How do Product Owners handle having multiple backlogs for a single team? That was the question from a listener and in this episode, there will be some strategies and tips to help deal with this rather common issue. You might also find some ways to better tend to your own backlog as well. Got any favorite strategies, send them along! Feedback: twitter - email - [email protected] Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - Mike Cohn - Hilla Meller - Ken Rubin - Perforce - Anne Wiltshire - EP100 Retr...
Oct 02, 2019•25 min•Season 5Ep. 16
How do Product Owners, and other product people, fit into our company's structure? How does that structure work with the other parts of the organization to benefit your customers? In this episode, Josh Anderson joins from the Meta-Cast to discuss some ideas, questions, and thoughts around what makes a well-designed product org. It's especially relevant for PO's because we have a key role to play in how successful our teams, organization, and company will be. Feedback: twitter - email - deliverit...
Sep 18, 2019•58 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Lately, Product Owners and others have been seeing and hearing a lot about "Business Agility". What does that really mean? To help explain and explore the concept and what it means for PO's Bob Galen joins us once again to talk about his writings and experience with the concept and where it came from. It is always good to stay informed about topics that you might get asked about and be able to understand how to talk about the topic with others. Feedback: twitter - email - [email protected]...
Sep 04, 2019•58 min•Season 5Ep. 14
When Product Owners hear or when we tell anyone "It's done". What does that mean? Do we mean it's mostly done, or done except for a few things we haven't finished yet. Is that really done? Unlikely. It helps to define in simple terms what a team, product, and group means when they say something is done. That's where the useful "Definition of Done" comes into use. Teams help create and understand what done looks like for them. PO's then make sure when we do use those famous little words, we actua...
Aug 21, 2019•51 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Product Owners often get focused on what or how we are doing things for our applications and teams, and not how often. When you take a look at when your product and information cycles happen you start to observe some real opportunities. In this episode, we dig in a bit deeper on those loops that PO's have and what's important about each. Finding and talking about ways to shorten the loop is the goal so that our learning can increase, our processes change, and we can adapt to our customers. Feedb...
Aug 07, 2019•23 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Gaining a deeper understanding of the users of our products should be high on a Product Owners to-do list. Building knowledge, information, and empathy with them will help us learn more about their issues and situations. An excellent technique for doing that is creating and sharing an Empathy Map that focuses on a specific person using your product. Building a map gets you out of your head and into theirs. That new perspective can help uncover ideas, perspectives, or issues your customer's faces...
Jul 24, 2019•25 min•Season 5Ep. 11
When Product Owners start hearing about MVPs, we really need to pay attention to who’s talking and what they mean. MVP the term has definitely grown beyond its original meaning and frequently gets confused with many other things that aren’t really related. There’s a ton of information out there and we’ve shared some before. This episode tries to boil down some of it into something that you as a PO can use and take with you. Or at least a strategy to know when you're not talking about a minimal v...
Jul 10, 2019•24 min•Season 5Ep. 10
How do teams and Product Owners know if what they are delivering is the right thing? Most of the time, you don’t, unless they are specifically treating their deliveries as opportunities to learn. The best way to learn? Try an experiment. In this episode, we are joined by two experts on product experimentation and how to get the most out of this practice. It’s something that PO’s are likely already doing, even if it’s not on purpose. After this episode, you’ll likely think differently about that....
Jun 26, 2019•57 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Product Owners need to understand that a significant component of how well the team is able to deliver, depends on their product architecture. In fact, it’s often a limiting factor in how agile you really can be. Because it’s so important, Allen Holub joins this episode to talk about what PO’s need to know about architecture, why it’s so important, and how they can help determine it’s direction. All while keeping the main value and focus on the customer's benefit. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritc...
Jun 12, 2019•43 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Ok Product Owners, how well do you know your flow? How well can you describe it to others? What’s the limiting factor in your product, delivery, and even company? Unless you’ve created and shared a Value Stream Map, you really don’t know. Understanding how work happens, where it bottlenecks, and how much time is wasted is extremely valuable to learn how to deliver value sooner. Customers won’t care that there were extra steps, they want to use the product to solve their problem. Help others see ...
May 29, 2019•26 min•Season 5Ep. 7
It’s one of the core tenants of creating products in an agile way, and something Product Owners need to be keenly aware of, but what exactly is “working software” anyway? Some are confused by the term, opinions differ, and still, others think it’s impossible or not enough. In this episode, the focus is on a practical definition and one that should apply to every story PO’s and teams work on together. This is one of the telltale signs of successful agile efforts, frequently getting working softwa...
May 15, 2019•25 min•Season 5Ep. 6
There is almost an incalculable number of ways a Product Owner can feel stressed. It can be overwhelming if you do not find strategies and mindsets to deal with stress effectively. In this episode, Geoff Watts joins the show again to discuss his recent thoughts on why we feel stressed and what control we have over how we respond. This was also a listener suggested topic and one that is truly helpful for PO’s to become more mindful and focused on. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - delive...
May 01, 2019•52 min•Season 5Ep. 5
When Product Owners are communicating with stories, the way they are written and told can help establish some clarity. The stories are only part of the puzzle when collaborating with others and there is certainly more than one way to craft them. If you’ve written them the same way before and are looking for some alternatives, in this episode you’ll learn about some new formats, tweaks to existing ones, and ways to keep them relevant. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - deliveritcast@gmail...
Apr 17, 2019•24 min•Season 5Ep. 4
There are a lot of Product Management skills that a great Product Owner needs to learn about. One of the best teachers of those skills is ProduxLabs CEO, Melissa Perri. She has a brand new book all about product roles, skills, strategy, and creating product-led organizations. All of these ideas are intended to help get you and your company out of the Build Trap, a place where customer success takes a backseat to shipping features. PO’s will benefit from adopting the ideas that Melissa has around...
Apr 03, 2019•52 min•Season 5Ep. 3
What is a Product Owner to do when a story is too big to fit into a sprint? Or what about when a PO is working with an idea that will take some time to study and learn with the team? How do you treat these ideas? It’s common to use the term Epic to describe a problem that is bigger than a story and in this episode, that’s what we dig into. There are, however, many different takes, strategies, and definitions of epics. Understanding the differences can help you wield them successfully. Feedback: ...
Mar 20, 2019•25 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Many times as Product Owners we are asked to do more than the team can handle. Having a way to sort through all of the ideas, problems, and yes even requests are sometimes necessary to put in place. In the first episode of Season 5, the notion of a funnel to sift those items though is discussed, some thoughts on how to do it, how to make sure you focus on those things valuable enough to say yes to, and ways to show the scope of all those asks to everyone. Welcome back everyone! Feedback: twitter...
Mar 06, 2019•20 min•Season 5Ep. 1
I truly hope that the Product Owners and people who care about them got a lot out of this season. We’ve had some wonderful quests, great topics, and learned a lot. In this episode I wanted to round up some questions that have been asked and leave you with some parting thoughts about PO’s, agility, and other areas. Thank you all so much for listening and sharing the show around. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - [email protected] Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - Charles Lambdin ...
Oct 31, 2018•27 min
Product Owners can learn a lot about getting feedback from users by picking up some UX practices. One of the better ways to do that is with a focused customer interview. In this episode we welcome Jessica Ivins who is a UX designer and educator to talk about some of the better strategies, methods, and questions to use. Interviewing a customer is a great skill for PO's to continue to get better at as it helps keep the focus on the user and the problems that our products help them solve. Feedback:...
Oct 17, 2018•51 min
What mode are you working in as a Product Owner? Are you and the team working on projects? Or products? What is the way you’re organized, measured, or deciding what to do? In this episode there is some exploration into these two mindsets and what they really mean. Since this is a new concept ( for me at least ), there are some thoughts on what product mode could look like and what project mode has been successfully able to do in the past. What’s your take? Which are you working in? Feedback: twi...
Oct 03, 2018•19 min
Product Owners should really like our individual conversations and interactions with people, sometimes we also need useful tools to help do our job. Which tools are important, helpful, and the best ones to get good at? In this episode we will discuss some of the better ones based on my history with them, why they are helpful, and what you might look to do with each of them. If you have a favorite tool you use, do share it with us so we can expand our toolbox. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast e...
Sep 19, 2018•36 min
If you are a Product Owner working on a large product, then there likely multiples of you. Many PO’s working with various teams to achieve different goals along the same path. How can you work better with each other and change the organization to focus on the problems your customers have? In this episode there’s a bit better dive than before on what different team setups look like and how Product Owners can work together and help frame the outcomes. Along with a fantastic new book recommendation...
Sep 05, 2018•21 min
Does Product Ownership need fixing? Are some of the common agile and scrum practices screwed up? Jeff Patton thinks so and has a really compelling talk that’s he’s given about 5 things PO's need to do, and do better. In this episode, Jeff joins the show to dive a bit deeper into where he sees those 5 things occurring, what we can do to correct them, and shares some insight as to where the issues arise from. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - [email protected] Links: PO Coaching and...
Aug 22, 2018•59 min
A common pitfall that Product Owners need to be aware of is behaving with authority they don’t have. A lot of people refer to this as PO’s and PM’s thinking they are the “CEO of the Product”. Bob Galen joins us on this episode to talk about some errors he sees in this approach and discuss from his recent post. We also discuss some ways in which Product Owners need to think and behave in a manner that is similar to that of a CEO. Do we put it to rest? Let us know what you think. Feedback: twitter...
Aug 08, 2018•54 min
Very rarely does a Product Owner get to work with a newly formed team. Getting started is a very important step so that the team understands what the goals, expectations, and vision of the product they will be creating. In this episode, you will hear some tips, strategies, and some audio clips of me doing just that while I visited our new team. If you have any PO tips for starting with a new team that were not covered, let us know. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - [email protected]...
Jul 25, 2018•27 min
Hearing from fellow Product Owners is a good way to learn more about the role. Having others share their experience and journey can give you ideas, insight, and practices to add to your situation. Last episode had a call to action and Paul Foster answered. In this episode he talks about this journey of getting started, learning, and growing as a PO for his company. Special thanks to Paul and to others who want to share their story with others around the world. If you have something you want to s...
Jun 27, 2018•50 min
Being comfortable with risk and uncertainty is a hallmark of a great Product Owner. Understanding how to deal with unknowns or potential issues can help PO’s plan better, show value sooner, and reduce how nervous other people are. Risk is a something that will travel with us as our products come to life. Keeping risks small, working through the known ones, and embracing the notion that customers using your product is a wonderful way to reduce many risks. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email ...
Jun 13, 2018•23 min
In order to communicate effectively, PO’s need to be excellent listeners. We must be able to understand and relate to what the person or group we are talking to are trying to tell us. Sometimes, we might even agree with them. When we can actively listen and turn on all the listening skills, we really start to engage and grasp the problems that we are presented with. No matter if it’s with teams, customers, or one on one conversations, we all can work on becoming better listeners. Feedback: twitt...
May 30, 2018•20 min
One of the basic Product Owner skills is communication. Delivering, receiving, and improving how and what we are communicating can make or break our efforts. When there are issues ( and there usually are ), what are some ways to get back on track and increase the team and customer relationships? In a happy circumstance, John Cutler was thinking along the same lines and he joins the show to discuss ways that he has worked on repairing communication. We also talk about some other tips for PO’s to ...
May 16, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Product Owners think a lot about delivering value and how best to do that. One way that can help focus those efforts is a technique from Gojko Adzic called Impact Mapping. On this episode, Gojko joins us to talk about the basic concepts, some tricks to asking better questions while putting one together, and ways to help facilitate better collaboration. It’s a very interesting area and skill for PO’s to learn and after listening, you should be able to start creating one yourself. Feedback: twitte...
May 02, 2018•51 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Product Owners should always work on trying to become better. Looking for areas to improve, selecting a few and then working on ways to make them successful is a good skill and practice to incorporate into your daily work. In this episode, we talk about why continuous improvement is so much a core part of the agile mindset and what PO’s can do to work through changing for good. Feedback: twitter - @deliveritcast email - [email protected] Links: PO Coaching and Consulting - Willem-Jan Ageli...
Apr 18, 2018•24 min
