Anuj Ojha: Helping PO’s Move Beyond User Story Templates to True Customer Understanding

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The Great Product Owner: The Vision Setter Who Empowers Teams

In this segment, Anuj describes an exemplary Product Owner who mastered the art of inclusive product development. This PO excelled at bringing everyone together to discuss the product and potential solutions, while maintaining a clear focus on the vision and problem space. Rather than dictating solutions, they created an environment where team members could freely explore solutions while the PO remained available for questions and guidance. Their success came from building strong relationships with stakeholders and customers, and effectively using the Eisenhower matrix to prioritize work.

The Bad Product Owner: The Requirements Translator

Anuj discusses common anti-patterns he's observed in Product Owners, particularly those who may have previously been project managers. A crucial issue arises when POs create user stories without first understanding the customer and their journey with the product. Some POs become mere translators, rigidly adhering to story templates instead of truly understanding customer needs. The key to improvement lies in helping POs learn to engage directly with customers, focus on problem exploration rather than immediate solutions, and collaborate with the whole team in solution discussions.

Self-reflection Question: How can you help your Product Owner move from being a requirements translator to becoming a true value maximizer?

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About Anuj Ojha

Anuj is the co-founder & Lead Consultant at Benzne Consulting. With more than a decade of consulting experience & setting up Agile environments. Anuj and his team partner with businesses to unlock their true potential and drive continuous growth. Anuj considers himself framework agnostic, purpose & data driven.

You can link with Anuj Ojha on LinkedIn, or via his company’s website Benzne.com.