One of the first questions I always get asked when using an Agile methodology is how does the organisation know that a product built through Agile ways of working is successful? The main benefit of an agile way of working it allows you to release often, assess value after every release and feed this information back into work on the Product Backlog.
Value
Agile Teams deliver products iteratively and incrementally, maximising opportunities for feedback. If a product isn’t released, the opportunity to capture user and market feedback is lost.
Outcomes Provide Evidence of Value and Ways to Improve
The Current Value of any organisation must be accompanied by evidence of its ability to meet market demand with timely delivery (Time-to-Market) while being able to sustain itself over time (Ability to Innovate.) After all, to be competitive in the marketplace you need to meet current customer demands or innovate to meet future predictions. Its been proven in the past (just check out FTSE 100 or DJIA to over 30-50 years to see how companies are added or vanish from the index) and from my experience, that if you fail to adapt quickly to customer needs – you set yourself up to fail as a company.
Organizations should therefore focus on the following Key-Value Areas (KVA) categories:
1. Current Value
2. Time-to-Market
3. Ability to Innovate
In my experience the best way to achieve these KVAs is for the Product Owner (PO) to communicate and re-iterate their product vision early and often, reminding all involved of how to help maximise value. Earlier the better, and as often as necessary. Please don’t set up unnecessary meetings for the sake of it, you’ll only annoy the client off and be taken off the project.
Utilising the underlying empirical product planning features of Agile, the PO should also be ready to make strategic pivots for the product vision. This vision is brought to life in a more tactical way, via the Product Backlog and iterating towards that vision every Sprint.
In executing Value-Driven product development, the Product Owner must consider the focus areas of:
- Product Value Maximiser
- Product Visionary
- Product Marketplace Expert
- Product Release Decision Maker
- Lead Facilitator of Key Stakeholder Involvement
- Other Product Owner role Considerations