Product owner in nexus vs scrum framework

In Scrum there is one Product Owner and one Product Backlog for one product. Scrum Teams working on the same product will integrate their work in the same Nexus and thereby provide value to the same Product Owner. The situation is no more complicated than that.

Whether you practice SCRUM or Scrum with Nexus, there should be only one Product Backlog and a Single Product Owner. So when Scrum Guide defined the Scrum team on page 4, they defined keeping in mind of only one team. When the Scrum Guide states Multiple Scrum Teams on page 13, it means multiple Dev teams and if required one or more Scrum Masters, however only one Product Owner across all.

Page 5 of Scrum Guide says 'The Product Owner is one person, not a committee.' so it is always one.

Nexus is in-line with that, so it is the same product Owner and it is only one irrespective of how many Scrum teams along with Nexus Integration team you have. One product owner for one product backlog is the concept.

Pankaj

Ian, Pankaj, what to do if a product is so complex, that 10-20 teams are working on it? For a PO it's almost impossible to cover all that. Should the Product be split into sub-products with separate POs? But then what are the recommendations for interlock of multiple POs of interdependent products?

If a product is very large and complex it may no longer be practical to abstract general guidelines. However, managing the product by organizing it into sub-products, each with a Product Owner and an overall architecture which allows the independent development and delivery of those products, is a reasonable approach. At scale the challenge is always to minimize dependencies between teams, and to mitigate integration risks by automating as much of the build pipeline as possible.

In Scrum there is one Product Owner and one Product Backlog for one product. Scrum Teams working on the same product will integrate their work in the same Nexus and thereby provide value to the same Product Owner. The situation is no more complicated than that.

I think it is more complicated then this since I missed passing the Nexus test by one question.    And when you have to pick 2 answers to this question, and the three other answers seemed to move away from this position.   Frustrating.  And yes I am venting :)     

I think if the product is too complex.one product owner can delegate work to other product owners , on the basis of functionalities etc.

Also how much feasible it is for one product owner to manage more than 1 product say 5?

With just one PO for multiple teams it feels to my like the individual teams lose a crucial team member.

One of my favourite things in scrum/agile is the collaboration between business and devs as one team.  For standups, planning, refinement, retros... and general day-to-day collaboration, how does a team work without that PO role in the team?  Big gap, I think.

Could it be a case of one senior PO to own the overall backlog, then junior POs in each team?

One of my favourite things in scrum/agile is the collaboration between business and devs as one team.  For standups, planning, refinement, retros... and general day-to-day collaboration, how does a team work without that PO role in the team?  Big gap, I think.

There is no need for a PO to attend the daily Scrum.

As for plannings, refinements and retros: Yes, you absolutely need the PO for these. Since we're talking about Nexus, I suggest you check out the Nexus Guide to see how it works. Because the PO isn't missing in Nexus ;)

Hello, folks!

I'm starting to look more into the Nexus Framework and I do have some questions regarding the Product Owner role. I totally understand that we just need a PO if you have only a single product, but my question is: how should I coordinate the Sprint Planning Meetings and the Retrospective Meetings?

I understand that we have the Nexus Sprint Planning and Nexus Retrospective before the individual meetings. So, should the PO be in all of those individuals? If so, I'm thinking that one meeting will happen after the other so that the PO can be with all the teams.

I appreciate your help to clarify my question.

Thanks,

Marcelo 

I understand that we have the Nexus Sprint Planning and Nexus Retrospective before the individual meetings. So, should the PO be in all of those individuals? If so, I'm thinking that one meeting will happen after the other so that the PO can be with all the teams.

That might be one way of self-organizing the arrangements. However, since the PO ought to be aware of how much time he/she spends with the various teams, and the context of any issues, it would not be unreasonable for a PO just to spend as much time with each team as they think best.

Ian, hello!

Thanks for your answer.

I liked your approach. To be with the teams that require more attention, maybe. Ok. I'll think about it.

Thanks again.

Have a great day

Marcelo

I think it is more complicated then this since I missed passing the Nexus test by one question.    And when you have to pick 2 answers to this question, and the three other answers seemed to move away from this position.   Frustrating.  And yes I am venting :)

Are you referring to the Nexus Open or to the actual SPS exam?  If the latter, how do you know you failed that question, as you do not receive that level of feedback?

@Ian I have read your answer below to Marcelo and it still doesn't make sense to me. If you only have 1 product owner for 9 teams, how would that product owner be part / collaborate  with each team ? Are you suggesting that the relationship between the PO and each team will only depend of the "issues" they are having ? So that PO would only spend time / come to see a team when they have issues ?

In scrum, it says the PO's participation to retrospective is mandatory. In Nexus, that would mean that we need to organise our calendar to the PO's to allow him to participate to individual retrospective ?

That might be one way of self-organizing the arrangements. However, since the PO ought to be aware of how much time he/she spends with the various teams, and the context of any issues, it would not be unreasonable for a PO just to spend as much time with each team as they think best.

In scrum, it says the PO's participation to retrospective is mandatory. In Nexus, that would mean that we need to organise our calendar to the PO's to allow him to participate to individual retrospective ?

Correct. How the PO makes best use of that time is up to him or her.

It's important to bear in mind that membership in the Nexus Integration Team takes precedence over individual Scrum Team membership. If that creates a problem for a team then that's something the team needs to solve.