The Decisive Product Owner - One of the characteristics of the great product owners is a willingness and ability to be decisive. But that is sometimes easier said than done. Geoff Watts, the author of Scrum Mastery, The Coach’s Casebook and now Product Mastery, will explore some of the psychology behind making decisions and share some tools and techniques that you can apply to help you become a more effective decision maker.

1. The Decisive Product Owner
Geoff Watts

2. Great Product Owners are DRIVEN
• Decisive with incomplete
information.
• Ruthless about maximizing
value and minimizing risk.
• Informed about your
product’s domain.
• Versatile in your leadership
style.
• Empowering of project
stakeholders.
• Negotiable while you pursue
your vision.

3. Decide and Delay
Good product owners delay when they can.
Great product owners decide when they must.

4. “Nothing is more
difficult, and therefore
more precious, than to
be able to decide.”
- Napoleon Bonaparte

5. Meet Kenny…
Kenny is a product owner.
Kenny needs to make a
decision.
Kenny doesn’t have all the
information.
Does Kenny…
Decide or delay?

7. Paralysing
Procrastination
• Overwhelming amount of
options or information
• Fear of failure
• Perfectionism
• Lack of assertiveness

8. Iyengar & Lepper
6 jams – 30% chose one
24 jams – 97% chose NONE
“When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?” (2000)

14. It’s easy to say “no”
to things when you
have a bigger “YES!”
burning inside.
YES/NOT NOW
Stephen R. Covey

15. Decide Where To Focus

16. Decide When To Decide

17. Decide When To Decide

19. Decide To Make It Easy

20. “He [Yutaka Taniyama]
made a lot of mistakes.
But he made mistakes in
a good direction. I tried
to imitate him. But I’ve
realised that it’s very
difficult to make good
mistakes.”
- Goro Shimura

21. Good Product Owners avoid bad
mistakes.
Great Product Owners make
good mistakes quickly.

22. • Are made in good faith, in the pursuit of doing the
right thing for the product rather than the easy
decision or the fear of making the wrong decision.
• Allow us to find out what works and what doesn’t
work quickly and cheaply.
• Keep as many options open to us as possible for as
long as possible.
• Reduce the risks in the project early.
Good mistakes:

23. Decide To Be Brave

24. Decide To Be Brave

25. Decide To Believe In Yourself

26. Simple?

27. Decide Not To Do It Alone

28. Decide How To Decide

29. Think of Something You Need To Decide…
• What is your ”bigger yes”?
• Is it safe to assume a perfect decision is
impossible?
• When is the last responsible moment?
• How could you reduce the number of options?
• What are you assuming will happen if your
decision turns out to be incorrect? Which of
those assumptions are probably wrong?
• Whose advice would be useful to you?
• Whose advice have you so far ignored?
• Why are you worthy of more trust than you are
currently giving yourself?

30. Great Product Owners are DRIVEN
to be Decisive
•Courage
•Self-Awareness
•Confidence
•Humility

31. Geoff Watts
geoff@inspectandadapt.com
@geoffcwatts