How to Grow Your Product Owner Skills
At a recent event organized by the Scrum Alliance, attendees had the chance to dive deep into the world of product ownership. The speakers, Jorgen Hesselberg, Rune Meier, and Valerio Zanini, shared their expertise and sparked discussions about the ups and downs of working in agile teams.
Introducing The Product Owner PI Tool
The heart of the event was a special tool designed for Certified Scrum Product Owners (CSPOs). Think of it like a digital space where CSPOs can chat, ask questions, and share ideas with each other. It’s kind of like a private club where everyone’s focused on getting better at their jobs.
Getting to Know the Tool
Building this tool wasn’t a one-person job; we had a bunch of talented folks from the community — about 78 of them showed interest, and around 30 of them rolled up their sleeves and got to work. We also had the support of the Scrum Alliance community, who wanted this tool to be available to all product owners.
The tool has a cool dashboard that shows you how you’re doing in different areas over time. You can take a survey to see where you stand on things like understanding your company’s strategy or knowing what your customers value.
The survey is pretty straightforward. It asks you to agree or disagree with statements like “I understand what my company values” or “I know what my customers want.” You pick your answer, and that’s it!
Creating this tool was a team effort from start to finish. Now that it’s out there, we hope it helps product owners everywhere improve their skills and do their jobs even better.
Connecting with Coaches
One neat feature lets you share your info with a coach or someone you trust. They can then give you personalized advice or help you with your work. It’s like having a mentor right there with you, cheering you on.
Product Owner PI Findings
During the event, attendees gained insights from the tool’s usage, highlighting both strengths and areas for improvement among Product Owners. The top-rated aspects highlight strong interpersonal skills, with high scores for interacting respectfully with teams (average score: 4.45), fostering open and honest discussions (average score: 4.36), and being accountable for product ownership (average score: 4.20). However, the survey also pointed out areas needing attention, such as user engagement. Notably lower scores were given for observing users in their natural environment (average score: 3.03), using multiple techniques for measuring value (average score: 3.05), and creating key user personas (average score: 3.18). These items also showed the highest variability in responses, indicating differing levels of practice among Product Owners.
The data suggests that while Product Owners excel in team collaboration, there is a significant opportunity to enhance their direct engagement with users and refine their methods for understanding user needs.
What We Learned
Overall, the event was a chance for CSPOs to reflect on their work and learn from each other. It showed that while CSPOs are great at some things, there’s always room to improve. By using tools like these and sharing knowledge, CSPOs can become even better at their jobs.
How to Get Involved
If you’re a CSPO and want to check out the tool, you can find it on the Scrum Alliance website. And if you run into any issues, don’t worry! There’s support available to help you out. Plus, you can meet the speakers and other CSPOs at events like the Global Scrum Gathering, where you can learn, connect, and grow together.
