persuading the business guys

Gerardo Ponte

PERSUADING THE

BUSINESS GUYS

Product Owner

Business Analyst

Gerardo Ponte CAS 2015

Persuading the business guys

A bit of history

25 years of SW development in spanish corporations:�

90's - Organization & Systems�

00's - IT Representatives�

10's - Agile�


A bit of context

A corporate Business Development unit today:�

✓ Hierarchical structure�

✓ Long distance to the final client�

✓ Separate building of IT�


The waterfall advantages

The comfort zone of the business guys:�

✓ Pace of work�

✓ Single point of contact�

✓ Free format�

✓ "Business-language only" area�

✓ Temporary unaccountability�

✓ Fuzzy accountability�


The Agile advantages

✓ Ownership of the product�

✓ Cooperation:�

w Co-creation with the client�

w Collaboration with the team�

è Promote the constructive opportunities with Agile:�


An effective process of definition:�

✓ Design Research�

✓ Story Mapping�

è never skip this phase�

è get all end-users involved�

✓ Backlog prioritization and MVP�è show figures of apps usage�

✓ Vision and Roadmap�è a bit of storytelling�

Product definition


The three main challenges for the business guys:�

✓ The relocation�

✓ The language�

è share your coffee break�

è technical ≈ business�

✓ The technical architecture�

è the role of the technical leader�

Setting the stage


Product building

è Build a functional mock-up�

è Count on tools to support the process�

è Formalize the process of definition�

Three techniques to reduce the friction:�


Product delivery

Managing the roll-out:�

è Embed metrics and feedback as part of the MVP�

è Seek support and commitment from the team�

è Allocate buffer to analyze the outcomes�


Summarizing 0. Remember you are in a big company�1. Promote the ownership of the product�2. Highlight the COs: Co-creation & Co-llaboration�3. Never skip the Design Research�4. Show the figures of apps usage in your organization�5. Set the climate with the vision and storytelling�6. Share your daily coffee break�7. Belittle the technical language�8. Rely on a technical leader�9. Build a functional mock-up�10. Count on tools to support the process�11. Formalize the process of definition�12. Embed metrics and feedback as part of the MVP�13. Seek support and commitment from the team�14. Allocate buffer to analyze the outcome�

Product Owner

Business Analyst

Gerardo Ponte


linkedin.com/in/GPonte

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