Selecting the Product Owner
When deciding who to choose as Product Owner, you must remember that this will be his job for the duration of the project, and while he will be available to field questions and offer some assistance where necessary, he is “on leave” from his normal job. The reasons for this are simple:-
- He needs to commit to the project and cannot be distracted by his “day job”, although as mentioned, he is still available if strictly necessary. If the demands on his time from his business unit become too intrusive, the Scrum Master will intervene and escalate the issue to whatever level is required to minimise the interference.
- He must have a good knowledge of the company, its culture and processes and any history relevant to the new product and the project. This includes an ability to co-opt the right person at the right time to provide the content for an epic, a feature or a user story.
- He should have a good eye for detail to ensure user stories are aligned with the project, as well as the ability to analyse what the critical success factors are for the project. Every piece of work has to be inspected and agreed according to a set of acceptance criteria, and his role in this is pivotal.
- He must be decisive and firm. The decision-making ability will be used in prioritisation of the Product Backlog (which also speaks to his product knowledge). He needs to be firm when external parties, from people who work for him to the CEO either demand his time or try to meddle in the project. Again, the Scrum Master will support him. The Product Owner has the right to halt or even cancel the project, if necessary, which is not an easy decision.
- He should be an extrovert and a good communicator, who infuses the team with enthusiasm. He does not have to be a great team player, but he should be a democrat and not a dictator.
It might be difficult to find the exact fit for the role, but there will be a few people who suit the profile above that will spring to mind.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course: