Is the Product Owner accountable for Return on Investment (ROI)? The answer is they should. If not, then who? The most frequent question I get while teaching, mentoring, or coaching product owners is — how do I calculate ROI when I don’t even know the cost of a Sprint?
If, as a Product Owner, you do not know the investment for each Sprint and the expected return, how do you prioritize the Backlog and engage stakeholders?
This is made even more difficult in a project environment with shared team members. So, as a first step, think of building team(s) around the product, not the project, to have better control over ROI.
I feel elated when the Product Owner shares our growth numbers, which show we grew at 24% while the industry was growing only at 7%. Our bottom line also grew at 14%, and we are making progress in the right direction, knowing what our customers like.
I love it when Product Owners are not talking about what is user story, difference between stories and epics, and how to write better user story? I am not saying it is bad to discuss user stories and their format, but I firmly believe it is not crucial as long as you can clearly articulate what you want next in your product and why.
So here is a list of things I have seen good Product Owners do:
- They discuss product vision and collaborate with the team to achieve alignment. A good vision statement and continuous focus help in setting boundaries for a self-organized team to experiment and stay focused.
- They know the cost of each Sprint and expected outcome (either in terms of business value or customer satisfaction) that helps in setting priorities and dealing with challenging stakeholders. They closely monitor market trends and the performance of their products in the market.
- They understand the steps needed to optimize costs and lower the bottom line, including focusing on automation, reducing technical debt, and addressing design debt. They are aware that a good technical solution will reduce the total cost of ownership.
- They know how to engage stakeholders and manage their expectations. They know precisely whom to invite in the sprint review, involve them in setting priorities, and connect them to the team in order to reduce the communication gap.
- They are better storytellers than writers of stories. They know how to communicate requirements in the form of stories that help the team connect better with customer/business needs.
- They know what to release to the market or to customers/businesses and when. They understand that while each sprint's work is essential and releasable, there is no compulsion to release unless it makes sense or the timing is right.
This is what I teach and coach the Product Owners on.
Thank you for reading. If you are a product owner or coach, feel free to connect with me via email, LinkedIn, or WhatsApp. We can learn from each other or have meaningful and interesting conversations.