As a Product Owner,
I will establish a roadmap, release plan, and backlog,
So the overall vision of the product/ service can be realized.
Creating a product vision and road map to use as a guide for product development.
Identifying and maintaining a product backlog to deliver the product vision.
Clarifying customer needs into epics and user stories and ultimately system features to fulfill the product vision.
Performance Circle: Envisioning
Holon: Defining
Defining is a holon within the Envisioning performance circle. The Defining holon contains the actions and ceremonies required to build the product backlog that defines the product vision and road map.
Objective
As a Product Owner,
I want to create a product backlog,
so that I have a list of prioritized features and functions which define the product vision.
Performance Level Outcomes
Defining Performance Level Outcomes
Adopting Level Outcomes | Transforming Level Outcomes | Mastering Level Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
1. Backlog reflecting product vision with features and capabilities exists. 2. Product owners and agile team members are trained in the creation and management of the product backlog. 3. Cross-functional teams are effectively peer reviewing the backlog. | 4. Product owner engages with agile team in all product ceremonies. 5. Prioritized and sized Product backlog exists. 6. Product Road Map exists with epics allocated over time. 7. Release plan is visually available and understood by all team members. | 8. Multiple product backlogs are synchronized across agile teams. 9. Product backlogs are updated, refined, and kept current at all times. 10. Release plan is updated, refined, and kept current at all times. 11. Product definition ceremonies and techniques are improved and expanded over time. |
Action 1.0: Allocate Road Map Work for Agile Teams
Based on the Product Road Map, the product owner will determine which elements of the Road Map will be allocated to which agile teams in order to produce the most positive outcome. Many companies maintain multilevel backlogs in support of synchronized agile teams in a Scrum of Scrums environment. Since this will involve the assignment of people and other resources, additional stakeholders within the organization may need to be consulted and integrated into the discussion of resource allocation and schedule
Ceremonies/Techniques
Backlog Grooming
Use backlog grooming to prioritize the initial set of items in the product backlog based on the Product Road Map, and determine which agile teams will be responsible for its implementation.
Release Planning
Engage in release planning to provide further detail based on the Product Road Map on when product features will be available.
Action 2.0: Develop Road Map Product Backlog
The product owner collaborates with the agile team to translate each desired feature, function, and product need defined in the road map into a set of functional and nonfunctional epics and stories. The information within the Product Road Map will evolve into a set of more detailed epics and stories within the product backlog.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Backlog Grooming
Use backlog grooming to collaborate within the teams, architects, and business analysts to transform functional and nonfunctional needs into an initial set of epics and user stories.
Release Planning
As further details are uncovered about the epics and stories in the product backlog, including dependencies and sizing, use release planning to refine the timing of when product functionality will be released.
Three Diverse Humans
Ensure that the backlog is peer reviewed early and often to ensure defects are driven out when they cause the least damage to the team and customer.
Action 3.0: Prioritize Road Map Product Backlog
After the product backlog is updated with the functional and nonfunctional product epics and stories, the product owner collaborates with teams to prioritize them, ensuring they align with the priority defined in the Product Road Map. During this activity, the product owner and team will consider a number of factors that include business value, clarity, risk, and dependencies, which help to establish prioritization.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Backlog Grooming
Use backlog grooming to prioritize the epics and user stories in the product backlog.
Release Planning
Use release planning to reflect the priority in the product backlog regarding the timing of product features for release.
Holon: Road Mapping
Road Mapping is a holon within the Envisioning performance circle. The Road Mapping holon contains the actions and ceremonies required to create the product vision, define the product road map based on the vision, and identify the resources needed to make the product a reality.
Objective
As a Product Owner,
I want to create a product vision and roadmap,
So that the team can utilize it as a guide for product development.
Performance Level Outcomes
Road Mapping Performance Level Outcomes
Adopting Level Outcomes | Transforming Level Outcomes | Mastering Level Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
1. Product vision reflects product needs and key functional/ nonfunctional attributes. 2. Product vision reflects product feasibility and key barriers. 3. Road map aligns with product vision and describes product goals. | 4. Cross-functional teams work to envision the overall product road map. 5. Product vision reflects the target customers/ users. 6. Product vision is compared against existing products for potential reusability. 7. Product vision reflects the product revenue model and value proposition. 8. Road map aligns with product vision. | 9. Product vision and road map updated over time and consistently kept up to date. 10. Road mapping ceremonies and techniques are improved and expanded over time. |
Action 1.0: Identify Current and Future Product Capabilities
Develop an understanding of the product’s existing features and functions, and determine if its needs are being met. This information will describe the current product capabilities. Add future features and functions that will comprise the future state of the product. In the case of a new product, the focus should be on future capabilities the product needs to provide in its initial release.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Big Room Planning
Big Room Planning is best used when large, cross-functional teams need to collaborate to ensure complex solutions address the needs of the organization.
Open Spaces
Open Space Technologies can be used to explore vision and functionality if there is a significant number of unknown features that need to be extracted from the experiences of stakeholders and end users. It may make sense to conduct an Open Spaces event prior to Big Room Planning.
Customer Interviews
Use Customer Interviews to learn what new product features or changes to existing features that customers desire.
Research Competitors
Research Competitors to learn who the competitors are in your target market. Learn about product offerings from whom you are competing against.
Product Comparisons
Use Product Comparisons to understand how your offerings compare against other products from your competitors feature by feature.
Market Research
Perform Market Research to understand how to position your product in the market and differentiate it from the competition.
Action 2.0: Create Product Vision
Collaborate with stakeholders and other sources to create the product vision. The product vision should contain information defining the product across several dimensions. The product vision should be used as a tool to guide the product teams through the product development process.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Envisioning Sprints
Envisioning Sprints utilize agile methods to develop the Product Vision.
Product Scenarios
Use product scenarios to determine how an end user will interact with the product to achieve the end user’s goal. The scenarios should focus on identifying what product features are required to provide benefits to the end user by using the product.
Prototyping
Use prototyping to build a less than fully functional version of the product in order to learn how the product will be perceived and used. Prototyping provides the agile team with invaluable information that can be used to refine the product’s features.
Kano Model
The Kano Model provides an approach to determine what the most desirable features should be within a product to help differentiate it from competitors.
Action 3.0: Create Product Road Map
Once the product vision is created, define the approach and timing involved to make the product vision a reality using a Product Road Map. The product road map is especially useful for products where multiple versions are being planned. The road map brings together product release goals, release timing, and other key product characteristics that are affected by time. The road map is a living resource that will evolve over time along with the product itself.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Envisioning Sprints
Envisioning Sprints utilize agile methods to develop the Product Vision.
Product Scenarios
Use product scenarios to determine how an end user will interact with the product to achieve the end user’s goal. The scenarios should focus on identifying what product features are required to provide a benefit to the end user by using the product.
Prototyping
Use prototyping to build a less than fully functional version of the product in order to learn how the product will be perceived and used. Prototyping provides the agile team with invaluable information that can be used to refine the product’s features.
Kano Model
The Kano Model provides an approach to determine what the most desirable features should be within a product to help differentiate it from competitors.
Action 4.0: Define and Charter Agile Teams
Form the agile team(s) with the necessary knowledge and skills to implement the desired product features outlined in the product vision and road map. If the knowledge and skills needed are not available, the product owner will need to engage with other stakeholders (e.g., Senior Management, Human Resources, Third-Party Vendors) to recruit the needed technical expertise. Prospective team members without agile experience will also need training. Please see the Teaming performance circle for a definition of training outcomes.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Team Agreements
Team Agreements are used to define “rules of engagement” on how the team will interact with each other and those outside the team.
Project Chartering
Use Project Chartering to allow agile teams to self-organize around the key characteristics of their team. Let them create their “agile brand.”
Holon: Clarifying
Clarifying is a holon within the Envisioning performance circle. The Clarifying holon contains the actions and ceremonies required to iteratively evolve the business needs into user stories, child stories, and tasks, and to better understand the customer's needs.
Objective
As a Product Owner,
I want to transform customer needs from the product backlog into epics and user stories,
So that agile teams can develop the product in an iterative and incremental fashion.
Performance Level Outcomes
Clarifying Performance Level Outcomes
Adopting Level Outcomes | Transforming Level Outcomes | Mastering Level Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
1. Agile team members are trained in the development and analysis of user stories. 2. Product backlog representing Road Map consists of epics and stories. | 3. Product owner engages with agile team during sprint planning, backlog grooming, and sprint demos. 4. Product backlog consists of epics and user stories that are prioritized, sized and traced to test cases and changes. | 5. All product owners engage with respective agile teams across the organization. 6. Product backlog consists of epics, user stories, estimates, acceptance criteria, and the definition of done. 7. Clarifying ceremonies and techniques are improved and expanded over time. |
Action 1.0: Evolve Business Needs into User and Child Stories
Functional and nonfunctional needs captured in the initial product backlog are reviewed by the product owner and agile team then transformed them into a set of user stories. As the user stories are created, acceptance criteria will be identified. Depending on the number of stories being created, it may be useful to group them into different themes to assist with organization.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Backlog Grooming
Use backlog grooming to collaborate within the agile team to prioritize functional and nonfunctional needs into epics and user stories.
Action 2.0: Refine the Product Backlog
The user stories in the product backlog are reviewed on a regular basis by the product owner and the agile teams. The goal is to ensure the stories in the product backlog meet the team standards related to the definition of ready before the story can be considered for inclusion within an upcoming sprint. An important aspect to definition of ready includes applying established criteria to each story.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Backlog Grooming
Use backlog grooming to provide more detail to the epics and user stories reflecting new dependencies and recent priorities. The epics and stories are refined until the definition of ready is met.
Action 3.0: Size the Product Backlog Items
User stories, which have undergone refinement by the product owner and agile team, are sized for inclusion in an upcoming sprint. The developers on the team will use various techniques (e.g., T-shirt Sizing, Planning Poker) to estimate each story. In some instances, the sizing exercise may point to the need for additional product backlog refinement.
Ceremonies/Techniques
Backlog Grooming
Use backlog grooming to prioritize each user story once a sufficient level of detail has been reached.
Relative Estimation
Use relative estimation to size or group user stories, tasks, and subtasks on a comparison basis using complexity as a driving factor.
Team Estimation Game
Team estimation is used by the agile team to collectively estimate items in the product backlog using relative estimation.
Release Planning
As user stories are sized, use release planning to refine the timing of when product features are released.