We Need to Talk About the Product Owner

1. We Need to Talk About the Product Owner
Anthony Marter
@antzzzm
Product Owner – Orion Health

2. We need to talk…

3. Where am I coming from?
• Product Ownership at scale
• Fiserv: 1 team -> 6+ teams
• Orion Health: Cross organisation release train
• Building products
• Large, monolithic products, early/mid maturity cycle
• Multiple teams working on a single release

4. Sprint
What do I do?
ReviewBacklog

5. Product Owner is a Peer Role
WHY
WHAT
HOW
Prioritisation
Facilitation
Defining value
Client Engagement
Development
Business Analysis
Architecture
Testing
Team
Product Owner

6. PM/PO/BA
Product Manager:
Market Strategy
Segmentation
Pricing
Regular Client
Engagement
Product Owner:
Value determination
Prioritisation
Day-to-day team
engagement
Technical value
communication
Analyst:
Detailed analysis
Deep-dive
Business how (e.g.
process, workflow)
Technical design
alignment
Product Manager
Product Owner
Analyst
Problem
Space
Solution
Space

7. T Shaped People
Sales
Marketing
Delivery
Value
MarketStrategy
Pricing
Clients
Markets
Detail
Technology
ValueDetermination
Prioritisation
Value
Prioritisation
Development
Testing
DetailedAnalysis
Businessprocessdesign
Product
Manager
Product
Owner
Analyst

8. In the Real World?
Overall Product (or Capability) Scope
Product Owner
Analyst
SpecificBusiness
Problem
Product Owner:
•Broad but shallow
Analyst:
•Narrow but deep
SpecificBusiness
Problem
SpecificBusiness
Problem

9. The ‘I’ in the ‘T’

10. Key Skill #1 - Value
• Client engagement in a
product world
• Value from solving a
BUSINESS PROBLEM
• Example #1 – Transport
• Example #2 – Staying out of
the how

11. Are we solving a business problem?
• We’ve come from a world of features
• We need to solve… OMG SHINY
TECH THINGS
‘Let’s lift this up a level’

12. Translating between worlds
Business
Technical Value – eg Architectural evolution, tech debt
resolution, tech excellence
Technical
Market Value – eg ROI, market positioning/segmentation,
strategy, client delighters

13. Dealing with Absolutes
• Security/Compliance
• Architecture/Technical Debt
• Minimum Viable Product
• Everything has value – how can the value be represented?
ROCK
HARD
PLACE

14. Communicating Value
• Value Team Facilitator
• Specification by Example
• So what? Vision!
• Test your assumptions
WHAT I
KNOW
WHAT
YOU
KNOW
WHAT
WE
KNOW

15. Break it Down…
• Everything can be broken down
• Barriers: Architecture, Compliance,
Delivery Overheads
• Creativity/Pragmatism
• Always be delivering value
Product Owners
Scrum Masters

16. What did we learn today?
• Feedback is key and must be
planned for
• What are the right metrics?
• What is our cycle time?
“The value of a metric
is proportional to the
value of the business
decision that can be
made using it”
- Gojko Adjzic

17. Key Skill #2 - Prioritisation
• What we value changes with time,
environment, phases of the moon
• Can’t be consistently quantified
• Can be agreed on?
Quality
Timeliness
Team
Happiness
Technical Debt
Reduction

18. But I want it NOW!
Value
Arch.
Market
Quality
Tech
Debt
Happy
Team
Support
UX
Security
...

19. Make it Transparent
No assumptions!

20. Key Skill #3 – Facilitation
• Single wringable neck?
VELOCITY
BLAME
GATE KEEPER
SCAPEGOAT

21. Making it work

22. How big is the role?
1:2

23. Scaling…
Chief Product Owner (Spotify)
Software Product Manager (Fiserv)
Solution Product Owner (Orion Health)
Team PO
Capability PO
Component PO
Team PO
Capability PO
Component PO Team PO
Capability PO
Component PO
Team PO
Capability PO
Component PO

24. Anti Patterns
• Time poor Product Owner
• Not co-located
• Not trusted
• ’Cat herder’
Awesome

25. Who should be the PO?
• Product Owner = Random business guy      
• Product Owner = Scrum Master      
• Product Owner = Team Lead (or other tech person)   
• Product Owner = Business Analyst   
• Product Owner = Product Owner           

26. Why do it?
• Passion for great products
• All about shipping
• Develop people/business skills
• Career progression into
Product Management
• Never a dull moment!

27. Thanks for listening
Any Questions?