In a market that is changing more and more rapidly, the IT industry needs to be more responsive than ever. In order to always better satisfy the customer, the industry has implemented agile methods (SCRUM Methodology) and an agile team philosophy for several years.

The Product Owner(PO), literally in French “product owner”, is one of the key roles of the agile SCRUM methodology.

5 degrees, consulting agency in Paris and specialist in digital transformation tells you more about this key role!

Agility in a nutshell

Agility is the ability to adapt quickly and effectively to change. In business, it is a methodology governed by a certain number of rules allowing more responsiveness when developing a digital product.
This methodology, in contrast to the so-called V-cycle method, avoids the tunnel effect.

Agility nevertheless requires an in-depth transformation of the company, of its state of mind, but also of its practices.

The Agile philosophy

Agility is a framework for responding to complex problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value.

This framework consists of several elements: the team and its associated roles (product owner, scrum master, designer, tester and the development team), events, artifacts and rules. This philosophy highlights the relative effectiveness of current management and product development practices so that they can be improved. Customer satisfaction is at the heart of the Product Owner Agile business.

The role of the Agile Product Owner

The Agile Product Owner is responsible for a product that must meet the needs of customers and users. It is he who carries the vision of the product and its roadmap.

The Agile Product Owner represents the link between the business teams and the development team.

The missions of the Agile Product Owner

Product view

• Gather user needs through a “User Centric” approach

• Organize and lead various workshops in order to understand the vision and expectations of users and customers

• Share this vision with the development team

• Adjust the vision according to changes in the environment, context and user expectations

Transcription of needs

• Formalize the needs in ‘Items’ which constitute theProduct Backlog (Epics, functionalities, User Stories, etc.)

• Thanks to different workshops, prioritize theBacklog according to the business value and difficulties of realization

• Detail the User Stories and validate with the development team on the acceptance criteria.

Backlog management

• Prioritize the Product Backlog and share priorities with the development team to build the Sprint

• Feed, re-evaluate and correct Backlog items

Communication

• Communicate and become the main contact between the business team and the developers

• Present to the development team and the stakeholders the objectives to be achieved and the progress of the project during the various ceremonies (demo)

• Participate in retrospectives in a logic of continuous improvement with the development team

The tools of the Agile Product Owner

Trello, confluence, jira, gitlab, planner.

Skills of an Agile Product Owner

Vision, analysis, organization, prioritization, teamwork.

Here you know everything about the Agile Product Owner!