Do you remember the time when you worked on the product team? At that time, you might have felt messy, confused and overwhelmed with many queries. At the initial stage you probably don’t understand what to do and what customers want? It was also hard to figure out how to create an effective, high-quality product. But now in this developing age, things have changed a lot.

Now there are easy and clear ways that help product teams to exactly know what to do and when. These strategies make the work smoother and organized. 

This new way is known as agile product management. It means product teams and development teams collaborate to work closely together. They make informed decisions, finish tasks before the deadline and make better products. They use real facts and information from people to guide their work. This agile method helps the team to make a product that is easy to use and fulfills the customer’s demand. 

What is agile product management?

Agile is the strategy that product teams adopt to work together to attain goals. In 2001, the agile manifesto was made, elaborates on the main theme clearly:

• Teamwork and people matter a lot as compared to rules and tools.
• A working is more effecient as compared to lots of paperwork
• It is better to work with various customers rather than following contracts.
• Don’t stick on the fixed plan and always ready to change the plan when needed.

This is all about agile product management. It does not mention certain methods like story points, stand-up meetings or sprints. 

The central focus of manifesto is being flexible and not following single processes or tools. These fundamental concepts are helpful to keep in mind when beginning or reviewing Agile.

Remember these concepts as you apply Agile in your actual work. Documents and plans are useful, but don’t let them take precedence over your team or the final product. If it occurs, you ought to reconsider your strategy.

Join Oxford Training Centre’s Product Management Courses to gain practical skills, expert guidance, and real-world knowledge. Boost your career and lead successful product teams with confidence! Enroll today!

What are the 2 common agile approaches?

The 2 common agile approaches are:

1. Scrum

It is one of the famous agile methods. In this method the whole work is divided into short time periods called sprints. Each sprint is a chance to plan, work, check progress, and improve. The team members are known as developers, no matter what ‌ their job. All members work closely and help each other. 

Scrum has a few regular meetings:

• Sprint Planning: Determine what to do during the sprint.
• Sprint Review: Illustrate what got accomplished and learn from it.
• Sprint Retrospective: Discuss what worked and what could be better.
• Backlog Grooming: Prioritize and organize tasks.
• Daily Stand-ups: Fast work and issue updates daily.
• Teams use “story points” to estimate how difficult tasks are. This is used to plan and monitor progress.

2. Kanban

It is another agile method. Its purpose is to focus on the whole work at once instead of dividing it into sprints. Work items move across a board from “to do” to “done.” 

There may be a cap on the number of jobs that may be completed at a time for each phase. Teams with shifting workloads or support responsibilities benefit greatly from Kanban.

Some other agile approaches

Additionally, there are more Agile methodologies such as XP, which focuses on coding practices, and SAFe, which helps large organizations adopt Agile methodologies with many teams. Teams can find their own way of working by methodically trying out different methodologies.

Advantages and disadvantages of agile product management

Agile product management has changed the way of working of product teams. This method also has many advantages and disadvantages. Some of them are mentioned below:

Advantages

• Quicker feedback: Constant customer feedback makes the product better faster.
• Early product release: Develops a basic version (MVP) before completing it.
• Flexibility: Changes are easy to make along the way in the project.
• Better teamwork: Development, sales, and marketing collaborate closely.
• Faster problem solving: Bugs and problems get resolved quicker with short cycles of work.
• Better understanding of the user: Ongoing feedback allows for real customer needs to be fulfilled.
• Frequent updates: Changes and updates occur frequently, not only at the end.
• Improved product quality: Continuous testing and updating results in higher quality.

Disadvantages

• The process is intricate and involves numerous approvals, which can be confusing if not structured in advance.
• Staff members will need time to get used to the new workflows, regulations, and applications.
• No one knows when results are visible and what they look like because of abrupt changes.
• In rapid and rapid changes, it is challenging to accurately measure progress.
• There are unlimited features and enhancements that can turn product development into something that never ends.

Key roles and responsibilities within an agile product team

Let’s shed light on some key roles and responsibilities of an agile product team.

1. Product manager

This person owns the product idea from the beginning. They make decisions about what the product should be and what it is necessary to create it. Product managers are the ones who find problems, understand the customer needs and set the clear objectives of the business.

Product managers work hard to meet the product with success, in agile work their tasks are:

• Set and share the vision of the product.
• Understanding ‌customer demand and linking it with product quality.
• Keep everyone engaged with the product and stay updated.
• Selecting which features to build first for speedy progress.
• Assisting team to work well and become independent. 

Product manager roles make sure that product meets goals, and customers are satisfied. 

2. Product owner

A product owner’s primary task is to voice the customer and ensure the team collaborates effectively to develop the most significant features according to the product plan.

The main responsibilities of a product owner are:

• Assisting the team to perform their best and ensuring feature ideas align with the goals of the product.
• Creating and refining the product backlog, a list of work for the team ranked by priority and product demand.
• Understanding customer requirements ‌and assisting the team in understanding how features must behave.

Product managers and product owners are not in the same role:

• Product managers concentrate on interacting with people external to the team and conducting research to plan the product and learn about customer experience.
• Product owners are within the team, scheduling and directing work to achieve product objectives.

3. Development team

This team involves groups of experts who can create a working part of the product. They handle assigning tasks very well, like designing, building and testing. Their main responsibility is to add new features to the product. This development team works under the leadership of product of product owners. All members work in short cycles known as sprints, where they have to finish the various tasks. These tasks ensure the product has features that fulfill the client’s demands.

4. Stakeholders

Not everyone is involved in building the product, but everyone that matters is involved in the decision of how the product is shaped, and what work is done. The people who matter are called stakeholders. Business leaders, the intended users, the people who fund the product, and team members from different departments in the organization are all stakeholders.

Although they each have different roles, ‌stakeholders work together and make decisions together. Their conversations prepare the groundwork and define the next steps. 

The discussions establish the plan for the product, and the steps they will take next, which is called the product roadmap. The product roadmap defines the work that the product team will undertake to evolve the product. Collectively, the insights and decisions of all stakeholders influence the evolution of a product over time.

5. Scrum Master 

The Scrum Master facilitates working between various teams and individuals. They ensure everyone is aware of what is being done and that they are working in harmony.

They also see to it that things such as arranging meetings, resolving issues with teamwork or communicating with one another are accomplished. They ensure that everything runs smoothly. Their role is to ensure the team remains connected and the work proceeds without issues.