how does scrum support the enterprise: the role of the product owner as voice of the customer

How does Scrum support the Enterprise

The role of the Product Owner as Voice of the Customer

Bob Heggie, PMP Blogging at: www.portfolioagility.com

© Copyright 2013, Robert J Heggie, PMP, All rights reserved.

Supporting the Product Owner

• The Scrum Team handles the Product

• Requirements come in (as User Stories)

• Product is created

• Team works on more requirements



• What is the role of the Product Owner?

• Has contact with the Customer

• Collects and Prioritize Requirements

• Acts as agent of change

• “Voice of the Customer”



• Who is the Customer?

• Clients of the Enterprise (outside customers)

• Your Boss (inside customer)

• Co-workers (inside customer)



• The Product Owner’s Role as “Voice of the Customer”

• Deliver value to clients

• Deliver value to Boss

• Deliver value to Co-workers

• Value to each means something different.


What is Value?

• “Value can only be defined by the ultimate customer.” (Womack & Jones, 2003, pp 16)

• “As programs are to deliver more benefits ... we [management] must be attuned to changes in our organization’s strategic environment and in its goals and objectives.” (Levin, 2012, pp 1)



• PM supports the PO in balancing competing objectives within the Enterprise

• Many competing objectives (ROI, Customer Satisfaction, P&L)

• Corporate vision and goals

• Corporate Culture



• How does the PM help the Product Owner make the right choices?

• Limited framework for change

• Strong Enterprise PMO for strategic resource planning.

• Culture of cooperation and problem solving



• Limited framework for change

• Change Control Committee (Product Owner meets with Stakeholders)

• Change Management Processes (Review and Document every change; sign-off)



• Strong Enterprise PMO for strategic resource planning.

• If additional resources required are they available?

• If SMEs are required are they available?

• If not then when? and at what cost?



• Culture of cooperation and problem solving

• Mentoring for Product Owners

• Tools to promote collaboration (BaseCamp)

• Promote action and ownership of issues

• Practice “Customer-Centric Project Management”


Customer-Centric Thinking

• “Customer-centric project management puts customer satisfaction at the heart of project management with the aim of ensuring all project customers believe the project team is delivering a quality service.” (Harrin and Peplow, 2012, pp 9)


“Voice of the Customer”

• “Customer-Centric Project Management”

• How do you get what you want?

• How do your customers get what they want?

• Communicate, collaborate, negotiate, you and your customer get what you want.

• Allow the customer to define value by using “Customer-Centric Project Management”


PMO Examples

• Have a Chief Product Owner who owns the Big Product (Pichler, 2010, Pichler Consulting)

• Responsible for overall vision

• Delegates sub-products to Product Owners in each Scrum Team


PMO Examples

(Pichler, 2010, Pichler Consulting [Online http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/roles/scaling-the-product-owner/ )


PMO Examples

• Scale up Agile using Scrum and Kanban (Cottmeyer, 2011, PMI Global Congress 2011--North America)

• Use a 2-Tier Kanban Model for requirements flow

• Lowest Tier uses Scrum Model since requirements and priorities well defined


PMO Examples

(Cottmeyer, 2011, PMI Global Congress 2011--North America, pp 7)


PMO Examples

(Cottmeyer, 2011, PMI Global Congress 2011--North America, pp 10)


PMO Examples Case Study

• Growing Software Company in CRM

• High uncertainty of requirements

• Shifting priorities

• Demanding Customers

• Quality Control challenges



• PM created a enterprise level in-take strategy

• Change Control Board (CCB)

• Enterprise level resource plan

• Enterprise level communication plan

• Promoted “Customer-Centric Thinking”



Enterprise Portfolio (Track Progress)Enterprise Portfolio (Track Progress)Project Team Estimate Actual* Due % Done

Login Project Team 1 15 days 15 days Sprint 2 100

Report Project Team 1 15 days 0 days Sprint 5 0

Project Y Team 1 5 days 0 days Sprint 6 0

Database Project Team 2 20 days 15 days Sprint 3 75

Project X Team 2 15 days 0 days Sprint 6 0

Product Owner 1 Product Owner 2

* For demonstration purposes assume we are in Sprint 3, each Sprint is 5 days and we have had no schedule exceptions.


PMO Examples Case StudyIT Roster (Resource Plan)IT Roster (Resource Plan)

Project Sprint 0 Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3 Sprint 4 Sprint 5 Sprint 6 Sprint 7

Login Project

Report Project

Project Y

Database Project

Project X

Login Project

Database Project

Report Project

Project X

Team 1 Team 2 SME © Copyright 2013, Robert J Heggie, PMP, All rights reserved.


• Change example: In Sprint 3 the SME is 1 week late with the Database Project.

• What is the downstream impact of this change?

• How do the Product Owners know what to tell customers?



IT Roster (Revised Resource Plan)IT Roster (Revised Resource Plan)Project Sprint 0 Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3 Sprint 4 Sprint 5 Sprint 6 Sprint 7

Login Project

Report Project

Project Y

Database Project

Project X

Login Project

Database Project

Report Project

Project X

Team 1 Team 2 SME © Copyright 2013, Robert J Heggie, PMP, All rights reserved.


Enterprise Portfolio (Revised)Enterprise Portfolio (Revised)Project Team Estimate Actual* Due % Done

Login Project Team 1 15 days 15 days Sprint 2 100

Report Project Team 1 15 days 0 days Sprint 6 0

Project Y Team 1 5 days 0 days Sprint 6 0

Database Project Team 2 25 days 15 days Sprint 4 60

Project X Team 2 15 days 0 days Sprint 7 0

Product Owner 1 Product Owner 2

* For demonstration purposes assume we are in Sprint 3, each Sprint is 5 days and we have had no schedule exceptions.


Questions?


References

• Womack, J. P. & Jones, D. T., (2003), Lean Thinking, Banish Waste and Create Wealth in your Corporation, New York: Free Press

• Harrin, Elizabeth and Peplow, Phil (2012), Customer-Centric Project Management, Gower, UK

• Pichler, R (2010), ‘The Product Owner Role: Product Owner on One Page’, Pichler Consulting, [Online] Available from http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/roles/one-page-product-owner/

• Cottmeyer, Michael E. (2011), ‘Large scale program and portfolio management with Scrum and Kanban’, PMI Global Congress 2011--North America

• Levin, Ginger (2012) “Embrace and Exploit Change as a Program Manager: Guidelines for Success,” Originally published as a part of the 2012 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Vancouver, BC, Canada. [Online] Available from http://www.pmi.org/~/media/PDF/Knowledge-Shelf/EmbraceExploitChange_Levin.ashx


About MeBob Heggie, PMP

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robertheggieBlog: www.portfolioagility.com


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