Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:
The scenario describes a product withlow Current Valueandhigh Unrealized Value, meaning that while the product is not currently delivering significant value, there is potential for substantial improvement.
Additionally:
A high product cost ratio (85%)means that a large portion of revenue is being consumed by operating costs, leaving little room for new development.
A long time-to-marketsuggests inefficiencies in the development and delivery process, preventing rapid iteration and improvement.
Given these conditions, thebest long-term strategy is to address the underlying inefficiencies before attempting to innovate.
Analysis of Answer Choices:
Option A: Drop the product(Incorrect)
Abandoning the product is premature, as theUnrealized Value is high.
High Unrealized Value indicates potential customer demand or market opportunity that has not yet been tapped.
A Product Owner should first explore ways to unlock that value before considering discontinuation.
Option B: Improve efficiency by eliminating waste(Correct)
Addressing inefficiencies inproduct development, delivery, and cost structureis a fundamental step before attempting new innovations.
By reducing waste, improving operational efficiency, and lowering costs, the teamcan free up resources to invest in new high-value features.
Scrum and Agile emphasize continuous improvement—optimizing processes enables faster, more cost-effective feature development in the future.
Option C: Focus on high-value features despite inefficiencies(Incorrect)
While prioritizing high-value features is important, thelack of capacity and long time-to-marketwould limit the effectiveness of this strategy.
Without firstimproving efficiency, the product will continue to struggle with slow delivery, high costs, and missed opportunities.
Key Scrum and Agile Principles Supporting This Answer:
Continuous Improvement: Scrum promotes regularinspection and adaptationto optimize processes and eliminate waste.
Sustainable Development: Focusing on long-term product viability requiresfixing systemic inefficienciesbefore pursuing new growth.
Empirical Process Control: Decisions should be based on data; the data here suggests inefficiencies are a major blocker to success.
Conclusion:
Thebest approach is to first improve efficiency by eliminating waste, reducing costs, and accelerating time-to-market. Once the team has built a solid foundation, they can thenfocus on innovation and unlocking the Unrealized Value of the product.
