Agile Product Management with Scrum: Creating Products that Customers Love

The First Guide to Scrum-Based Agile Product Management

 

In Agile Product Management with Scrum, leading Scrum consultant Roman Pichler uses real-world examples to demonstrate how product owners can create successful products with Scrum. He describes a broad range of agile product management practices, including making agile product discovery work, taking advantage of emergent requirements, creating the minimal marketable product, leveraging early customer feedback, and working closely with the development team.

 

Benefitting from Pichlers extensive experience, youll learn how Scrum product ownership differs from traditional product management and how to avoid and overcome the common challenges that Scrum product owners face.

 

Coverage includes

• Understanding the product owners role: what product owners do, how they do it, and the surprising implications
• Envisioning the product: creating a compelling product vision to galvanize and guide the team and stakeholders
• Grooming the product backlog: managing the product backlog effectively even for the most complex products
• Planning the release: bringing clarity to scheduling, budgeting, and functionality decisions
• Collaborating in sprint meetings: understanding the product owners role in sprint meetings, including the dos and donts
• Transitioning into product ownership: succeeding as a product owner and establishing the role in the enterprise

This book is an indispensable resource for anyone who works as a product owner, or expects to do so, as well as executives and coaches interested in establishing agile product management.

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Bli först med att recensera och betygsätt boken Agile Product Management with Scrum: Creating Products that Customers Love - du kan vinna 200 kr varje månad i tävlingen "Månadens recension".

Product owners have had few places to turn to for advice, despite having the hardest role on an agile project. This book rectifies that. Roman Pichlers insights into the duties of the product owner are powerful and practical. Correctly applied, his advice will benefit any product owner and agile team.

Mike Cohn, Author of Succeeding with Agile, Agile Estimating and Planning, and User Stories Applied

 

Scrum is silent on how a product owner can maximize value. Most product managers and marketers dont know how to use the iterative, incremental nature of Scrum to do so. Roman has filled this hole nicely with his new book, Agile Product Management with Scrum.

Ken Schwaber, codeveloper of the Scrum process

 

With so little written on the intersections of agile methods and product management, Roman makes a significant contribution to the field. The book provides clear guidance and rich examples on how to become an agile product manager and a successful product owner, and, further, how to lead with a strong vision. This book is a must read for product managers new to Scrum, product owners new to product management, and any product manager who wants to get the most out of Agile.

Greg Cohen, Principal Consultant, 280 Group and Director, Silicon Valley Product Management Association

 

Im always happy to hear what Roman is thinking. What I really like about this book is that he not only shares his experience (Common Mistakes is a great section), but he also brings in the wisdom of others in the field. This powerful combination allows him to see farther ahead and share that vision with us. Thanks, Roman!

Linda Rising, Independent Consultant and coauthor of Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas

 

Roman Pichlers new and remarkable book focuses on the product and the product owner role, applying Scrum to the whole value chain. His experience as a coach leads to genuinely balanced, practical, and applicable solutions for every conceivable situation in the product lifecycle. This is the definitive reference guide to agile product management for all practitioners!

Markus Andrezak, Manager, Outsourced Product Development, mobile.international GmbH

 

Roman Pichlers product owner book is an easy-to-read and comprehensive description of the important role of the product owner in Scrum. It points out the significance of vision and leadership, as well as minimal marketable products and short release cycles. It is a resource for new product owners to get into their job and gives management good advice on choosing the right person for that job.

Andrea Heck, Dipl-Inf (Univ.), Agile Transition Project Manager

 

The product owner is a vital role in Scrum, and Romans new book is a welcome contribution to helping product owners succeed.

Craig Larman, coauthor of ...

(Computer Bookshops Limited)

Roman Pichler, founder and director of Pichler Consulting, is a Scrum expert and management consultant who specializes in helping organizations embrace both Lean Thinking and Scrum. His clients value his rich and diverse experience with companies ranging from startups to large global companies. He is a Certified Scrum Trainer and the author of Scrum - Agiles Projektmanagement erfolgreich einsetzen, Germany's best-selling Scrum book. Pichler is founder of the London Scrum User Group, an active contributor to the Scrum Alliance, and a regular speaker at international conferences.

(Computer Bookshops Limited)

Foreword by Jeff Sutherland xv

Foreword by Brett Queener xvii

Preface xix

Acknowledgments xxiii

About the Author xxv

 

Chapter 1: Understanding the Product Owner Role 1

The Product Owner Role 2

Desirable Characteristics of a Product Owner 3

Working with the Team 7

Collaborating with the ScrumMaster 9

Working with Customers, Users, and Other Stakeholders 10

Scaling the Product Owner Role 12

Common Mistakes 16

Reflection 20

 

Chapter 2: Envisioning the Product 23

The Product Vision 24

Desirable Qualities of the Vision 25

The Minimal Marketable Product 27

Simplicity 31

Customer Needs and Product Attributes 33

The Birth of the Vision 35

Techniques for Creating the Vision 37

Visioning and the Product Road Map 41

Minimal Products and Product Variants 42

Common Mistakes 43

Reflection 46

 

Chapter 3: Working with the Product Backlog 47

The DEEP Qualities of the Product Backlog 48

Grooming the Product Backlog 49

Discovering and Describing Items 51

Prioritizing the Product Backlog 54

Getting Ready for Sprint Planning 59

Sizing Items 64

Dealing with Nonfunctional Requirements 68

Scaling the Product Backlog 70

Common Mistakes 71

Reflection 74

 

Chapter 4: Planning the Release 75

Time, Cost, and Functionality 76

Quality Is Frozen 78

Early and Frequent Releases 79

Quarterly Cycles 81

Velocity 82

The Release Burndown 83

The Release Plan 87

Release Planning on Large Projects 91

Common Mistakes 94

Reflection 96

 

Chapter 5: Collaborating in the Sprint Meetings 97

Sprint Planning 98

Definition of Done 99

Daily Scrum 100

Sprint Backlog and Sprint Burndown 101

Sprint Review 101

Sprint Retrospective 103

Sprint Meetings on Large Projects 104

Common Mistakes 107

Reflection 109

 

Chapter 6: Transitioning into the Product Owner Role 111

Becoming a Great Product Owner 111

Developing Great Product Owners 115

Reflection 118

 

References 119

Index 125

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