifesto for Software Craftsmanship As aspiring Software Craftsmen we are raising the bar of professional software development by practicing it and helping others learn the craft. Through this work we have come to value: Not only working software, but also well-crafted software Not only responding to change, but also steadily adding value Not only individuals and interactions, but also a community of professionals Not only customer collaboration, but also productive partnerships That is, in pursuit of the items on the left we have found the items on the right to be indispensable. Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 27 13

14 Wrapping Up Essential Patterns Review 1. It Takes a Village to Own the Backlog 2. Leading with your Goals 3. Active & Congruent Backlog Grooming 4. Multi-threaded Look Ahead 5. Cementing a Creative Partnership Between PO and Team 6. Build it Right & Keep it Clean No Matter the Cost Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 28 Wrap-up What were the most compelling ideas, stories, or lessons? What adjustments will you make in your Product Ownership? What ideas did I miss? Final questions or discussion? Thank you! Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 29 14

15 Contact Info Bob Galen Principal Consultant, RGalen Consulting Group, L.L.C. Experience-driven agile focused training, coaching & consulting Contact: (919) Blogs Project Times - BA Times - Podcast on all things agile - Copyright 2013 RGCG, LLC 30 15