An Example Checklist For Product Owners

An   E xample   C hecklist   f or   P roduct   O wners

 

Lare   L ekman   |   R evised   i n   S eptember   2 013   |   p  

 

Product   V ision  

£

I   h ave   a   p roduct   v ision   ( created   w ith   c ustomers,   e nd   u sers,   a nd   i nvestors,   w hen   p ossible)  

£

I   c an   a nswer   t o   q uestions   a bout   t he   p roduct   v ision   i n   a   c oncise   a nd   m otivating   w ay  

£

I   h ave   a   s hort   t agline   f or   t he   p roduct   v ision,   f or   e xample   “ 1,000   s ongs   i n   y our   p ocket”   ( iPod   i n   2 001),                          

to   c ommunicate   t he   e ssence   a nd   v alue   o f   t he   p roduct   r elease.  

 

Stakeholders  

£

I   u nderstand   t he   n eeds   o f   m y   s takeholders   ( especially   c ustomers,   e nd   u sers,   a nd   i nvestors)    

£

I   c ommunicate   r egularly   w ith   t he   s takeholders   t o   u nderstand   t heir   n eeds   a nd   t o   m anage   t heir   e xpectations  

£

I   a m   m otivated   t o   w ork   a s   a   P roduct   O wner,   a nd   m ake   s ure   I   h ave   t he   s takeholders’   m andate   a nd   t rust  

 

Product   B acklog    

£

I   h ave   a   p roduct   b acklog  

£

I   h ave   a   m andate   t o   m ake   d ecisions   a bout   t he   p roduct   b acklog  

£

I   u pdate   t he   p roduct   b acklog   a t   l east   b efore   e ach   s print   p lanning   m eeting  

£

The   p roduct   b acklog   i s   a ccessible   t o   a ll   s crum   t eam   m embers  

£

The   p roduct   b acklog   i tems   a re   o rdered   ( based   o n   v alue,   r isk,   w ork   e stimates,   d ependencies,   e tc.)    

£

The   p roduct   b acklog   i tems   a re   c learly   e xpressed   a nd   m ore   d etailed   t owards   t he   t op  

£

I   r egularly   r efine   t he   p roduct   b acklog,   w ith   a t   l east   o ne   d eveloper,   t o   g et   t he   t op   o f   t he   p roduct   b acklog  

ready   f or   t he   n ext   s print   ( or   r elease)   p lanning   m eeting.  

 

Development   T eam  

£

I   a m   a vailable   t o   m y   d evelopers   d uring   t he   s print   t o   c larify   r equirements  

£

I   p rotect   m y   d evelopment   t eam   f rom   a nyone   w ho   t ries   t o   c hange   t he   s print’s   p roduct   b acklog   i tems  

£

There   i s   o nly   o ne   P roduct   O wner   w ho   c hooses   t he   p roduct   b acklog   i tems   a nd   r efines   t hem   w ith   t he  

development   t eam.   O therwise,   d evelopers   d o   n ot   k now   w ho   t o   l isten.  

£

I   m otivate   m y   d evelopment   t eam   b y   o ccasionally   d escribing   m y   p roduct   v ision,   i ncluding   t he   p lanned  

benefits   a nd   i mpacts   o f   t he   n ext   p roduct   r elease   o r   i ncrement.  

£

I   m otivate   a nd   t rain   m y   d evelopers   b y   i nvolving   t hem   i n   w riting   a nd   a nalyzing   u ser   s tories,   w hen   p ossible  

(thus   a lso   r educing   m y   o wn   w ork).  

£

I   t rust   m y   S crum   t eam’s   d evelopment   c apabilities.   I f   n ot,   I   w ill   t ry   a nd   b uild   t rust   b y   o ffering   t hem   t raining,  

recruiting,   b etter   c ommunication,   p ersonnel   c hanges,   e tc.  

£

My   S crum   t eam   t rusts   m y   b usiness   d omain   a nd   e nd   u ser   k nowledge.   I f   n ot,   I   w ill   t ry   a nd   b uild   t rust   b y  

improving   m y   o wn   a nd   t he   S crum   t eam’s   b usiness   a nd   e nd   u ser   u nderstanding.  

£

I   h ave   a   s imilar   u nderstanding   o f   t he   D efinition   o f   D one   w ith   t he   S crum   t eam  

 

Scrum   M aster  

£

A   S crum   M aster   i s   a ppointed   ( preferably   b y   t he   d evelopment   t eam,   w hen   p ossible)  

£

I   h ave   a   g ood   u nderstanding   a nd   t rust   w ith   m y   S crum   M aster.   I f   n ot,   I   w ork   t ogether   w ith   m y   S crum   M aster  

to   i mprove   o ur   c ooperation.  

 

Scrum   E vents  

£

I   p articipate   i n   s print   p lanning   m eetings   t o   s elect   t he   p roduct   b acklog   i tems   w ith   t he   t eam  

£

I   p articipate   i n   s print   r eview   m eetings,   g ive   c onstructive   f eedback,   a nd   v erify   w hich   o f   t he   s elected   p roduct  

backlog   i tems   f ulfill   t heir   u nique   A cceptance   C riteria   a nd   t he   g eneral   D efinition   o f   D one.  

£

I   p articipate   i n   r etrospective   m eetings   t o   o bserve   a nd   i mprove   m y   o wn   w ork   a s   a   P roduct   O wner  

£

I   w ork   w ith   m y   d evelopment   t eam   e ven   o n   d aily   b asis,   w hen   n eeded,   t o   c larify   t he   r equirements,   w ork   o n  

the   d esign,   a nd   o ptimize   t he   s print’s   o utcome.  

£

I   h ave   s cheduled   s print   e vents   w ith   S crum   M aster   ( for   e xample   a s   r epetitive   c alendar   e vents)  

 

My   c urrent   P roduct   O wner   S core   i s   _ _______   /   2 8   p oints.