What expectation should a product owner have regarding their workload over time?

A product owner should anticipate that the demands on their time will fluctuate over the course of a project. This expectation is rooted in the agile principles of iterative development and responsiveness to change.

In agile environments, the product owner plays a critical role by managing the product backlog, engaging with stakeholders, and ensuring that the team is delivering valuable products. As new requirements emerge, priorities shift, and stakeholder feedback is integrated, the workload may vary. There will be times of high activity, such as during sprint planning or backlog refinement sessions, and other times when the demands may be lower as the team focuses on implementation.

It’s essential for a product owner to be flexible and adaptive to these changing demands, as they reflect the dynamic nature of software development in an agile context. Understanding that the workload will not remain static helps the product owner manage their time effectively and prioritize tasks to align with the overall goals of the project.

Thus, preparing for fluctuations ensures that the product owner can maintain productivity and support the team in delivering high-quality outputs.