A Scrum Master is coaching a new Product Owner who is struggling to prioritize the Product Backlog. The PO currently orders items based solely on stakeholder requests, without considering implementation effort or dependencies. What advice should the Scrum Master offer to help the Product Owner improve Product Backlog ordering?
- AEncourage the Product Owner to delegate prioritization to the Developers, as they understand the technical effort.
- BAdvise the Product Owner to collaborate with the Developers to consider effort, dependencies, and risk alongside value.
- CSuggest the Product Owner only prioritize items that can be completed within a single Sprint to ensure delivery.
- DInstruct the Product Owner to gather more detailed requirements from all stakeholders before ordering any items.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Advise the Product Owner to collaborate with the Developers to consider effort, dependencies, and risk alongside value.
While the Product Owner is solely responsible for ordering the Product Backlog, effective ordering requires collaboration with the Developers. The Developers provide insights into effort, dependencies, and technical risk, which the Product Owner must consider alongside business value to make informed prioritization decisions.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Delegating prioritization entirely to Developers usurps the Product Owner's accountability for maximizing value.
- C. While making items small enough for a Sprint is good practice, limiting prioritization *only* to Sprint-sized items would prevent long-term planning and strategic initiatives.
- D. Gathering *more* detailed requirements upfront can lead to excessive analysis paralysis and delayed delivery, going against Scrum's empirical approach. Refinement is ongoing.
Product Backlog Ordering Factors
The Product Owner is responsible for ordering the Product Backlog to maximize the value of the product. This ordering considers not only business value but also factors like effort, dependencies, risk, and urgency, often in collaboration with the Developers.
- PO is accountable for ordering.
- Collaborates with Developers for estimates and insights.
- Considers value, effort, dependencies, risk, urgency.
Memory trick: Ordering Needs Value, Effort, and Team Wisdom.