Product Owner Open (Practice)
What is the Product Owner accountable for in Scrum?
Maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team.
The Developers find out during the Sprint that they are not likely to build everything they forecast. What would you expect a Product Owner to do?
Re-negotiate the selected Product Backlog items with the Developers.
When can the Product Backlog be updated?
At any time when done by the Product Owner or a delegate.
Which of the following are needed in order to allow Sprint Planning to begin?
* A Product Goal communicated by the Product Owner. * A Product Backlog with the most important items ready for discussion. Sprint Planning initiates the Sprint by laying out the work to be performed for the Sprint. This resulting plan is created by the collaborative work of the entire Scrum Team. The Product Owner ensures that attendees are prepared to discuss the most important Product Backlog items and how they map to the Product Goal.
True or False: A Product Owner is essentially the same thing as a traditional Project Manager?
False (A traditional project manager is responsible for all aspects of a project; costs, resources, execution, release, planning, capacity. Scrum is a framework for complex product development, regardless of whether the work is organized in projects. The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product and the work performed, this is complemented by the specific accountabilities of the Developers and the Scrum Master.)
True or False: The value delivered by a product can only be determined by revenue.
False (Value is likely to vary across products and organizations.)
When does a Developer become accountable for the value of a Product Backlog item selected for the Sprint?
Never. The entire Scrum Team is accountable for creating value every Sprint.
To what extent does technical debt limit the value a Product Owner can get from a product? (choose the best two answers)
Technical debt causes a greater percentage of the product's budget to be spent on maintenance of the product. The velocity at which new functionality can be created is reduced when you have technical debt.
What two things best help the Product Owner manage the value of a product?
The order of the Product Backlog. Validating assumptions of value through frequent releases.
Is the Product Owner required to be present at the Sprint Retrospective?
Their attendance is mandatory. The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to assess and improve itself.
The Product Owner's authority to change and update the Product Backlog is unlimited, except for:
There are no exceptions; the entire organization must respect a Product Owner's decisions.
What phrases best describe the relationship of the Product Owner and the Developers? (choose the best two answers)
They collaborate often so the Product Owner can make informed decisions in balancing effort and value of Product Backlog items. They collaborate often so the Developers build Increments keeping end-user and stakeholder concerns in mind.
What should Developers do if the Product Owner is unavailable?
Within the Sprint, the Developers make the best decisions possible to assure progress toward the Sprint Goal, re-aligning with the Product Owner once they are available again.
What are typical activities for a Product Owner in a Sprint? (choose the best two answers)
Work with the Developers on Product Backlog refinement. Collaborate with stakeholders, user communities, and subject matter experts.
How do timeboxes help the Product Owner and the other members of the Scrum Team validate assumptions, adapt, and maximize the value of their product?
Timeboxes help minimize risk by creating the opportunity to validate assumptions using feedback from users and the market; allowing Scrum Teams to inspect progress toward the Product Goal and decide whether to pivot or persevere.
What is the principal value of releasing an Increment?
To validate assumptions made when developing the product. (Releasing the Increment to customers/users is the only way to validate assumptions about value.)
Which description best fits the role of the Product Owner?
Value Maximizer.
Adaptation requires regular inspection. In what ways does the Product Owner contribute to the results achieved by inspection?
* The Product Owner invites stakeholders to the Sprint Review to learn how the current state of the marketplace influences what is the most valuable thing to do next. * The Product Owner shares the current state of Product Backlog at the Sprint Review, which, combined with the inspection of the Increment, leads to an updated Product Backlog.
True or False: The Scrum Team must choose at least one high priority process improvement item, identified during the Sprint Retrospective, and place it in the Sprint Backlog.
False (An earlier version of the Scrum Guide prescribed the practice of placing one improvement in the Sprint Backlog. This was removed in the 2020 update to the Scrum Guide because it was felt to be too prescriptive. However, if this practice provides value to you then you should adopt it. It is simply not prescribed anymore, but can still be valuable.)
What is a Product Backlog?
The Product Backlog is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product. The Product Backlog is an ordered list of everything that might be needed in the product and it is the single source of work undertaken by the Scrum Team. The Product Backlog evolves as the product and the environment in which it will be used evolves. As long as a product exists, its Product Backlog also exists.
Which two statements explain why the Definition of Done is important to the Product Owner? (choose the best two answers)
It establishes the expected quality of the Increment reviewed at the Sprint Review. It creates transparency regarding progress within the Scrum Team. (All Scrum Team members must have a shared understanding of what it means for work to be complete, to ensure transparency. This is the Definition of Done for the Scrum Team and is used to assess when work is complete on the product Increment. The Increment reviewed at the Sprint Review must meet the Definition of Done.)
In order to make investment decisions, the Product Owner is likely to look at the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the product being built. What costs will a Product Owner take into account?
All investments required to conceive, develop, operate and maintain the product. (The Product Owner is not only accountable for development and release of a product, but also the cost of maintaining and operating the product over its lifetime.)
Who creates the Definition of Done?
The organization (or the Scrum Team if none is available from the organization). (If the Definition of Done for an Increment is part of the standards of the organization, all Scrum Teams must follow it as a minimum. If it is not an organizational standard, the Scrum Team must create a Definition of Done appropriate for the product.)
True or False: A first Sprint can start before the Product Owner has a complete and exhaustive Product Backlog in place.
True (A first Sprint requires no more than a Scrum Team and enough ideas to potentially complete a full Sprint.)
Which of the following are needed in order to allow Sprint Planning to begin? (choose the best two answers)
A Product Goal communicated by the Product Owner. A Product Backlog with the most important items ready for discussion. (Sprint Planning initiates the Sprint by laying out the work to be performed for the Sprint. This resulting plan is created by the collaborative work of the entire Scrum Team. The Product Owner ensures that attendees are prepared to discuss the most important Product Backlog items and how they map to the Product Goal.)
It is mandatory for the Product Owner to monitor and share progress of the Product Backlog by using which method?
Any practice based on trends of work completed and upcoming work.
What variables should a Product Owner consider when ordering the Product Backlog?
Anything that informs them to achieve the product's goals and to optimize the value delivered. (The Product Owner is responsible for ordering the items in the Product Backlog to best achieve the Product Goal, thereby optimizing the value of the work the Developers perform. How this is done, and what value means, may vary widely across organizations.)
How does an organization know that a product built using Scrum is successful?
By releasing frequently, and measuring the value customers/users experience. (Scrum Teams deliver products iteratively and incrementally, maximizing opportunities for feedback. If a product is not released, the opportunity to capture user and market feedback is lost.)
What best describes the relationship of the Product Owner and the stakeholders?
The Product Owner actively asks for stakeholder input and expectations to incorporate into the Product Backlog.
How important is it for a Product Owner to order Product Backlog items by using value points?
The Product Owner may order the Product Backlog by using value points or select another technique, the decision is up to them. (The Product Owner is accountable for ordering the Product backlog, regardless of the techniques they may utilize to define that order. Indications of value on Product Backlog items may be useful but are only a prediction until validated by users and the market.)
Adaptation requires regular inspection. In what ways does the Product Owner contribute to the results achieved by inspection? (choose the best two answers)
The Product Owner shares the current state of Product Backlog at the Sprint Review, which, combined with the inspection of the Increment, leads to an updated Product Backlog. The Product Owner invites stakeholders to the Sprint Review to learn how the current state of the marketplace influences what is the most valuable thing to do next.
A Product Owner is entitled to postpone the start of a new Sprint after the conclusion of a previous Sprint for the following reason:
There is no acceptable reason. A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint.
