In the Scrum method of agile software development, there are three fundamental roles: the Product Owner, the ScrumMaster, and the Team. Because it is the most demanding of the three Scrum roles, I’ll start by discussing the Product Owner.
Within the Scrum Team, the Product Owner is the only person responsible for the success of the project. The Scrum Product Owner communicates his vision to the software development team, outlines the work to be completed on the backlog, and prioritizes it based on business value. Of course, he must also work closely with stakeholders (to ensure their interests are reflected in the product) and the software development team (to ensure the product is built on time and on budget). As such, the Scrum Product Owner must be freely available to the development team to provide guidance and answer questions.
However, this combination of authority and availability to the team makes it difficult for the Product Owner to resist the temptation to micromanage. Because the Scrum method of agile software development values self-organization, it is the responsibility of the Product Owner to respect the team’s ability to complete its work according to its own plan. This means that a Product Owner cannot add work mid-sprint. Even if requirements change or a major competitor brings a product to market that makes plans irrelevant, the product owner must wait until the next sprint planning meeting to redirect a team’s trajectory. (You can imagine how difficult it is to maintain a hands-off approach to management when deadlines loom and customers make last-minute demands.)
In addition, the Scrum Product Owner is responsible for constantly considering which activities will generate the most business value. This means making tough, even unpopular decisions during the sprint planning meeting. But again, because the Product Owner is the only individual who takes responsibility if the project fails, he or she must aggressively rethink what aspects of a product are critical, when they are built, etc. Just as the team has the responsibility to deliver the negotiated work to the Product Owner, the Product Owner is obligated to deliver the product to the customer, according to the customer’s specifications.
Using Scrum to manage agile software development is the leading strategy for helping teams reduce risk and associated costs, while increasing the quality of a team’s releases. Through an emphasis on communication and collaboration, Scrum brings everyone from developers to stakeholders together to create a better product.
