From Jira Jockey to Value Creation Mastermind
TLDR; The backlog shouldn't be a list of chores. Move from being a "Jira Jockey" to a Value Mastermind by writing hypotheses instead of recipes. If the entire squad owns the outcome, not just the output, we stop completing tasks and start delivering actual results. Take the Coach's Challenge this week and see how you can help your squad be even better at creating value.
If you have been paying attention, you know I have talked about the fact that your "Done" column might be a cemetery for work that doesn't really matter. If we are serious about outcomes over output, the Product Owner and Squad Members must continue to evolve.
For too long, we have leaned on the PO role to be our Jira Jockey. They spend their days formatting tickets and reorganizing the backlog to accommodate the most recent urgent request. They make sure there are plenty of stories and tasks to keep everyone busy.
This is a waste of talent.
Our purpose is ultimately to serve customers. We have to stay focused on what is most important all the time. We need to be sure the things we are working on in every moment are the things that cause a shopper to say "I will take it," or a current customer to say "Wow, that was great!"
We need to move from role-focused administration of tasks to being a team of Value Creating Masterminds.
From Recipes to Hypotheses
I recently talked about the difference between writing "recipes" (telling the team exactly
When you write a recipe, you have already decided the solution. You are just telling the team which ingredients to stir. This kills engagement. It turns a group of brilliant marketers, analysts, engineers, designers, and testers into short-order cooks. A Value Mastermind does not write recipes—they write hypotheses!
The Old Way:
"As a PO, I want a Save for Later button so shoppers can store items in the cart." (Or worse: "Create a Save for Later button on the shopping cart screen. Make it blue and put it in the upper right hand corner.")
The Value Creation Mastermind Way:
"As a shopper, I want to bookmark items in the cart, so that I can come back later and finish my shopping. As a product team, we expect this will reduce our 40 percent drop-off rate and increase return-shopper conversion by 10 percent."
The first is a task to be checked off. The second is a mission. It gives the team the user intent and the target, but leaves the "how" open for the experts to figure out.
The Squad Masterminds Too
To be clear, this responsibility does not sit solely on the PO. I see too many people wait for a story to drop into their laps before they start thinking. In a healthy squad, the backlog is not a private To-Do List owned by the PO.
Every person on the team has a responsibility to contribute ideas to that pile. If an engineer sees a way to simplify a workflow, that belongs in the backlog. If a tester spots friction that might hurt the outcome, they need to voice it.
Our backlog is not where the PO explains the work to the team. Our backlog is where the squad keeps their list of problems to rip apart and solve. The PO masterminds the best order in which to solve those problems. The team masterminds the quickest, leanest way to prove or disprove the hypothesis.
Shared Accountability
What if we stopped saying the PO is responsible for the "what" and the team is responsible for the "how"? That divide is nice and clean, but it stifles the creativity and knowledge on the team.
What if, instead, we started saying that the whole squad is accountable for the outcome?
The PO channels the team's creativity, skill, and knowledge toward that shared goal. The squad uses that creativity, skill, and knowledge to make (and test) things that help us achieve that shared goal.
- If we complete our tasks on time but the metric does not move, we failed together.
- If the team finds a shortcut that gets the result in half the time, we all won together.
When we're all in it together, any time someone finds a faster way or fixes an issue, we all benefit. It is no longer about finishing a list of chores. It is about moving the needle for the people using our solutions.
Be A SME And Help The Value Flow
A hypothesis is only as good as the expertise behind it. Being a Value Mastermind means leaning into your role as a Subject Matter Expert (SME). When the PO presents a problem, they aren't just looking for a "yes." They are looking for your expertise to:
- Expose Dependencies: "If we change the cart logic, it impacts the legacy checkout API. We need to account for that now, not in three weeks."
- Optimize the Path: "We don't need a full rebuild to test this; we can use the existing microservice to prove the value in half the time."
Taking accountability means you aren't just a passenger on the timeline. You are the one helping to shape it by breaking down work into lean, deliverable chunks that mitigate risk early.
🎯 Coach’s Challenge For The PO and Squad
At an upcoming Retrospective (maybe even your next one!) take a look at your current backlog.
- Who wrote most of the stories there?
- Are the stories recipes or problems to solve?
- What results are each of those stories supposed to bring? (Not what things they will create, but what value they will deliver.)
If the team reviews the backlog and cannot clearly see how it maps to an overarching goal, then there is an opportunity to improve. Once you have determined there are improvements to make, look at the behaviors that brought the squad to this point. Fix that, and you are on the road to exceeding your objectives.
🧠Coach’s Challenge For All Of Us
Book yourself 15 minutes on your calendar and reflect about the last couple of weeks. Regardless of role, ask yourself:
- Do I spend more time thinking about what "I'm" doing or what "We're" doing?
- How many times have I volunteered to do something that wasn't a part of my job description?
- When was the last time I helped someone I support do something that isn't my "role"?
Are you specifically staying in your "swim lane" or looking for ways to help? If so, why? What's stopping you from leaning in to do whatever it takes to help your squad, team, or partners achieve your shared goals?
If you have questions about this, how to get started, or what to do next—your coach can help you work through some ideas on how to be more effective and efficient together. What's stopping you?
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