Scrum Alliance 7401 Church Ranch Blvd., Suite 210, Westminster, CO 80021

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ScrumAlliance®

CertifiedScrumProductOwner®

LearningObjectives March2017

bytheScrumAllianceCSPO®andCSP®LearningObjectivesCommittees

Introduction Purpose ThisdocumentdescribestheLearningObjectives(LOs)thatmustbecoveredinaCertifiedScrumProductOwner(CSPO)course.TheseLearningObjectivestakethefollowingintoconsideration:

• EveryimplementationofScrumisdifferent. • TeamsandorganizationsapplyScrumwithintheircontext,butthe

fundamentalframeworkalwaysremainsthesame. TheLearningObjectivesforthiscoursearebasedon:

• ScrumGuide,http://scrumguides.org • AgileManifesto,4valuesand12principles,

http://www.agilemanifesto.org Scope ScrumAlliancehasadoptedtheScrumGuide,TheDefinitiveGuidetoScrum:TheRulesoftheGame,coauthoredandupdated(mostrecentlyin2016)bytheco-creatorsoftheScrumframework,astheguidingcurriculumforthiscourse.CSPO®candidatesareexpectedtobuildabodyofknowledgeoftheScrumframework,includingitsroles,events,andartifacts.IncorporatingScrumprinciplesandpracticestakesdiligence,patience,andacommitmenttocontinuousimprovement.Scrumisaframework,notaprescriptivemethodology.

ParticipantsinaCSPOcourseshouldexpectthateachLearningObjectiveidentifiedinthisdocumentwillbecoveredinaCSPOcourse.TheCSPOLearningObjectivesfallintothefollowingcategories:

1. UnderstandingtheRoleoftheProductOwner2. DescribingPurposeandStrategy3. UnderstandingCustomersandUsers4. TestingProductAssumptions5. WorkingwiththeProductBacklog

Individualtrainers(CSTs)orcoaches(CECs)maychoosetoteachancillarytopics.Examplesmightinclude:LeanStartup,DesignThinking,AgileLeadership,DomainSpecificApproaches,AgileContracts,etc.AncillarytopicspresentedinaCSPOcoursemustbeclearlyindicatedassuch. Abbreviations LO—LearningObjective. PO—ProductOwner.

LearningObjectives

AnoteaboutexamplesusedinthefollowingLearningObjectives: SeveralLearningObjectivesincludealistofexamples.Theexamplesareusedtoclarifytheintentoftheobjective.Individualtrainersorcoachescanusetheprovidedexamples,theirownexamplesthatstillmeettheobjective,oramixofboth.Examplesdonotimplythattheyaretheonlyoptions,northattheyconstituteanexhaustivelist.

AnoteaboutBloom’sTaxonomy:WhilesomeLearningObjectivesappeartotellthetrainerhowtoteach,thatisnottheintent.Bloom’s-styleLearningObjectivesdescribewhatthelearnercandouponcompletingtheclass.RatherthanincludethattextineachLearningObjective,pleasementallyappendthefollowingphrasetoeachobjective: “UponsuccessfulcompletionoftheCSPOcourse,thelearnerwillbeableto…”

1. UnderstandingtheRoleoftheProductOwner

FundamentalsoftheProductOwnerRole

1.1. …describetheresponsibilitiesoftheProductOwnerroleandthebenefitsofScrumTeamcollaboration.

1.2. …reportthattheProductOwnerhelpstheorganizationrealizevaluethroughdeliveringproductsolutionsthatdelightcustomersanduserswithintheconstraintsoftechnicalfeasibility.

1.3. …describetheProductOwner’sroleinthevariousScrumevents.1.4. …listatleastthreepersonalqualitiesofaProductOwnerthat

supporteffectivedeliveryandvalidationofproductideas.Forexample:emotionalintelligence,collaborativeskills,motivatingteams,knowledgeofScrum,abilitytoworkandempathizewithcustomers,abilitytocommunicatedifficultdecisionsatalllevels,abilitytoworkwithinanorganizationtoremoveimpediments,abilitytosayno,businessskills,knowledgeofthecompleteproductlifecycle,abilitytoapplythe80/20rule,conflictmanagement,negotiationskills,abilitytoinfluence,abilitytomakedecisions,domainexpertise.

1.5. …identifytheimpactonaScrumTeamandorganizationofatleastthreeanti-patternsthatmightexistforProductOwnersandreportonone.Forexample:TheProductOwnerisviewedassimplyanordertaker;theProductOwnersays,“It’sallimportant,”focusingonlyonstrategyandhandingdetailsoffto

theDevelopmentTeam;leavingeverythingambiguous,lettingtheteamfigureitoutwithnoinput;tellingtheteamhowtodotheirjob.

1.6. …discussatleastthreetypesoforganizationalcontextsthataffecttheapproachtotheProductOwnerroleandreportonone.Forexample:AProductOwnerhascompleteownershipoftargetcustomer,problem,andsolution;aProductOwnerownsthedeliveryofsomeoneelse’sideaorinitiative;aProductOwnerdeliversasharedservicetootherteamsintheorganization;aProductOwnerworksonshort-termprojectsthattheyowntheoutcomefor,etc.

1.7. …explainwhyScrumasaframeworkworksforproductdevelopmentandhowtheScrumTeamdeliversproductincrements.Forexample:Discoverandevaluateareal-worldproductideawheretheoutputdeliveredasuccessfuloutcomeandusedfeedbackloopstoinspectandadaptplansforfurthervaluedelivery;DescribehowScrumreducesriskthroughinspectionandadaptationovershorttimeframes;DescribehowScrumcreatesanenvironmentwhereimperfectknowledgeand/ordecisionsareacceptablesinceScrumenableserrorcorrections.

WorkingwithStakeholders 1.8 …useatleastonetechniquetoprovidetransparencyto

stakeholdersongoalsandprogress.Forexample:releaseburn-upchart,roadmap,sprintreviews,etc.

1.9 …listatleastthreedifferentdecision-makingapproachesaProductOwnermightuse,dependingontheircontext.Forexample,ProductOwnerdecidesandinformstheteam,ProductOwnerconsultstheDevelopmentTeamand/orstakeholdersthendecides,ProductOwnerdelegatesadecision,etc.

1.10 …defineafacilitatoranddiscussatleasttwosituationswherethe

ProductOwnermightactasaneutralfacilitatorandwhentheymightuseadifferentengagementapproach.

1.11 …listonetechniqueaProductOwnercouldusewhenengagingwithstakeholderstogatherinformationorinsights(e.g.,affinitygrouping,dotvoting,fistoffive,open-endedquestions,etc.).

WorkingwiththeDevelopmentTeam 1.12 …describehowtheProductOwnercollaborateswiththe

DevelopmentTeamforactivitiessuchasdefiningdoneandbacklogcreation,refinement,andordering.

ProductOwnershipwithMultipleTeams 1.13 …listatleastthreetechniquesforvisualizing,managing,or

reducingdependenciesbetweenteams.Forexample:coordinatewithotherProductOwners,redefineproductbacklogitemstoremovedependencies,ensureproductbacklogsarevisiblysharedbetweenProductOwnersandScrumTeams.

2.DescribingPurposeandStrategy

ProductStrategy 2.1 …definethetermspurpose,vision,mission,strategy,andtactics

inrelationtothework.(Notefortrainers/coaches:Thesetermsaredebatedamongexpertsinthebusinesscommunity,sothegoalisnotto“gettherightanswer”buttohavethediscussionandagreehowthetermsmightbeusedonthelearner’steam).

2.2 …communicatethepurposeofaproductideabydescribingtheproblembeingsolved,whoismostaffectedbytheproblem,howtheteam’seffortswillimprovethesituation,andhowthatsolution’seffectivenesswillbeevaluated.

2.3 …identifyatleasttwoapproachestoidentifypurposeordefine

strategy.Forexample:co-creating,collaborating.2.4 …explainhowstrategyisimpactedfromoutsidetheScrumTeam.

Forexample:alignmentwithotherpartsofthebusiness,hiring,channelpartners,coststructure,metrics,etc.

RoadmapsandReleasePlanning 2.5 …describeatleastthreedifferentstrategiesfortheincremental

deliveryofaproduct.Forexample:opportunistic,multi-sprintreleases,fixed-dateorfixedscope,releaseeachsprint,continuousdelivery(insprint),etc.

2.6 …explainhowtocreateaprioritizedproductroadmapwithstakeholders.

2.7 …describeasolutionorfeatureasprogressivelysmalleritemsthatmaybecompletedinasprint.

3. UnderstandingCustomersandUsersCustomerResearchandProductDiscovery

3.1 …compareandcontrasttheneedsofthreekeygroups:userswhouseaproduct,customerswhobuyaproduct,andanyadditionalstakeholderswhobenefitfromtheproduct’sdeliveryanduse.

3.2 …illustrateatleastoneapproachforsegmentingcustomersandusers.Forexample:customertypes,geography,regulatorybodies.

3.3 …describeastrategyforproductprioritizationbyfocusingonspecificuser/customertypesfordiscoveryanddeliveryversusastrategyoffocusingonmultipleusersandcustomerswithoutfocus.

3.4 …describeatleastthreebenefitsandapplyatleastonetechnique

toconnectteamsdirectlytocustomersanduserstobuilddeeperunderstandingandempathy.Forexample:jobshadowing,customerinterviews,customerobservation,collaborativecustomergames,usabilitytesting,orsimulatingcustomerexperience.

3.5 …useonetechniquetodescribeusersandcustomers,theirjobs,activities,pains,andgains.Forexample:empathymapsorpersonas.

3.6 …describeatleastthreetechniquestogeneratenewproductandfeatureideas,andpracticeone.Forexample:designstudio,brainstorming,collaborativecustomergames,etc.

3.7 …describeatleastthreeaspectsofproductdiscoveryandidentifyhoweachcontributestosuccessfulproductoutcomes.Forexample:userresearch,customerexperiencedesign,interactiondesign,usabilityengineering,visualdesign.

3.8 …listatleastthreetechniquestoconnectteamsdirectlytocustomersanduserstobuilddeeperunderstandingandempathy(e.g.,jobshadowing,customerinterviews,customerobservation,collaborativecustomergames,usabilitytesting,orsimulatingcustomerexperience).

4. TestingProductAssumptions

4.1 …explainhowthesprintreviewisaneffectiveinspect-and-adaptsteptoreviewtheproductincrementbuilt,userinsights,experiments,options,andproductopportunities.

4.2 …recognizethedifferencebetweenanassumptionandahypothesis.

4.3 …describehowScrumsupportstestingproductassumptionsbyusingeachsprinttoexperimentandlearnabouttheproduct,specificprocessadaptations,andtheplanfollowed.

4.4 …discussopportunitiestotestassumptionsduringproduct

discovery,productdevelopment,anddelivery(i.e.,findtheproblem,findthesolution,producethesolution,validate).

4.5 …listatleastthreereasonswhyaProductOwnerperformsdiscoveryandvalidationwork.Forexample:thelowuserateofdeliveredfeatures,thehighfailurerateofstart-ups,theimpactofcognitivebiasondecisionmaking,complexityscience,paceofchange,riskreduction,etc.

4.6 …describeatleastoneapproachtochoosingwhichassumptionshouldbetestedfirst.Forexample,highestbusinessrisk,mostopportunityforlearning,highesttechnicalrisk,etc.

4.7 …listatleastthreeapproachestotestingassumptionsbytheircostandthequalityoflearning.Forexample:buildingapotentiallyreleasableproduct,problemandsolutionInterviews,ethnographicresearch,directuserobservation,A/Btests,concierge/WizardofOzMVPs,paperprototypes,customergames,functionalprototypes,etc.

5. WorkingwiththeProductBacklog

DifferentiatingOutcomeandOutput 5.1 …describetherelationshipbetweenoutcomeandoutputandthe

ProductOwner’sresponsibilitytomaximizevalue.Forexample,outputisameasureofwhatwasbuilt,outcomeishowthatoutputimpactsusersandcustomers,andtheresultingbusinessvaluethatthisprovides.

5.2 …describeatleastthreeattributesofaproductbacklogitemthathelpsassessmaximizingoutcomeandimpact.Forexample:whoneedsit,whydotheyneedit,howtotestit,whyitisvaluable,howlongitmighttaketobuild,etc.

DefiningValue

5.3 …definewhatvalueis(andisnot).Forexample:modeledorassumedvalue,actualvaluetocustomer,ROI,maximizinglearning,risk/derisk,acquiringnewcustomers.

5.4 …listatleasttwotechniquestomeasurevalue.Forexample:usagemetrics,NPS,customeranduserinterviews,socialmediasentiment,directobservation,ROI,profitabilityoftheproduct,inboundcustomerfeedback,etc.

5.5 …describevaluefromtheperspectiveofatleastthreedifferentstakeholdergroups.Forexample:users,businessstakeholders,orDevelopmentTeammembers.

OrderingItems

5.6 …describeatleastthreecriteriontoconsiderfororderingtheproductbacklogandapplyone.Forexample:strategicalignment,businessvalue,uservalue,learningvalue,timetomarket,estimatedcostofbuilding,risk,etc.

5.7 …applyatleastonetechniquetoordertheproductbacklog.Forexample:Kanoattributes,validatedlearning,walkingskeleton,dotvoting,Pareto(80/20rule),bubblesort,lifeboatstrategy,collaborativecustomergames.

CreatingandRefiningItems

5.8 …identifyatleastthreesourcesofproductbacklogItems.Forexample:stakeholdergroups,regulatoryrequirements,learningfromvalidation,defects,technicalconcerns,etc.

5.9 …createproductbacklogitemsthatreflectimpactanddesiredoutcome.Forexample:userstoriesandacceptancecriteria,usecases,hypotheses,BDD,systemqualities,spikes.

5.10 …describeatleastoneapproachtoaccomplishingProduct

BacklogRefinement.Forexample:weeklymeetingswiththeScrumTeam,ongoingadhocrefinementasneeded,ProductOwnerdoesthemajorityofproductbacklogrefinement.

5.11 …recognizetheprosandconsofa“just-in-time”approachforproductbacklogrefinementvs.an“all-at-once”approach.

5.12 …describeatleastthreetoolstocommunicate,clarify,andrefinetheScrumTeam’sunderstandingofproductbacklogitemsandimplementtwotools.Forexample:roadmaps,userstorymap,wireframe,usecases,flowcharts,prototypes,estimates,oracceptancecriteria.

5.13 …explainatleasttwoapproachestoidentify,small,valuable,releasable,subsetsofabigideaorfeature.Forexample:minimumviableproductrelease,releasetolearn,minimummarketablefeatures,valuableverticalslices,etc.

5.14 …describeonebenefitofdecomposinglarger,valuableproductbacklogitemsintosmaller,reprioritizeditems.Forexample,80/20rule,YAGNI.

5.15 …refinelargerproductbacklogitemsintosmalleronesthatare“Ready”tobebuiltbytheDevelopmentTeaminasprint.

ProgramTeams

StrengtheningourCertifications:

PathtoCSPandProgressiveCourses• KarimHarbott• ErikaMassie• CarltonNettleton• LisaReeder• JasonTanner• AndreasSchliep

ScrumFoundationsandCSPO,CSPOLevel2,andCSP-CSPO • PeterGreen• CatherineLouis• JeffPatton• AaronSanders• supportedbyScrumAlliancestaffLisaReederandErikaJonesMassie