Product owners and library IT services

By Karen Estlund, associate dean for Technology and Digital Strategies

When I first arrived as a new associate dean in the Libraries, I conducted SWOT analyses with several departments. One of the outcomes was an evaluation of the many applications that we support through Libraries IT, and a desire for wider input and ownership throughout the libraries was expressed by all. At the same time, the University Libraries’ website migration also offers us an appropriate opportunity to formalize ownership and receive broader input for important functional sections of the Libraries’ website.

To address this, we’re experimenting with a concept from the Scrum Agile software development framework, the role of “product owners.”1

What is a product owner?

A product owner is the person who is accountable for an IT service, application or product’s success. They are the liaison between the IT team and the stakeholders. Product owners are the folks that make decisions about directions for a service. They also are then accountable for demonstrating success and notification of failures so that resources can be redirected and/or problems addressed. As part of this role, they also are responsible for helping to select tools / technologies to solve problems and work collaboratively with the IT team.

A product owner should be both empowered and accountable.

What are product owner responsibilities? 2

  • Representing the voice of the patrons/users
  • Understanding and delivering on ROI or cost/benefit (through assessment)
  • Managing communication and cooperation among stakeholders
  • Facilitating content provision from content providers or delegating role as appropriate
  • Maintaining communication with the technical team
  • Making rapid tactical development decisions if they impact functionality or usability
    Participating in technical release planning
  • Writing user stories and functional scenarios
  • Maintaining product backlog (a list) of the product’s feature / issue requests
  • Helping the team to estimate development time for each functional scenario with the technical lead
  • Participating in periodic feature development review meetings and providing feedback to the team
  • Monitoring progress and making ongoing adjustments based on larger strategic objectives

productowner

Why are product owners being introduced into our culture?

By introducing product owners in the Libraries, we hope to accomplish the following goals:

  • Disperse ownership of and responsibility for technology services throughout the libraries
  • Eliminate languishing applications
  • Increase stakeholder input

How are product owners being rolled out in the Libraries?

Product ownership in the Libraries is an experimental and evolving process. The first identified service to use a product owner was LibGuides as a discrete entity, and the timing from migration to sustained product fit the bill. Rebecca Miller, Head of Library Learning Services, was identified as the LibGuides product owner and has worked with I-Tech, assessment, and stakeholders to explore how this process may unfold. Other high-priority projects, such as the Libraries website and digital collections, have been identified as areas where product owners may help solidify directions and responsibilities going forward.

We are still learning how this approach will evolve and hope to gain experience from these instances before rolling out for all Libraries IT products and services.

In some cases, individuals throughout the Libraries already have been serving as product owners, and this process is an affirmation of those responsibilities. Jill Shockey’s role as the product owner for News & Events within the Libraries’ website is one example.

We also identified product owners of large IT services, and took advantage of an opportunity that Penn State ITS arranged, and sent a few people to product owner certification training. They included Ben Goldman for digital preservation services, Rob Olendorf for data management, and Tara LaLonde for GIS/spatial data web-embedded services.

It is important to note that product ownership takes a significant amount of time and responsibilities and should be integrated into the job description and goals of a product owner.

Who are current Libraries product owners?

The list of identified product owners is available on the Libraries’ Staff Site (intranet).

How can I learn more?

Stay tuned for an upcoming Tech Forum, April 12 at 1:30 pm, where I will lead a discussion on product owner strategies and a vision for how product ownership may influence our IT services.

What’s next?

We are formalizing what it means to be a product owner in the libraries and seeking feedback from those who are starting out in this role. We’re also excited to work together in new training efforts for assessment and writing user stories, which may have interest beyond “product owners” and will be broadly advertised. These are very pivotal collaborative roles that bridge the library stakeholders, IT, campus community, and users to ensure a successful product. By working in this collaborative environment, we hope to expand technology responsibilities across the libraries, knowing that working together and trusting expertise, we will better serve our users.


1Adapted from: Kaminski, Andre. “The Mythical Product Owner.” Pragmatic Marketing. http://pragmaticmarketing.com/resources/the-mythical-product-owner
2Pichler, Roman. (2010 Dec. 15) “The Product Owner on One Page.” Scrum Alliance. https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2010/december/the-product-owner-on-one-page