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Agile205: Intro to Agile Product Management
The document provides an overview of Agile Product Management by Rich Mironov, detailing the roles and responsibilities of product managers and product owners within Agile frameworks. It emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs, prioritizing product backlogs, and balancing stakeholder interests to drive market success and delivery outcomes. The challenges of incorporating Agile practices into product management and the organizational implications are also discussed.
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Introduction by Rich Mironov, a veteran in product management, outlining his background and role.
Definitions of product manager and owner, their responsibilities in agile teams, and initial organizational models.
Focus on single Product Owners in scrum teams, their responsibilities in backlog management and stakeholder balancing.
The ongoing need for input in agile teams, defining product backlogs with user stories and sprints.
Focus on delivering market-accepted products, segment targeting, managing stakeholders, and balancing technical and market needs.
Challenges in estimating business value, market dynamics, trade-offs in product management, and necessitating stakeholder engagement.
Importance of selling products effectively and managing customer inputs to enhance decision-making.
Handling input from various stakeholders without compromising development severity and backlog integrity.
Differentiation between responsibilities of product managers and product owners in agile environments, highlighting workload issues.
Identifying common pitfalls where product managers and owners fail in agile context, emphasizing market understanding.
Different organizational structures for product management, addressing roles, dependencies, and agile stress points.
Final remarks summarizing the agile product management takeaways and providing contact information for further queries.
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Agile205: Intro to Agile Product Management
- 1. Intro to AgileProduct Management Rich Mironov 5 August 2015 © Rich Mironov, 2015 w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 1
- 2. • Veteran product manager/so<ware exec • “What do customers want?” • Business models, pricing, agile/lean • Organizing product organizaCons • 6 startups, including as CEO/founder • “The Art of Product Management” • First agile product manager/owner tracks About Rich Mironov w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 2
- 3. • What’s aProduct Manager? Product Owner? • Scope and Failure Modes • Starter Organizational Models Agenda w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 3
- 4. • Commercial softwarecompanies • Responsible for technical delivery AND revenue results • Scaled-up agile organizations • At product / portfolio / strategy levels Usually a formal position Focus on jobs-to-be-done and skills, not titles Where Do We Find Agile Product Managers? 4w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m
- 5. Scrum Teams 5ScrumTeam.jpg (fromExploring Scrum- the Fundamentals, by Dan Rawsthorne & Doug Shimp)
- 6. • Usually onePO per team, not one PO per product • Provides intense sprint-level focus: stories, backlog, prioritization, acceptance • Represents the customer’s interest in backlog prioritization and requirements questions... available to the team at any time • Balances interests of competing stakeholders • Feeds the hungry agile beast What Does a Product Owner Do? 6w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m
- 7. Steam engine “firemen” needto shovel coal constantly, otherwise the train will stop Feeding the Agile Beast w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 7
- 8. Product Backlog Epics & User Stories Release Backlog Epics & User Stories Sprint Backlog User Stories Poten5ally releasable so8ware So8ware release Accepted story (“DONE”) Review Demo, feedback Retrospec-ve Process improvement 1 day Daily Standup Sprint: 1 to 3 weeks No changes in dura5on or goal Release planning Sprint planning Charter Release Retrospec-ve Process improvement N sprints Agile/Scrum: Product Owner Focus w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 8 product owner focus
- 9. • Drives deliveryand market acceptance of whole products • Targets market segments, not individual customers • “What does this segment need/what will it pay for?” • Technical features, acceptance and adoption • Resolves inevitable competing priorities • Motivates/aligns functional groups beyond development (marketing, sales, support, partners, finance…) What Does a Product Manager Do? w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 9
- 10. w w w. M I R O N O V . c o m 10
- 11. • By definition,commercial software has many customers • Profitability is completely about scale • 2nd copy of identical software costs $0 to build • Customers rarely compute value/ROI for us • We propose value to prospects during sales process • “If you use our ergonomic standing desks, your staff will be 15% healthier and 10% more productive” • We segment markets for similar customers • Exclude those who want very different solutions • Exclude those who don’t accept our proposed value Product Managers Define Value for Specific Target Segments 11w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m
- 12. Conversations, market information, priorities,requirements, roadmaps, epics, user stories, backlogs, personas… product bits strategy, forecasts, commitments, roadmaps, competitive intelligence budgets, staff, targets Field input, Market feedback Segmentation, messages, benefits/features, pricing, qualification, demos… Markets & CustomersDevelopment Marketing & Sales Executives Product Management What Does a Product Manager Do? w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 12
- 13. • ACTIVITY andOUTPUT (what people see) • Write epics/stories, meet customers, cajole, pitch prospects, call meetings, accept epics/stories, praise teams, distract Sales, present roadmaps, catch arrows • OUTCOME (where we earn our salaries): • Make technical/market trade-offs for revenue and adoption • Deflect interruptions • Turn away poor deals, customers and partners • Think about this quarter and next year; revenue and architecture What Does a Product Manager Do? w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 13
- 14. • Logic andfacts are not sufficient • Engineering demand >> supply • Sales teams paid to close individual deals • HIPPO • Responsibility without authority • Where strategy meets implementation Product Management: Inherently Political w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 14
- 15. • Business valueerror bars > engineering error bars • Blending of • Promises of future revenue • Promises of future operational savings • Promises of future development efficiencies (tech debt) • Quality forced onto a linear scale • Simplistic models of buyer behavior • Gaming, logrolling Allocating our scarcest, most valuable resource Someone (some team) must force-rank programs Business Value: Slightly Estimatable 15w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m
- 16. Hypothesis: • Epic/project businessvalue estimates are +/- 70% • 1 in 10 will deliver zero value How would that change your portfolio planning? Your interactions with stakeholders? Discussion/Exercise (5 Minutes) 16w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m
- 17. There’s nothing morewasteful than brilliantly engineering a product that doesn’t sell, or a project that doesn’t matter. w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 17
- 18. • Pulls intoproduct station every day • From customers, sales, support, execs, engineers, analysts… • Delivers hundreds of “good ideas” each day • Few are new or earthshaking Good Idea Train w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 18
- 19. • Emotional needsvs. commitment • Japanese “hai” is alternative to “NO” • "Thank you! That's a really interesting idea. Let me put it into the idea backlog. And let’s talk more about the root cause of the problem you have.” • NEVER agree without Dev sizing Humbly Accepting Input w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 19
- 20. backlog, priorities, epics, userstories, personas, demo feedback product bits Markets & CustomersDevelopment Marketing & Sales Executives Product Owner ‘Small p’ Product Owner w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 20 showcase customers
- 21. • Engineering output • Product features • Order of delivery • Product/market/business model • Pricing • Competitive positioning • Partners and Channels • Services and Support • Fit with corporate strategy • Product split, merge or EOL Product Manager Has More Levers Product manager Product owner A@er: Greg Cohen w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 21
- 22. Not what weintended, but… • Most product management teams are already understaffed • Product ownership adds 40-60% more critical work • Urgency of stories, backlog grooming, sprint planning, standups, acceptance • One person can “do it all” for a single agile team • But typical Dev:PDM ratio is 25:1, not 10:1 Product Managers: Oversubscribed, Overcommitted, Burning Out w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 22
- 23. Not what weintended, but… • Selection (hiring) focuses on SME/BA, technical skills, story writing • Little appreciation for market-side experience • Engineering’s belief in rational/technical customers • Requirements are out there to be “gathered” • No recognition of organizational blocking skills • Short-term assignments or career path? Product Owners: Typically Under-Spec’d, Underpaid, Lacking Clout 23w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m
- 24. Product Manager FailureModes Product Manager fails agile team(s) when… • Part-timer, not engaged with team(s) • Lack of detail on stories/handwaving • Stale backlog • Best of intentions, but pulled in too many directions
- 25. Product Owner FailureModes Product Owner fails “the business” when… • Weak on market realities: whole product, competitive dynamics, value error bars, benefits, pricing models • Unable to hold back interrupt stream • Confuses showcase customers with broad market
- 26. Commercial Product Failures ww w . M I R O N O V . c o m 26 Product Backlog Epics & User Stories Release Backlog Epics & User Stories Sprint Backlog User Stories Poten5ally releasable so8ware So8ware release Accepted story (“DONE”) Review Demo, feedback Retrospec-ve Process improvement 1 day Daily Standup Sprint: 1 to 3 weeks No changes in dura5on or goal Release planning Sprint planning Charter Release Retrospec-ve Process improvement N sprints Most product failures happen here
- 27. Shared PO/PDM Scope ww w . M I R O N O V . c o m 27 Product Backlog Epics & User Stories Release Backlog Epics & User Stories Sprint Backlog User Stories Poten5ally releasable so8ware So8ware release Accepted story (“DONE”) Review Demo, feedback Retrospec-ve Process improvement 1 day Daily Standup Sprint: 1 to 3 weeks No changes in dura5on or goal Release planning Sprint planning Charter Release Retrospec-ve Process improvement N sprints product manager focus product owner focus
- 28. Minimal PDM/PO “Organization” ww w . M I R O N O V . c o m 28 VP or Founders more technical more market-focused Heroic Single Product Manager/Owner + team “management”
- 29. Dysfunctional Product Organization ww w . M I R O N O V . c o m 29 VP Eng Product Owners + team more technical more market-focused VP Marketing “management” Product Managers
- 30. PDM/PO Organizational Map: ProductPeers w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 30 PDM Director/ Product Strategist GM / VP Eng / VP Products / CPO more technical more market-focused “management”
- 31. PDM/PO Organizational Map: MarketMentoring w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m 31 GM / VP Eng / VP Products / CPO more technical more market-focused Product Owner + team Senior Product Manager “management”
- 32. • Product managementscope includes market success as well as technical delivery • Agile stretches/stresses commercial product organizations • Teaming, collaboration and skills more important than titles • Find balance among collaboration, deflection, buffering, interrupts Agile Product Take-Aways 32w w w . M I R O N O V . c o m
- 33. CONTACT Rich Mironov, CEO MironovConsulting 233 Franklin St, Suite #308 San Francisco, CA 94102 RichMironov @RichMironov Rich@Mironov.com +1-‐650-‐315-‐7394