What are the skills needed for Product Owner and Scrum Master?

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 : The Product Owner must be available and qualified to do a great job. Being the product owner is usually a full-time job. If the product owner is overworked then the product progress will suffer resulting in a substandard product.

 Skills of a Scrum Master

Interpersonal skills are extremely essential for managing the stakeholders and hence the Product Owner, Scrum Master and Team should have most of the skills mentioned in this chapter.

1.1.1  Communication

Communication has been identified as one of the single biggest reasons for Agile project success or failure. Effective communication within the project team and between the Scrum Master, Product Owner, team members, and all external stakeholders is essential.

1.1.2  Influencing

Influencing is a strategy of relying on interpersonal skills to get others to cooperate towards common goals. Using the following guidelines can influence team members:

·         Lead by example, and follow through with commitments.

·         Clarify how a decision will be made.

·         Use a flexible interpersonal style and adjust the style to the audience.

Apply your power skillfully and cautiously. Think of long-term collaboration.

1.1.3  Negotiation

Negotiation is a strategy of conferring with parties of shared or opposed interests with a view toward compromise or reaching an agreement. Negotiation is an integral part of Agile and if done well, increases the probability of project success.

The following skills and behaviors are useful in negotiating successfully:

·         Analyze the situation.

·         Differentiate between wants and needs, both theirs and yours.

·         Focus on interests and issues rather than on positions.

·         Ask high and offer low, but be realistic.

·         When you make a concession, act as if you are yielding something of value, don’t just give in.

·         Both parties should feel as if they have won. This win-win negotiating style is preferred but not always achievable. If possible, don’t let the other party leave feeling as though he or she has been taken advantage.

1.1.4  Networking

Networking is a Formal or informal interaction in the organization. It is a constructive way to understand interpersonal and political environment which can impact the effectiveness of project staffing management options. It can also be an effective way to enhance project management skills.

1.1.5  Active Listening

Active listening is a communication technique used in counselling, training and conflict resolution, which requires the listener to feed back what they hear to the speaker, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what they have heard in their own words, to confirm what they have heard and moreover, to confirm the understanding of both parties.

1.1.6  Leadership

Leadership involves focusing the efforts of a group of people toward a common goal and enabling them to work as a team. Respect and trust, rather than fear and submission, are the key elements of effective leadership. Effective leadership is critical throughout the project for motivating and inspiring project participants to achieve high performance.

1.1.7  Team Building

In Agile Project, Team Building is an ongoing process. Changes in Agile project environment are inevitable. To manage these changes effectively, a continued or renewed team-building effort is required. Outcomes of team building include mutual trust, high quality of information exchange and better decision making.

1.1.8  Motivation

Motivating in a project environment involves creating an environment to meet project objectives while providing maximum satisfaction related to what people value most. These values may include job satisfaction, challenging work, a sense of accomplishment, achievement and growth, sufficient financial compensation, and other rewards and recognition the individual considers necessary and important.

1.1.9  Coaching

Coaching is a means of developing the project team to higher levels of competency and performance.

Coaching can be a powerful motivator for teams. As teams develop their skills, abilities, and confidence, their willingness to take on challenging or demanding tasks is increased. This can lead to more effective and productive teams.

1.1.10               Trust Building

The ability to build trust across the project team and other key stakeholders is a critical component in effective team leadership. Trust is associated with cooperation, information sharing, and effective problem resolution. Without trust it is difficult to establish the positive relationships necessary between the various stakeholders engaged in the project. When trust is compromised, relationships deteriorate, people disengage, and collaboration becomes more difficult, if not impossible.

1.1.11               Conflict Management

Conflict is inevitable in a project environment. Sources of conflict include scarce resources, scheduling priorities, and personal work styles. Team ground rules, group norms, and solid project management practices. Successful conflict management results in greater productivity and positive working relationships. Some of the guidelines on resolution of issues should be ·         A team issue should be approached openly for lasting solution. ·         Resolution should focus on issue and not on personalities ·         Resolution should focus on present and not past

1.1.12               Self-Assessment

Self-assessment is a process where an individual or organization or a team conduct a comprehensive review of one-self to understand strengths and weaknesses and opportunities to improve. The common characteristics of self-assessment are

·         The main purpose of self-assessment should be to stimulate learning and change as well as enthusiasm for self-development.

·         The aim is to commit the organizations key people for identifying and inspiring improvement needs and opportunities to start development activities and inspire positive change.

The goal of self-assessment is to identify opportunities for improvement


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