Mike Palladino: Product Owner Toolkit

UA PMDAY 2021
1
Product Owner Toolkit
Mike Palladino, PMP, CSM, ATP Instructor, SAFe
- Director, Agile Center of Excellence, Bristol Myers Squibb
- Adjunct Professor, Villanova University
- Author, Data Management University
- Past President, PMI-DVC chapter

Product Vision
4
Organizing Work
Role of the
Product Owner
Today’s Topics
PMDay October 9, 2021
User Stories
Story Points
Prioritization

ROLE OF THE
PRODUCT OWNER
5

What are the 3 most
important things a
Product Owner does?
6
Quickly describe in your
own words. (2 minutes)

The role of a Product Owner
A Product Owner bridges the gap between those
asking and those doing
A key responsibility is understanding the many
stakeholders that may all have different opinions.
7
Understands the
customers
Empowered to make
decisions
One final voice
• act as the business “voice”
• collaborate with the team
and stakeholders
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
• ensure business value delivery
• accept or reject work results
VALUE
• define product vision
• refine product backlog
(features) and desired
outcomes
PRODUCT BACKLOG
• prioritize features/outcomes
according to business value
• adjust features/outcomes and
priority
PRIORITY

The role of a Product Owner
Day-to-day tasks
8
Understands the
customers
Empowered to make
decisions
One final voice
• Understand what customers
will pay for
Talks to the customers
• Continually updates Roadmap
as needed
Creates Vision and Roadmap
• Creates the User Stories
• Answers questions from
developers
Creates the User Stories
• Decides what stories are next
• Decides what stories are in the
Sprints
Prioritize the Backlog
• Sprint Planning
• Daily Standup
• Demo
• Retrospective
Attends all Ceremonies
• Sprint Planning
• Daily Standup
• Demo
• Retrospective
Determines if the Story is Done

Product Owner Success Factors
 Product Owner is the final arbiter of all inputs
 100% dedication to the team is needed in order
to support value-based delivery for a product
 Ground the team on the vision, the user, and
the why its important for the user and the
business
 Advocating for user testing which is invaluable
to ensuring what gets launched and will be met
with acceptance by end-users
 Provide consistent engagement amongst the
stakeholder community
DEVELOPMENT
TEAM
PRODUCT
OWNER
SCRUM
MASTER
STAKEHOLDERS
PMDay October 9, 2021 9

What questions do you
have?
Do you Agree?
Disagree?
10
Quickly discuss with your
neighbor (1 minute)

PRODUCT VISION &
PRIORITZATION
11

A Product Vision is crucial for a
team
12
… and it’s the Product Owner’s job to set it and
communicate it to the team and stakeholders.
A product vision describes
• who the customers are
• what the customers need, and
• why this will be valuable to the customers.
It should be aspirational, actionable, and illustrate
the business and customer value to set the
direction for the team.
Action without
a vision is a
nightmare.
JapaneseProverb
Дія без бачення –
це кошмар

Match the vision with the company
13
To discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines
that help patients prevail over serious diseases.
Fill every home with music.
Empower every person and every organization on the
planet to achieve more
To capture and share the world’s moments.
We push the boundaries of science to deliver life-
changing medicines.
A
B
C
D
E
1.___
2.___
3.___
4.___
5.___

Vision Statement – Different Methods
Use a method that is easy for you and your team to help brainstorm
EXAMPLE:
For the business user, who needs to be productive, and on-the-go,
the Surface Pro is a convertible tablet that is easy to carry and gives
you full computing productivity no matter where you are. Unlike
laptops, Surface Pro serves your on-the-go needs without having to
carry an extra device.
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore Hills from IBM’s Design Thinking
EXAMPLE:
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal [...]
of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.
John F. Kennedy, 1961
For (the target customers)
Who (have a certain need),
Our product is a (product category)
That provides (compelling reason to buy).
Unlike (the product alternative),
Our product (has these key differentiators)

A year ago, Sam & Charlie found themselves in between jobs during the
pandemic. They love dogs and would often hear about how their friends and
neighbors were too busy to give their dogs the exercise they deserved
during the day. There were only a few dog walkers in the area, and they all
offered a frustrating and outdated experience for finding and scheduling a
reliable dog walker.
Seeing a need to address these problems, they started “Puppy Pals”. With
a tiny budget, they created a 1-page website with their phone numbers and
emails to book a walk.
Business has exploded recently, and Sam and Charlie have asked for our
help as Product Owners to create a clear vision for the Puppy Pals
website, and prioritize what to build next to meet their customer’s needs.
Class briefing

Create a vision for Puppy Pals
Using the vision format on the right,
draft a Product Vision for the Puppy
Pals website and place it in the chat
17
For: [target user]
Who: [target user’s needs]
The: [product name]
Is a: [product category]
That: [product benefit / reason to buy]
Unlike: [existing solutions / competitors]
Our product: [differentiation]
5 minutes
For friends & neighbors who are too busy to give
their dogs the exercise they deserve, Puppy Pal
offers dog walking and play date services the are
convenient, economical and beneficial to your pets
physical and mental well being. Also, unlike other
dog walking services in the area, Puppy Pals is a
convenient and economical solution with easy to
schedule appointments and can be paid in cash,
credit card, Bitcoin or Ethereum.

Roadmaps need to align to the goal
and illustrate the vision
18
Okay, we’re being a little dramatic.
A roadmap is a high-level, strategic visual summary that
outlines the vision and direction for the product offering over
time. It is both a strategic guide for stakeholders to
reference as well as a plan for execution.
A goal without a
plan, is just a wish.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Мета без плану –
це лише бажання

Roadmaps – Different Formats
19
Okay, we’re being a little dramatic.
a roadmap based on goals rather than dominated by many features.
Goal Oriented product roadmap (GO product roadmap) Now-Next-Later product roadmap
A roadmap focused more on the features, rather than the
goals/objectives you would like to achieve as a Product Owner.
Use a format that works best for your company’s goal(s).

What is Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
20

Minimum Marketable Product (MMP)
Sometimes the MVP may not deliver enough value for the customers to warrant full commercialization
series of MVPs will create an MMP that is
ready to be released to the general
public/market to generate business value
MMP is a product with the smallest
possible feature set that addresses the
user needs, creates the desired user
experience, and can hence be marketed
and sold successfully.

Organizing Our Work (Product Backlog)
22
Breakdown work and visualize
into EpicsFeatures and right-
sized User Stories
User Stories should be small
enough to fit into a Sprint and be
completed within a few days
Each User Story delivers value
without dependencies on other
User Stories to be completed.
Tactical
Strategic
Note: User stories can be Functional or Non-Functional (Technical)

How do you prioritize
your personal to-do list?
23
own words. (2 mins)
“When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority”
«Коли все є пріоритетом, нічого не є пріоритетом»

Your, or someone
else’s opinion
Competitive
“me-too” features
Size of the
customer
The loudest
customer
How NOT to Prioritize
“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the
time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”
– Steve Jobs, Inc. Interview 1989
«Що він сказав»

No prioritization method is perfect. But some are better than others depending on what you are
prioritizing, the maturity of your organization, and the maturity of your product.
Simplicity
The simpler the
method, the faster you
prioritize.
Depending on the
setting, this might
drive your choice.
Data-informed
Some methods rely
more on data than
others.
You might think using
data is a no-brainer,
but sometimes you
don’t have it yet.
Balance value with
complexity
Some methods lack
any consideration to
technical complexity.
Confidence factor
Some methods
incorporate a way to
balance exciting new
ideas against the
amount of actual
customer research
performed.
Things to consider when choosing a prioritization method

As a Product Owner, it’s your responsibility to facilitate the conversation with the team and choose one
that works the best. Below are a few options that can be used:
Prioritization Methods
Value vs.
Complexity
RICE
Weighted Shortest
Job First (WSJF)
Story Mapping
MoSCoW
Prioritization
Affinity Mapping
Reach x Impact x Confidence
Effort
Cost of Delay
Effort
Must Should Could Won’t

P27
Value vs. Complexity
Pros:
• Factors in effort
• Shows the quick wins
• Most effective when
paired with a scorecard
Cons:
• Difficult to visualize with
lots of features
• Very subjective on its
own

Prioritize features for a Puppy Pals’ Website
28
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
BUSINESS
VALUE
COMPLEXITY / EFFORT ($, Time)
Low High
High
?
Feature Value Comp.
Services and pricing page
Profiles page for different dog
walkers
Testimonials with pictures of
happy dogs
Online booking tool
Online payment system
Text communication system
(confirmations, reminders, etc)
Frequently asked questions
Scale: Low / High (Define mid-points)

P29
Pros:
• Simple
• Easy to pair with other
techniques
• Kill bad ideas quickly
• Great for small and new
products
• Helps define an MVP
MoSCoW Prioritization
Cons:
• No link to strategic goals
• Not data-driven
• Does not factor in effort
• Lacks any kind of
sequencing
• Lines can blur between
must and should

P30
Pros:
• Helps visualize the backlog
• Gets the team OUT of Jira!
• Keeps the focus on the user
• Prioritize while seeing the
whole story
• Creates a collaboration
space
• Helps define an MVP
Cons:
• Requires a lot of wall
space
User Story Mapping

P31
WSJF =
Cost of Delay
Effort
Business Value
What’s the relative
value to the customer
or business?
Time Criticality
How might user /
business value decay
over time?
Risk Reduction
What is the relative
risk or cost that is
mitigated or
eliminated?
Opportunity
Enablement
What opportunity
might this enable for
the business?
• Do they prefer this
over that?
• Revenue impact?
• Other penalties or
negative impacts?
• Fixed deadline?
• Will they move to
another solution?
• Impact to customer
satisfaction?
• Reduce the risk of this or future delivery?
• Is there value in the information we will receive?
• Does this enable new business opportunities?
+ + or
Cost of Delay
A way of communicating the impact of time on the outcomes we
hope to achieve.
WSJF: Calculate the numerator

P32
Duration
B C
A
CoD
Prioritized using WSJF
C
A
B
CoD
Duration
– Dark area: total Cost of Delay
Cost of Delay Effort WSJF
Feature A 13 1 13
Feature B 5 5 1
Feature C 1 13 0.08
Do the highest WSJF first!
WSJF: Put it all together

P33
Affinity Mapping and Stack Ranking
Pros:
• Align ideas to strategic
goals
• Encourage ideation
• Simple & interactive
• Enables voting
• Good for workshops
• Helps surface themes
Cons:
• Risky without strategy and
alignment

ORGANIZING WORK
- USER STORIES
- STORY POINTS
34

What is a User
Story?
35
own words. (2 mins)

Anatomy of a
User Story
36
“A user story is an invitation
to a future conversation”
Define when we consider
to be done
Brief & fits on an
index card
Just enough to elicit a
future conversation
CARD CONVERSATION CONFIRMATION
Easy to remember using 3Cs

37
Anatomy of a
User Story
Rather than focusing solely on what the system
should do, User Stories are value-centric.
They express the “who”, “what”, and most
importantly, the “why” of needed functionality.
It is not a technical description, BRD, or similar.
Asa<role>,
Iwantto<activity>
sothat<customer value>.
As a Puppy Pal employee,
I want to create an expense
report,
so that I can track my expenses
and receive reimbursement.

Anatomy of a
User Story
38
As a student, I want to
view trainer feedback
ratings.
As a trainer, I want my
feedback rating published,
so that new students can
choose wisely.
As a user, I want to
provide a trainer feedback
rating, so that other
students can benefit from
my experiences in the
class.
Which are a well-written User Story?
A B C

39
A user story isn’t ready until it has a set of
acceptance criteria.
Acceptance criteria defines the boundaries and
adds certainty to the user stories. It is the
“Confirmation” section.
Acceptance criteria should be testable and
might be converted into automated tests.
Acceptance criteria should include “happy path”
and “non-happy path” each written in a given-
when-then format.
Given <starting state>,
When <action or event> ,
Then <ending state>.
Anatomy of a
User Story

When is a
User Story
ready to be
developed?
40
• Before planning a sprint, the team must agree on
a Definition of Ready for user stories.
• This is a list of the attributes of a user story that
make it immediately actionable for the
development team.





"Ready" stories should be clear, concise,
and most importantly, actionable.
- Scrum Inc. Training

Definition of Ready (DoR)
Criteria should be specific to each team
User Story
Asa<role>,
Iwantto<activity>
sothat<customervalue>
Acceptance Criteria
Then <ending state>
41
It’s the Confirmation that a User Story
is done.
Acceptance criteria should include
“happy path” and “non-happy path”
each written in a given-when-then
format.
Rather than focusing solely on what the
system should do, User Stories are
value-centric.
They express the “who”, “what”, and
most importantly, the “why” of needed
functionality.

How do we know
when a User Story
is done?
42




• Before planning a sprint, the team must agree on a
Definition of Done for user stories.
• This is a shared agreement checklist of all value-
added activities that lets the team assert that all the
work for an item is complete.
• A Definition of Done can apply to all teams, a specific
team, or even to a specific set of stories.
• Like a backlog, the Definition of Done is active. The
team should revisit and update it as needed.

Bring it all
together
43
User story
As a Puppy Pal employee,
I want to create an expense report
so that I can track my expenses for reimbursement.
Acceptance criteria
Given I have filled in all required fields on an expense entry when I click submit
on the expense then an expense record is created and routed to my manager
for approval
AND
Given I have filled in all required fields on an expense entry when I click submit
on the expense then an email is sent to my manager letting them know an
expense is ready for approval.
OR
Given I have not filled in all required fields on an expense entry when I click
submit on the expense then an error message appears telling me which required
fields still need to be filled in.

44
What is missing from a User Story
that should be included?
Bring it all
together

Organizing
Our Work
45
Breakdown work and visualize
into Features/Epics and right-
sized User Stories.
enough to fit into a Sprint and
completed within a few days.
Separate Strategic and Tactical
focus of the work
Tactical
Strategic

How to break
work down
46
What if we are asked to build an Amazon
shopping competitor?
What would we need to include?
(5 minutes)

How to break
down work
47
Sample of Amazon competitor Features &
User Stories.
Cart Payments Catalog
View Cart
Add Item to Cart
Remove item
from cart
Update quantity
of item
Payment form
Process Credit
Card payment
Process Return
credit
User Profiles
Epic/Feature
User Story
Legend
Create New
Account
Reset password
Login to app
Update address
View List of
Products
View product
detail page
Rate product
Checkout

Let’s Practice
48
How many User Stories do we need to
support this functionality?

Let’s Practice
49
How many User Stories do we need to
support this functionality?
As a registered user, I
want to authenticate in
the application, so that I
can access my account
want to recover my
username, so that I
can successfully
authenticate in the
app
want to reset my
password, so that I
can access my
account
As an anonymous user, I
want to create an
account, so that I can be
a member of the
application

Let’s Practice
50
Write Acceptance Criteria for one
of the User Story
want to authenticate in
the application, so that I
can access my account
want to recover my
username, so that I
can successfully
authenticate in the
app

Let’s Practice
51
Write the User Story and Acceptance
Criteria for one or both
As a <role>,
I want to <action>,
So that <value>
As a <role>,
I want to <action>,
So that <value>

Let’s Review
52
What are the 3Cs of a user story?
Brief & fits on an
index card
Just enough to elicit a
future conversation
Confirm when we
consider to be done
CARD CONVERSATION CONFIRMATION

Let’s Review
53
What is the recommended format of a
User Story and why do we use it?
Asa<role>,
Iwantto<activity>
sothat<customer value>.
Rather than focusing
solely on what the
system should do, User
Stories are value-centric.
They express the “who”,
“what”, and most
importantly, the “why” of
needed functionality.

Let’s Review
54
What is the format of Acceptance Criteria
and what should it include?
Then <ending state>.
It’s the Confirmation that a
User Story is done.
Acceptance criteria should
include “happy path” and “non-
happy path” each written in a
given-when-then format.

Let’s Review
55
What is appropriate size of a User Story?
enough to fit into a Sprint and
completed within a few days.
Each User Story delivers value
without dependencies on other
User Stories to be completed.
Strategic
Tactical

What are Story Points ?
A relative estimate of effort required to implement a User Story
56

What are factors influence effort?
57
Effort
Complexity
Uncertainty
Multiple interfaces, function calls etc.
Technical dependencies
Complex testing requirements
Approach is unclear
New or unfamiliar technology
Changing or unstable expectations
SizeEffort
Developer is unfamiliar with the code or feature
Regulatory compliance (GxP, SOX, GDPR, CCPA . . .)
Detailed estimates are hard to do

What is a Story Point?
A relative estimate of effort to implement a User Story based on Complexity,
Uncertainty and Risk
Complexity
170 vs 575 yds
1 vs 3
Uncertainty
Visible vs Hidden
Risk
Wide vs Narrow
Water vs Trees
58

The truth about estimating #1
Most people are not very good at estimating, but they are good at making
comparisons
59
What are some tasks you’re
confident estimating?

The truth about estimating #2
Estimates don’t need to be “Accounting Accurate” to be useful
60

So how do these two observations influence how we approach
forecasting effort on an Agile Project?
61
A relative estimate of effort required to implement a User Story
1. We accept that we will not be “accounting accurate”
2. We don’t try to estimate too far ahead
3. We accept that we will get better as we gain more experience (anchor
stories)

Highly Confidential
Pandemic Diet: How
to lose the
‘Quarantine 15’
62
https://planningpokeronline.com

Let’s Practice
Using the Fibonacci scale,
estimate the number of
calories in each item
( 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89,
?, Pass )
63

Let’s Practice
( 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89,
?, Pass )
64

Let’s Practice
( 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,
34, 55, 89, ?, Pass )
65

What company does this for real?
66

Highly Confidential
How do we use Story
Points once we have
them?
67

When do we assign Story Points?
During Backlog Grooming or Sprint Planning typically by playing “Planning Poker”
68
1)The user story is read to the team (typically by
the author of the story)
2)Everyone determines their estimate without
revealing it to the group, if the subject is
completely unknown use “?”
3)All estimates are revealed at once
 Differences are discussed
 Repeat the process until consensus is
reached

Other popular estimating scales
Modified Fibonacci ( 0, ½, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 40, 100, ?, Pass )
Powers of 2 ( 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, ?, Pass )
T-shirts ( xxs, xs, s, m, l, xl, xxl, ?, Pass )
69

How do we use Story Points ?
Sprint Planning
• Set realistic expectations about how much can be done in a sprint (goldilocks)
• Identify when a User Story needs to broken down into smaller increments
Reporting
70
Velocity Chart

Burndown Chart
Provides a visual representation of the
remaining mount of work to be completed
in a set time.
Rapid feedback mechanism (aim small,
miss small)
Promotes transparency, visibility and
collaboration
71
Road Tip: Kyiv to Lviv

Velocity Chart
Measures the stability & predictability of
the team over time (did we accomplish
what we set out to do?)
Often used as input to the Retrospective
• Unfinished User Story’s are returned to the backlog
Foundational to a team's ability to provide
forecasts that can be used for product
roadmaps, communications etc.
72

Story Point Do’s and Don’ts
Do:
Track Business Value separately
Assume Story Points evolve as the team gains more experience and operations
stabilize
Don’t:
Use Story Points to make comparisons between teams
Adjust Story Points within a Sprint (update story or addsubtract scope)
• Strech stories in a sprint are ok, once all stories have been burned down
Skip Planning Poker (don’t defer to the “expert in the room”)
73

Key Takeaways
Estimating using Story Points helps teams overcome many inherent difficulties
related to estimating effort (and it’s easy to do)
Planning Poker ensures estimates are derived from a diversity of thought and often
leads to identifying a “better approach” than was originally assumed
Having a few “anchor stories” based on historic actuals improves speed and accuracy
of future estimates
74

Backlog Grooming Refinement
75
Item Size
Priority
A 3
1
B 5
2
C 1
3
D 2
4
E 3
5
F 5
6
G 1
7
H 3
8
I 5
9
J 5
10
K 5
11
L 2
12
M
N
O
P
Q
R
7 Stories
20 Points
5 Stories
20 Points
1. Force-rank items
2. Estimate size and break large items
into smaller components
3. Check items against Definition of
Ready (DoR)
4. Delete items as appropriate
Sprint Planning
1. Verify team member availability
2. Determine allocation for defectbug
fixes etc.
3. Plan stories based on adjusted
velocity

Sample Sprint Calendar
2 Week Sprints
76
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Sprint Planning • Task Breakdown
• Story Boarding
• Design Sessions
• Follow-ups
Development
System
Configuration
User Acceptance
Testing & Defect
Resolution
DEMO
Retrospective
Sprint Planning

Let’s Review
77
What are the 4 main responsibilities of a
Product Owner?
Between those
asking and doing
VOICE OF
THE
CUSTOMER
VALUE
PRODUCT
BACKLOG
PRIORITY
Keep team focused
on value delivery
Refine the backlog
Prioritize to deliver
value

Let’s Review
78
What 3 things does a Product Vision
describe?
…are our
customers?
Who… What… Why…
…do they
need?
…will this be
valuable

Let’s Review
79
What are 3 of the different methods for
prioritizing a backlog of work?
Value vs.
Complexity
RICE
Weighted Shortest
Job First (WSJF)
Story Mapping
MoSCoW
Prioritization
Affinity Mapping

Last Thought
80
What did you learn?
“Never add quotes in your presentations”
- Mike Palladino Kyiv, October 9, 2021
«Ніколи не додавайте цитати у свою презентацію»
- Майкл Палладіно, Київ, 9 жовтня 2021 року

UA PMDAY 2021
81
Thank you!
Questions ???
Comments ???
Mike Palladino
www.linkedin.com/in/mikepalladino

Mike Palladino: Product Owner Toolkit

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