In the traditional #waterfall style of project management, a #projectmanager will try and identify the scope of the #project upfront. They invest a great deal of time and effort in identifying all the potential variables that may impact the project and what the potential dependencies might be.
If you are looking at a structured, regulated, and complicated environment like civil engineering, that isn't so much of a problem because heaps of bridges have been built and both project managers and civil engineers know how to build them well. The problem comes in when you step into the world of complex environments. Environments where customers, markets, competitors, etc. are all in play. You could invest 5 years building a project or product only to find that customers don't like or want it. You could find that 3 years into your project, new legislation comes into play that prevents you from ever releasing your product. Any one of a million variables could impact that long term, complex project and render all your work unusable and worthless.
This is why #agile and #scrum has become such popular methodologies for product development. They empower people and organisations to build products and features that truly delight customers. They empower teams to collaborate around the most valuable work and most compelling problems with creativity and ingenuity.
That said, being a #productowner is still an incredibly difficult job. As the CEO of the product, they need to create a backlog of items that they think customers and product stakeholders will love and they have to articulate a vision for that product that is both compelling and inspiring. As product owners, they are articulating what needs doing and why it is valuable. They are also estimating the relative importance of each item to customers and stakeholders in the hope that the new feature or product drives customer adoption and sales.
Tough gig.
In the #agile world, it is referred to as making small bets rather than placing all of your bets on a single home run 5 years down the line. The thinking is that a series of small bets empowers you to steer your ship in alignment with customer feedback and data, and if one of your bets doesn't work out you haven't bet the farm on it. So, does that make a product owne
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Ben is a seasoned expert in product agility coaching, unleashing the potential of people and products. With over a decade of experience, his focus now is product-led growth & agility in organisations of all sizes.
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Ben Maynard
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