Mastering the Product

Owner Challenges and

Dealing with the Common
Product Owner Anti-
Patterns
Teofilo Ted Flores II, CSPO
May 25, 2018
About Me

 Currently working at Infor Software for more than 10 years

now.
 Been practicing Agile for more than 7 years.
 Certified Scrum Product Owner
 Principal Business Analyst/ Scrum Master
 Infor M3 ERP Product Suites and Infor M3 Mobile Applications
Development

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedflores/
ted.flores@gmail.com
+639172089982
About Me

 Product Owner for Infor Mobility for Field Service (MFS)

Product Ownership in a Nutshell

 Anempowered individual who

liaise between the business and the
development team ensuring the successful
release of ahigh value product based
on the defined vision.
A day in the life of a Product Owner
Product Owner: Expectation vs. Reality
Product Owner: Expectation vs. Reality

Not all Agile teams exist within an

Agile Organizations
Product Owner: Expectation vs. Reality

Not all product owners “own” the

product.
Product Owner: Expectation vs. Reality

High value for others but not so

important for the rest
Product Owner: Expectation vs. Reality

Just say “No!”….sometimes.

Product Owner: Expectation vs. Reality

Not all are into agile.

Realizations

 Conflicts arise from the existence of Agile roles in a traditional PMO

 Complexity in development effort
 Scrum initiatives are being torn between agility at the project level and the
expectation of certainty at the organization level
Challenges of a Product Owner
How to master them
Challenges of a Product Owner

 Sustaining the Agile mindset

 Balance
 Speed
 Strength
 Coordination
What works for us?

 COACH THEM!
 Manage their trust
 Master conversations
 Establish culture
 Empowerment
Challenges of a Product Owner

 Agile team in a traditional PMO

 Existence of teams led by a project manager
 Agile teams only in one location e.g. Manila only
 Project Manager vs. Agile Product Owner
 Product Manager vs. Agile Product Owner
What works for us?

 REDEFINE THE ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES!

 Product Owner vs. Product Manager (by Roman Pichler)
What works for us?

 REDEFINE THE ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES!

 Product Manager in Agile setup (by Roman Pichler)
What works for us?

 REDEFINE THE ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES!

 Product Owner (by Roman Pichler)
What works for us?

 REDEFINE THE ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES!

 Project Manager vs. Product Owner
Challenges of a Product Owner

 When to say “No”?

What works for us?

 Have a great relationship with everyone.

Product Owner Anti Patterns
How to deal with it
Product Owner Anti-Patterns

 Not enough Product Backlog items

 No items for next sprint
 Undefined or inadequate definition of the
acceptance criteria
What works for us?

 Regular meetings with product stakeholders

 Hear out requirements from consultants when they demo the product to a
prospect customer
 INVEST
Product Owner Anti Patterns

 Underpowered Product Owner

 Can’t make their own decision
 management does not fully
trust the product owner
What works for us?

 Get the right management sponsor

 Roles and responsibilities should be clear
 Build relationships
Product Owner Anti Patterns

 Sacrificing the quality of the product to ship

the product faster
 Stakeholders push Product Owners to release
the product faster, even if the quality is not
the best.
What works for us?

 Definition of Done
Product Owner Anti Patterns

 Confusing the Product Owner role

with the Scrum Master Role
What works for us?

 Get an experienced and strong Scrum Master

Product Owner Anti Patterns

 The Product Owner who insists on

architecting the solution design
What works for us?

 Provide importance in defining the “what” for the Product Owner

supplementing it with the acceptance criteria. The Development Team and
the Scrum Master should define the “How”.
“ Product Ownership does not
need heroic individual efforts. It
is rather an organizational
capability …
Mike Leber
”