Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
I just attended a course, promoted by linkedln, in which it is argued that the agile business analyst can replace the product owner and the agile coach
What is your opinion on this topic? Saving Changes...
Depending on their background and competencies, a person in any role could theoretically take on a different role.
However, in practice, while I have seen seasoned BAs who have deep domain experience in a particular product area become the PO, I have yet to see a BA become an agile coach unless they have had the benefit of developing sufficient depth and breadth in their toolkit of practices, behaviors and experiences to be able to effectively coach at different levels of the organization and in different contexts.
I'd say the writer of the course might not fully appreciate what an agile coach is expected to do...
Kiron
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jul 22, 2023 9:12 AM
Luis Branco
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Dear Kiron
Thank you for participating in this reflection
The proposal is that, in an agile team, there is only the Business Analyst and the development team
Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Jul 22, 2023 8:20 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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Luis -
Depending on their background and competencies, a person in any role could theoretically take on a different role.
However, in practice, while I have seen seasoned BAs who have deep domain experience in a particular product area become the PO, I have yet to see a BA become an agile coach unless they have had the benefit of developing sufficient depth and breadth in their toolkit of practices, behaviors and experiences to be able to effectively coach at different levels of the organization and in different contexts.
I'd say the writer of the course might not fully appreciate what an agile coach is expected to do...
Kiron
Dear Kiron
Thank you for participating in this reflection
The proposal is that, in an agile team, there is only the Business Analyst and the development team
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1 reply by Kiron Bondale
Jul 23, 2023 8:36 AM
Kiron Bondale
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I'm also not a fan of combining the role of PO and agile lead which seems to be implied in your response about the proposal. Too much opportunity for conflict of interest, bias and capacity issues...
This is the reality in many startup companies where the founder plays the PO and team lead roles simultaneously but beyond that embryonic situation you'd want to separate them...
A defining feature of the PO is accountability for decisions about the product. The official Scrum Guide goes so far as to say: "For Product Owners to succeed, the entire organization must respect their decisions". So the person suited to fulfill that role is likely to be determined by the model of accountability within the organization. It's also worth bearing in mind that BA's are often used to working within the limited-term scope of a project. Product owners typically require a wider remit: ongoing ownership of product development regardless of what projects (if any) are active at any one time.
The best agile teams are to some degree cross-functional and therefore the entire team can be responsible for business analysis. Designating one person alone as being responsible for both analysis and prioritisation doesn't seem very realistic if the team is larger than, say, three people.
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jul 24, 2023 3:46 PM
Luis Branco
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Dear David
Thank you for participating in this exchange of views.
If we analyze well what the agile business analyst and the product owner do, we will see that there is a great redundancy in what they both do.
Or is it me who is misinterpreting the proposal contained in:
https://www.iiba.org/globalassets/certific...ompetencies.pdf
Dear Kiron
Thank you for participating in this reflection
The proposal is that, in an agile team, there is only the Business Analyst and the development team
I'm also not a fan of combining the role of PO and agile lead which seems to be implied in your response about the proposal. Too much opportunity for conflict of interest, bias and capacity issues...
This is the reality in many startup companies where the founder plays the PO and team lead roles simultaneously but beyond that embryonic situation you'd want to separate them...
Kiron
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jul 24, 2023 5:31 AM
Luis Branco
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Dear Kiron When i think about it, what you wrote makes sense.
Saving Changes...
Pankaj PaliwalProject & Program Manager| CencoraPune, Maharashtra, India
Hello Luis -
I am somewhat agree with @Kiron that with the increase in the domain knowledge & experience, a BA probably became a PO, which means he can replace with PO, but relacing the agile coach is still a question.
Agile coach is a quite different role than a BA, might be Scrum Master became an Agile coach.
Regards Pankaj
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jul 24, 2023 5:32 AM
Luis Branco
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Dear Pankaj Thank you for participating in our exchange of opinions. When i think about it, what you wrote makes sense.
Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
BA and PO are different roles and serve different purposes.
PO is an agent of the organisation, with decision authority on requirements, priorities, and sufficiency of results.
BA is a process specialist analysing a business problem, preparing decisions and offering options.
I would argue not to combine these roles, as the person proposing a solution should not decide on it.
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jul 24, 2023 5:30 AM
Luis Branco
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Dear Thomas
Thank you for participating in this exchange of views.
If we analyze well what the agile business analyst and the product owner do, we will see that there is a great redundancy in what they both do.
From the point of view of organizational management, taking into account the overlapping activities carried out by both functions, is the existence of both justified?
Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Jul 24, 2023 4:18 AM
Replying to Thomas Walenta
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BA and PO are different roles and serve different purposes.
PO is an agent of the organisation, with decision authority on requirements, priorities, and sufficiency of results.
BA is a process specialist analysing a business problem, preparing decisions and offering options.
I would argue not to combine these roles, as the person proposing a solution should not decide on it.
Dear Thomas
Thank you for participating in this exchange of views.
If we analyze well what the agile business analyst and the product owner do, we will see that there is a great redundancy in what they both do.
From the point of view of organizational management, taking into account the overlapping activities carried out by both functions, is the existence of both justified?
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1 reply by Thomas Walenta
Jul 24, 2023 9:12 AM
Thomas Walenta
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Dear Luis,
not sure what an agile BA is, only heard about BA, either from PMI or IIBA (which share similarities).
A BA would typically be involved in business problems and produce a business case with options for decision. Later the BA would support in testing and Go Live. BAs may work on different problems at a time. BAs understand the enterprise architecture and make sure that products follow it.
PO indeed is mostly seen as an agile role and they are in charge of one product.
Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Jul 23, 2023 8:36 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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I'm also not a fan of combining the role of PO and agile lead which seems to be implied in your response about the proposal. Too much opportunity for conflict of interest, bias and capacity issues...
This is the reality in many startup companies where the founder plays the PO and team lead roles simultaneously but beyond that embryonic situation you'd want to separate them...
Kiron
Dear Kiron When i think about it, what you wrote makes sense. Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Jul 23, 2023 8:55 AM
Replying to Pankaj Paliwal
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Hello Luis -
I am somewhat agree with @Kiron that with the increase in the domain knowledge & experience, a BA probably became a PO, which means he can replace with PO, but relacing the agile coach is still a question.
Agile coach is a quite different role than a BA, might be Scrum Master became an Agile coach.
Regards Pankaj
Dear Pankaj Thank you for participating in our exchange of opinions. When i think about it, what you wrote makes sense. Saving Changes...
Hello Luis B.
yes business analyst can become Product Owner, and vice-versa.
Different perspective,
In complex and long projects, BA can backup PO, in weekly status meetings during vacations, like the days we are passing by. In case PO is in holidays, BA can back up their decisions, actions, etc. Note that BA activities can, and much care are, assured by the project manager
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jul 24, 2023 1:00 PM
Luis Branco
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Dear Tiago
Thank you for participating with your opinion in our exchange of opinions.
When we are talking about agile business analysis, the activities performed by the PO and the Business Analyst are practically the same. Having the 2 functions for the same project is being redundant, that is, it is not justified
