Can 1 Person Be the Only Product Owner in a Multiple team, Multiple Value Streams Environment?

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A question that I often get asked in my courses with trainees, is whether there can be multiple Product Owners, or whether a single Product Owner is in charge across a number of teams, and the whole organisation? 

As we all know Project Management can be quite a complex and intricate process, involving a large number of people, and factors to consider. So, the question arises as to how agile or SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) deals with this element of product management.

 

Now it may be possible for one person to have the vision for a product and a strongly held view about what it is we should be building, and then subsequently hold that product management vision. This is great for a team since it can help a team with becoming more aligned on what is and what is not assisting their vision. 

 

In essence, Product Owners help a Scrum Team: 

 

🚀 Define and maintain the Product Backlog. 

🚀 Collaborate with Stakeholders. 

🚀 Manage the product vision. 

🚀 Communicate product requirements. 

🚀 Make trade-off decisions. 

 

The tricky part comes in, however, when we ask ourselves whether a single Product Owner can deliver all of this across a number of teams. The answer to this is “yes, it is possible” but it will be extremely difficult to do since you would need to deal with an enormous number of moving parts effectively. And so it is not an issue of whether it is okay to do it this way, but rather the point is that practically speaking, I have never seen it work. 

 

So in summary, it is fine to have one person with the product vision, but in order to execute that vision effectively, you need other Product Owners to be within your team at various stages to achieve those goals. 

 

As a famous saying goes, 

 

“One is too small a number to achieve greatness. No accomplishment of real value has ever been achieved by a human being working alone.” ~ John C. Maxwell

 

Interested to learn more about the role of a Product Owner? I can help! 

 

At Value Glide, through the application of  SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), we are able to offer agile consulting, agile coaching, and agile training specialists who work with organisations to align business objectives with customer needs and wants.

As deeply experienced agile coaches and practitioners, our team is invested in continuous learning through each client engagement and uses the data and evidence we gather from each implementation to inform our training, coaching, and consulting services.

In a nutshell, empirical process control or empiricism. 

If you are thinking of adopting agile within your organisation and have identified SAFe as a great agile framework to adopt, implement and improve your business agility, visit our SAFe Quickstart ART Launch program page or view our SAFe Consulting Services page.

If you have identified a need for an agile coach and SAFe coach to help your organisation adopt and implement SAFe, visit our SAFe Coaching Services page. We are committed to equipping organisations with the tools and knowledge to thrive in this ever-changing digital age, and achieve business agility through the Scaled Agile Framework. 

Sounds good to you? Then sign-up today, and learn more about this transformation and revolutionary framework that is changing the game in the world of Agile. It is truly remarkable what can be done when we put our heads together and decide to work as one.

If you want to know more about SAFe and how to lead SAFe, visit our SAFE Training page for a host of options, from Leading SAFe to a SAFe Release Train Engineer course.

#SAFe #scaledagileframework #scalingagile #agile #agileframework #agilecoach #productowner

Connect with Value Glide!

 Are you looking to adopt Agile ways of working? If so, SAFe, Scrum and Kanban could be the perfect solution for you. For expert guidance to successfully adopt and implement SAFem Scrum or Kanban, Value Glide is here to help. Our team has the skills and experience to ensure your Agile adoption is seamless and successful.

Connect with us for Agile Training, Agile Consulting, and Agile coaching.

 

Visit https://www.valueglide.com for more information.

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