It’s essential that your Product Delivery Organisation knows why it’s doing the things it does. As delivered, this policy links every objective to a clearly defined risk. As you adapt and extend this policy to your specific needs, continue to link every objective to a risk. If you can’t, then the objective shouldn’t be in your policy.

All of this policy’s objectives for tracking ‘Deviations‘ serve the same purpose: enable policy intent to be clear and mandatory, while allowing for the realities of business and technology delivery to be dealt with in the open by Product Teams. If there are clear and communicable reasons why an objective can’t be met then the additional risk is known and tracked. Not meeting policy objectives because of opinion or similarly indefensible reason increases risk needlessly.

All of this policy’s objectives for tracking ‘Deviations‘ serve the same purpose: enable policy intent to be clear and mandatory, while allowing for the realities of business and technology delivery to be dealt with in the open by Product Teams. If there are clear and communicable reasons why an objective can’t be met then the additional risk is known and tracked. Not meeting policy objectives because of opinion or similarly indefensible reason multiplies risk needlessly.

Policy objectives that use the verb ‘Ensure‘ assign accountability to a person. This is an accountability objective. While Product Leads are accountable for all the responsibilities of a Product Team, some accountabilities are called out specifically for clarity.

Policy objectives that use the verb ‘Ensure‘ assign accountability to a person. This is an accountability objective. While Product Leads are accountable for all the responsibilities of a Product Team, some accountabilities are called out specifically for clarity.