Category Project Leader

Product Owner, Project Leader, Self Management, Uncategorized

The four core competencies of an effective product owner

The Product Owner (PO) is an extremely important role that includes a diverse set of responsibilities and an empowered PO can have a tremendous impact on product development, if he or she is able to handle the many jobs of a PO. This raises the question of what skills are needed to do just that. Thus, in this third installment of the series on the PO I will focus on answering the question What are the core competencies of a Product Owner?

Phillip
July 29, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader, Scrum Master

How to help build a team in times of remote work

In general, it seems most people agree that remote work is a net positive but it also poses some challenges. Very underrated are the effects of remote work on company culture. The challenges to building a real team are probably more obvious. Nevertheless, I feel they are worth addressing.

Phillip
July 22, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader

What does a product owner need to do?

A PO has many responsibilities, too many to mention them all here. I will focus on the three that are in my view the most important.

Phillip
July 15, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader

Why you need a strong product owner to build something great

The text is very much an answer to the question “Why is the Product Owner needed?” or “Why is the Product Owner important?”. However, much of what I write below is also valid for project leaders or team leads within product development - even if those teams are not working with Scrum or other agile methods.

Phillip
July 8, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader

The effects of remote work on company culture

Now that the intense part of the corona pandemic is over (fingers crossed), companies and teams are transitioning to a permanent new normal, and figuring out how to do so. Thus, now is a good time to write down some thoughts on how to deal with the effects of remote work, specifically on company culture.

Phillip
July 1, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader, Scrum Master

The positive impacts of a team being 100% dedicated to one project or product

I recently wrote about the benefits of doing one thing at a time and the downsides of Multitasking. While listing things that can be done to facilitate doing one thing after another for a team, I completely missed to mention maybe the most important factor: having a dedicated team.

Phillip
June 24, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader, Scrum Master, Self Management

Multitasking doesn’t work – the value of doing one thing at a time

We want to satisfy stakeholder requests, regardless if that means saying yes to a new feature or if it means to answer an e-mail. It's hard to say no. It makes us feel good to always answer, it makes us feel like we get a lot of stuff done. Spoiler alert: we actually don't get a lot done and productivity suffers.

Phillip
June 17, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader, Scrum Master

Is it crazy to try agile outside software development?

Trying out elements of agile in non-software development with a set-up that is not according to the book might be controversial. However, applying the principles can have some real benefits if this is done mindfully.

Phillip
June 10, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader, Scrum Master, Self Management

The magical effects of three simple words: I don’t know

Let me tell you something. It can be really liberating, to say the three words "I don't know". As soon as you have done it a few times you will find that it turns out to be very easy and that it brings some real benefits.

Phillip
May 27, 2022

Product Owner, Project Leader

How to say no – an underappreciated skill for Product Owners

they all have important wishes and ideas on how to improve the product. However, product development is always constrained by capacity and available time. Thus, the PO has to rigorously prioritize and frequently deny requests.

Phillip
May 20, 2022