As an Agile team member how can I be an expert at project is one among a common question I hear every time. The world is changing so fast, the evolution of tools and technologies making life so easy when it comes to implementation or writing code. When you talk about career, everyone wants to grow vertically and the easiest option I see to achieve this in product based companies is to get better at product and domain in addition to fulfilling your agile roles and responsibilities. This would help you to stand out in the crowd. To be honest, this is an easy path which lot of others do not want to take.

I am listing here top 10 ideas to be considered to grow vertically in product based organization.

Spend 30 minutes to an hour every day to learn about the product by playing with product, testing out functionalities, reviewing code other than your normal work. Review existing documents around product. Whenever you see an opportunity correct them. Document your learning and contribute your knowledge in organization PAL (Process Asset Library). Writing or teaching anything to people helps you to move the knowledge to your permanent memory. Whenever you work on any sprint item (like bug, story, tech debt or spike), ensure you understand the user value proposition of that. Always ask yourself why I am doing what I am doing. How does it helps business? Understand all the integration with your product. Search on internet to find competitors. Find out what features we are lacking what our competitors have. What is that we have and others don’t have? Propose PO your learning and ideas. Participate in calls related to vision, roadmap or release planning. Communicate more with business owners. Understand priorities, business need and what is coming next. Ask question when in doubt. No question is a stupid question. Participate in showcases/demos and cross functional calls. Ask questions. Share your knowledge to others in team. Once in a week have a session with whole team to talk about product, domain, innovations and learning. Encourage everyone to share their thoughts.

I am sure doing some of above would boost your career in product based organization.