Companies rarely only develop one product. However, they are usually all under the responsibility of one individual, which is often the Product Manager. This creates a loss of efficiency, as the person in charge will often focus on some of the items being produced, instead of observing every little detail of each one. By assigning an Agile product owner, it is predictable that they will all be completed more rapidly and as they were in the creator's mind, in the first place. The clarity of roles and responsibilities that it brings, helps even in the most chaotic project scenarios. Here is why using an agile product owner improves product creation processes.
The Agile product owner can be compared to the lead role of a product management team. However, they have more power, since they are given the personal responsibility to translate the goals of product management into stories and tasks for a single product. The person being named as the Agile product owner is often part of the product management team. However, they can also come from the development group, as they understand the product to be built, better than anyone else. Learn more about the qualities and skills needed by an Agile product owner.
When you create a product, it has its own story already written. The person or team that has thought about it, knows who will want it and why. They also understand all the advantages that it brings with it and how it can solve problems for a specific group of people. That knowledge needs to be present at all stages of product development. Otherwise, it will be hard for the story to be told to consumers and to get results, later on. In fact, if there is no Agile product owner, the strategy to convince customers could rapidly become confusing. Especially, as the meaning of the product will likely get lost along the way.
When you want to launch a new product or service, you need to do so within a given timeframe. Otherwise, competitors may pull it off before you. Or, you may simply miss the launch window. An Agile product owner is responsible to make sure that the completion of the project will be on time. To do so, you need to create a roadmap that clearly defines the priorities that the team needs to concentrate on.
Inside the backlog, the Agile product owner finds the elements that need to be part of the end product. Each part of the creation is considered a sprint. Thus, inside an Agile organization, the product owner needs to insert the sprints that come next, every time a new sprint starts. The capacity to manage the backlog well is a crucial role of the Agile product owner.
In the end, the Agile product owner needs to be able to translate the information found inside the backlog. They must also translate the development team vision, into the product creation process. Once it is complete, it will have to pass an acceptance test that should see the product replicate the original conceptual and technological plan of origin.
