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Get Started as Product Owner

As a product owner, you define product vision, prioritize work, and ensure teams deliver maximum value to customers. This overview walks you through the essential workflow: populating your backlog, organizing work items, collaborating with teams, and tracking delivery progress.

note

Digital.ai Agility uses "sprint" and "iteration" interchangeably to refer to fixed time periods for development work. Similarly, "story" and "backlog item" both refer to units of work to be delivered.

You're ready when you can​

Use these success indicators to verify you've set up backlog management correctly:

Backlog readiness ✅

  • You can see all stories for your product in one place
  • The top 10 stories have clear titles and descriptions
  • High-priority stories have acceptance criteria defined
  • Team can understand what needs to be built from story descriptions

Prioritization confidence ✅

  • You can drag-and-drop stories to reorder by business value
  • Stories are ranked from highest to lowest priority
  • Team knows which stories to work on first
  • You can explain why top stories are prioritized that way

Sprint planning readiness ✅

  • Enough stories have estimates for 2-3 sprints of work
  • Team understands estimation approach (points vs. hours)
  • You can participate in sprint planning with confidence
  • Team velocity is tracked and visible in reports

Stakeholder communication ✅

  • You can show release progress using burndown charts
  • Portfolio items link to strategic themes
  • Roadmap timeline reflects current priorities
  • You can answer "when will feature X be ready?"

Where to find help:

  • Navigation: Click hamburger menu Hamburger icon > Product > Backlog to see all work items
  • Reordering: Drag stories up/down in backlog grid to change priority
  • Estimates: Click story, add value in "Estimate" or "Story Points" field
  • Reports: Click hamburger menu > Reports > All Reports > Release Burndown

Permission requirements:

  • View backlog: Requires at least Team Member role on the project
  • Edit and prioritize stories: Requires Product Owner or Project Admin role
  • Create releases: Requires Project Admin or higher permissions
  • Configure custom fields: Requires System Admin permissions

Troubleshooting:

  • Can't reorder stories? You may need Product Owner role. Contact your administrator to verify your project role.
  • Can't see all projects? You only see projects where you're a member. Ask your administrator to add you to additional projects.
  • Missing features? Some capabilities require Agility Pro or Premium editions. See Understand Agility Editions for feature availability.

Step 1: Populate your backlog​

Add stories, backlog items, and defects to your project backlog:

  1. Import stories in bulk from Excel spreadsheets.
  2. Click the + (Create) button in the top toolbar to add individual items.
  3. Click Add Story in any backlog grid.
  4. Use the quick add option in your TeamRoom backlog view.

Step 2: Organize and rank items​

Arrange stories so teams know what to work on and in what order:

  1. Drag and drop items to prioritize (move valuable items to the top).
  2. Create portfolio items for large features spanning multiple sprints.
  3. Use themes or feature groups to segment your backlog into functional slices.
  4. Enter items directly into backlog grids.

Step 3: Add estimates​

Provide estimates to help teams prioritize and plan:

  1. Add story points or other estimates to each backlog item.
  2. Use Estimably for collaborative estimation sessions.
  3. Review estimates before release planning.
  4. Help teams create realistic sprint plans.

Step 4: Capture acceptance criteria​

Define acceptance tests to verify complete functionality delivery:

  1. Add tests using Story Planner view (Edit > Plan Story).
  2. View existing tests on TestBoard or Detail Tracking view.
  3. Click the Tests summary on item details.
  4. Use Manage Relationships to access the Tests grid.

Step 5: Collaborate with teams​

Stay connected with your team's work:

  1. Use Conversations in your TeamRoom for questions and discussions
  2. Create Communities to share agreements and best practices
  3. Run Estimably estimation games with your team

Step 6: Track progress​

Monitor delivery with these reports:

  1. Release Burndown for release progress
  2. Project Dashboard for comprehensive views
  3. PlanningRoom for portfolio progress tracking
  4. Portfolio Tree, Portfolio Kanban Board, and Roadmap Timeline

Step 7: Search for work items​

Find work items quickly using search:

  1. Type search terms in the header search box (Quick Search).
  2. Press Enter or click the magnifying glass for Advanced Search with filters.
  3. Filter by asset type (stories, defects, tests) and status.
  4. Search closed items and narrow results with additional filters.

For detailed search instructions and tips, see Search Agility.