World Of Agile

Today businesses are shifting to emerging economies (such as India) due to reduced business operations cost and an easily available workforce. The businesses certainly are more virtual and distributed, with "distributed" as its key element. Thus the need for better managing such teams, using the right tools and processes, is becoming increasingly critical for any enterprise company. Here are some reasons for the shift and need for having distributed Agile teams: ·           Globally distributed teams reduce costs. ·           They can reach the market more quickly with a "follow the sun" model. ·           Distributed teams expand access to new markets. ·           Acquisitions as a result of consolidation results in companies working together to integrate their businesses. ·           Expansion can aid innovation and thought leadership. ·           Telecommuting gives options for communicating with teams effectively. ·           Collaboration t

Skills of a Product Owner Choosing the right product owner is crucial for any Scrum Project. Following are some of the characteristics expected from the Product Owner ·           Visionary : Product owner should be able to envision the final product. ·           Doer : Product owner should also be a doer – that means, he should work with the team to get the final product ready. ·           Product Owner should be a Leader and Team Player ·           Communicator : The product owner must be an effective communicator and negotiator. The Product Owner is the Voice of the customer and therefore he should communicate customer needs and requirements and bridge the gap between the customer and the team. This may mean saying NO sometimes to the customer. ·           Empowered and Committed : The Product owner must have enough authority and the right level of management sponsorship to lead the development effort and to align to stakeholders. ·           Available and Qualified