By Andrew Park | 2024-10-31
In a recent conversation with Simonetta Batteiger, a seasoned product leadership and executive coach, we explored the evolving role of Agile and Scrum in product management. Simonetta, founder and CEO of Inclusive Leaders, brings over 15 years of experience in product management across multiple industries. As an advocate for inclusive leadership, she supports teams in thriving and building impactful products. This article captures insights from our discussion about how Agile and Scrum must adapt to the realities of modern product management.
Agile’s Sprint Focus Fails Product Strategy
Simonetta highlights that while Agile and Scrum have been beneficial for many organizations, they often present challenges in modern product roles. Agile’s initial focus on rapid delivery was transformative, enabling teams to move away from traditional waterfall methods and increase iteration speed. However, Simonetta notes:
“While Agile allowed teams to ship more efficiently, it doesn’t inherently prioritize strategic alignment or empower product managers to shape the broader vision of a product.”
The crux of Simonetta’s critique is the growing disconnect between Agile’s sprint-based approach and the broader responsibilities of product managers. Many organizations still view product roles primarily through a delivery-focused lens, placing immense pressure on product managers to produce outputs quickly and incrementally, often at the expense of strategic thinking and long-term planning.
“It’s not just about how to ship fast anymore; it’s about whether you’re solving the right problems and aligning them with the business’s strategic goals,” she stresses.
Moving Beyond the Product Owner: Embracing True Product Management
Simonetta emphasizes that product management should be seen as a craft that balances delivery with strategic value creation. This requires moving past the Product Owner concept in Scrum to embrace true product management, which includes discovery, research, and stakeholder alignment.
“If product managers are solely focused on churning out user stories and managing backlogs, they are missing a significant part of their role,” Simonetta asserts.
She believes that organizations should empower product managers to own both customer and business value. While Agile emphasizes customer value, it often neglects business impact, resulting in a feature factory mentality.
“Delivering value to both customers and the business should be at the core of product management,” Simonetta argues. “This requires understanding financial metrics, strategic alignment, and product vision, not just feature delivery.”
Aligning Authority and Responsibility
During our discussion, Simonetta and I both agreed that authority and responsibility must go hand-in-hand in effective product management—a fundamental axiom in leadership. In many Agile frameworks, product managers are often held responsible for outcomes but lack the authority to make key decisions that affect these results. Simonetta advocates for giving product managers the decision-making power needed to fulfill their responsibilities.
“You cannot hold product managers fully responsible for results if they don’t have the power to direct teams and allocate resources,” she explains.
As a leader, I have always coupled authority with responsibility, knowing that leading by influence alone is not effective in many situations. This approach is vital to prevent frustration for both product managers and C-level stakeholders.
Addressing Burnout and Mental Well-being
Burnout among product managers is a critical issue that Simonetta observes frequently, citing statistics that show burnout rates range between 40-60% in senior product roles.
“Product management is inherently a high-pressure role, but when compounded by a lack of decision-making power and a relentless focus on delivery, it becomes unsustainable,” she explains.
To mitigate burnout, Simonetta suggests delegating tasks like user story writing, backlog management, and bug prioritization to roles such as business analysts or senior developers. This allows product managers to concentrate on strategic tasks like vision-setting, stakeholder alignment, and understanding market dynamics.
“You have to be ruthless about what’s on your plate,” she advises. “It’s okay to delegate, pause, or even stop doing certain tasks if they no longer serve your strategic priorities.”
Since 2004, I have implemented a similar approach across our software teams, having senior developers take on these tasks, which has significantly reduced the workload for product managers. My upcoming book, Product Oriented Software Engineering (POSE), will provide detailed guidance on how other organizations can do the same.
The Future of Agile and Product Management
Simonetta believes that the future of Agile in product management requires a shift toward a product-oriented delivery model—one that integrates strategic discovery, user research, and business outcomes. While Agile’s focus on delivery can be useful, it falls short in enabling product managers to drive both customer and business value; a product-oriented delivery model is necessary to address these gaps.
“It’s not about throwing out Agile, but rather evolving it to include strategic dimensions that it originally didn’t address,” she clarifies.
This shift demands organizational change, not just individual efforts.
“You can’t expect a single product manager to implement systemic change alone,” Simonetta notes. “Leaders must support this evolution by creating a culture that values both delivery and strategic thinking.”
Simonetta underscores the importance of rethinking software development practices:
“We need to move from a purely process-driven approach to one that balances art and process—where product craft is valued alongside delivery.”
Conclusion
Simonetta Batteiger’s insights challenge organizations to rethink their approach to Agile and Scrum within product management. By empowering product managers with the right balance of authority and responsibility, emphasizing strategic value creation, and addressing burnout, organizations can create more sustainable and effective product management practices. As Simonetta puts it:
“Agile is evolving, and so must we. It’s time to reimagine Agile, not as a fixed framework, but as a living process that adapts to the complexities of modern product management.”
Further Reading: Product Oriented Software Engineering (POSE)
If you’re interested in exploring these themes further, my upcoming book Product Oriented Software Engineering (POSE) offers a comprehensive guide to reducing the day-to-day workload of product managers. By equipping product managers with the tools to focus on strategic goals, POSE emphasizes collaboration with engineers who possess both domain knowledge and software craftsmanship. This approach adapts Agile and DevOps to better meet your team’s needs, creating high-performing teams driven by talent and teamwork. Learn more at edensoftlabs.com/book.
