Agile and roadmaps
Hi
1) Traditionally, we've had our Service Manager define roadmaps for a Product.
How does this work with Agile, is it the Product owner or the Development team.
2) Traditionally, we've had this concept where Service Manager liases with the business for requirements. These requirements are then passed over to the architecture team who then pass to the development who code the software, then pass over to an Operations team. Each step is more and more removed from the customer.
With Agile, is it the case that the developers work very closely with the business?
Hi Jason,
I have working in an environment that looks like yours. Couple of years ago we have change our way of working and adopting scrum.
We have done the following:
1. Introduced the role of product owner, responsible for stakeholder management and gathering wishes, setting vision, resulting in a backlog full of userstories. Basically what your service manager seems to do right now.
2. Further, we have made the development team responsible end-to-end (both operations as change) for the product.
3. This means that the team estimates the amount of work, the complexity, that they foresee for implementing the user stories on the backlog. The architect is only giving guidelines and 'boundaries' where the team can work in. There is no tollgate or such for design or implementation.
4. What my experience is, is that while estimating the work, direct contact with the customers is preferred. Even better, have the customers participate during development of the feature that is implemented.
Yes, to some extent the developers should work close (depends on definition) with the business, but in general the Service Manager responsibilities you provided do seem to resonate with these of a Product Owner.
With Agile, is it the case that the developers work very closely with the business?
Yes, although there may be roles with clear responsibilities. In Scrum the Product Owner would be accountable for product value, including any roadmap for delivery and authoritative representation of business interests.
The 4th Principle of the Agile Manifesto reads:
Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.