What are product goals, and why did The Scrum Guide come up with them so late?
There is more than one type of goal that your product teams typically work on. In 2020, the Scrum Guide started mentioning product goals on top of the well-known sprint goals. Why is it so important to distinguish between the two? Read on to find out.
Table of contents
In Scrum, the work of a product development team is organized into short, regular iterations called sprints. Each sprint typically takes between one to four weeks and has a specific goal that should be achieved during that time. The sprint goal should be an introduction to the planning phase as it gives insight into what the Scrum team is working on. Therefore, it must be created at the latest by the end of the planning phase. Sometimes such a goal is determined by the product owner, and sometimes, it is built on the basis of product backlog Items selected for the sprint (aka user stories).
As the Developers work during the Sprint, they keep the Sprint Goal in mind.
– explains the guide.
However, in the 2020 edition of the Scrum Guide, one more type of goal was introduced, namely – a product goal.
What is a product goal in Scrum?
As the Scrum Guide reveals, “The Product Goal describes a future state of the product which can serve as a target for the Scrum Team to plan against.” In other words, a product goal is a long-term objective for the end product. It should provide a clear and concise description of what the product team must achieve in the long run.
The product goal is a part of the product backlog, and it’s the product owner’s responsibility to ‘develop and explicitly communicate“ it to the Scrum team. According to the Scrum Guide, the team discusses the most important product backlog items and ensures they align to the product goal, i.e. they define what’s necessary to fulfill it.
Can the product goal be changed? Yes, because in Scrum everything is in flux, especially if the team working on a new product gains new insights or stumbles onto new challenges. When this happens, the whole team should make an effort to change the product goal and inform all the stakeholders about the change and the reasons behind it. However, the product owner always maintains ownership of the product goal.
How are product goals different from sprint goals?
As the guide explains, product goals lead the work of the Scrum team throughout the whole product development process. Sprint goals, on the other hand, are short-term objectives designed exclusively for a single sprint. Each sprint has a different goal, so they differ throughout the process. Sprint goals help your team stay on track with work, and they generally direct the team toward the product goal.
How are product goals different from a product vision?
While the Scrum Guide doesn’t mention the product vision at all, we can say it’s a general, high-level statement of what the end product should be. The product vision is essential to make sure the end product will fulfill the client’s expectations and needs.
Product goals are more explicit, and they explain the product’s future. Ideally, product goals should be in line with the SMART framework, i.e. sustainable, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based.
Understanding product goals with example
Let’s use a fictional example of a company that wants to develop a digital platform for psychologists and therapists in Germany. It’s a complex idea, so the work needs to be well-organized and divided into stages. What would the product vision, product goals, and sprint goals be in this example?
Product vision:
To be the leading online platform for people seeking psychological help in Germany.
Product goals:
- To launch within the next 6 months a mobile-friendly website that allows patients to seek psychological help in Germany.
- To Increase user engagement via the iOS mobile app by 20% within the next 3 months.
Sprint goals for product goal 1:
- Sprint goal 1: Implementation of a smart notifications feature.
- Sprint goal 2: Implementation of an online meeting feature.
- Sprint goal 3: Implementation of a payment feature.
Once all three sprint goals have been completed, product goal 1 has been fulfilled.
Sprint goals for product goal 2:
- Sprint goal 1: Implementation of mobile push notifications.
- Sprint goal 2: Implementation of a mobile payment gate.
- Sprint goal 3: Publication of the app in the App Store.
Once all three sprint goals have been completed, product goal 2 has been fulfilled.
Why does your team need a product goal on top of sprint goals?
The product goal is an essential aspect of Scrum, as it ensures that everyone on the team is working towards the same objective. We can say that the product goal bridges the gap between sprint planning and the product vision. It guides the team’s work and helps them deliver the expected value both to the client and the product’s end users.
What are the benefits of defining product goals?
We can distinguish at least four essential benefits of having such goals. They are all related to the way your team works and progresses toward the end product:
- Unified work: The whole team can work in unity to achieve a common goal.
- Keeping everyone up to speed: Product goals are essential when communicating the scope of work to clients and stakeholders. They keep them up to speed with where the product development process is headed.
- Improved decision-making process: Product goals help the team prioritize work and make informed decisions that are in line with what needs to be achieved.
- Effective progress measurement: Since product goals have to be measurable, achieving them is a good indication that the Scrum team works effectively.
Why did the Scrum Guide come up with product goals so late?
The Scrum Guide has undergone several updates and modifications over the years. Each new version was better adjusted to Scrum teams’ needs. In the 2020 edition, the Scrum Guide introduced the concept of a product goal in order to bring more clarity to the product development teams using this publication.
However, in real life, Scrum teams have been pretty much always using product goals as a natural and intuitive part of the product development process. Including them in the Scrum Guide at some point was inevitable.
Defining product goals is a natural step in the product development process, enabling us to keep everything on the right track. While product goals are the responsibility of the product owner, the whole team should participate in working on them and making sure the work progresses in line with them. Such an approach to product development makes work more organized and effective.
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