In November of 2020, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland released an update to the Scrum Guide. One of the changes they introduced was the Product Goal. This is a change which, to me, seemed like a brilliant way to keep the Product Backlog focused on achieving a measurable outcome, but at the same time, it seemed at odds with how I had come to think about and work with a Product Backlog. For the past few months, I’ve been speaking with Agile and Scrum thought leaders in podcast interviews, trying to get my head around the concept. All of the conversations have helped me deepen my understanding of this topic, but the ones I have had with Don McGreal reshaped how I understand the way that the Product Goal impacts my entire understanding of a Product Backlog and how to work with it.

Don McGreal is the VP of Learning Solutions at Improving, the co-Author of The Professional Product Owner book, the co-founder of TastyCupcakes.org, and a Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainer. He’s also a really nice guy and he was kind enough to spend some time talking with me about the Product Goal.

In this interview, Don shares how 4DX has impacts his approach to Product Ownership, working with the Product Backlog, and how it fits with the Product Goal serving as a measurable step towards achieving the Product Vision. As Don and I continue the discussion we explore some of the choices that Product Goal is going to force you to make about how you work with a Product Backlog. For example: If the Scrum Team is focused on one Product Goal at a time, and all the work in the Product Backlog should serve the Product Goal, what do we do with technical debt?

If you are trying to get your head around Product Goal, this interview is going to pose some important questions that require you to reconsider how your team (and your organization) works with a Product Backlog, what jobs you are hiring it to do, and how to be disciplined, but not dogmatic in your practice of Scrum.

Links

- The Scrum Guide (November 2020) https://scrumguides.org

- 4 DX: https://www.franklincovey.com/the-4-disciplines/

- The Professional Product Owner: https://amzn.to/3eVXkkV

- TastyCupcakes: https://www.tastycupcakes.org

- Upcoming classes at Improving: https://improving.com/training

- Improving's Virtual Events: https://improving.com/virtual-events

- Ralph Jocham's Product Goal Canvas: https://effectiveagile.com/download/productgoalcanvas/

Contacting Don

- Improving.com: https://improving.com

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donmcgreal/

- Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/donmcgreal