Lesson 1.1 is where the Product Owner identity becomes personal. Instead of talking about the PO role in the abstract, learners step into a specific product environment and ask:

“If I were the Product Owner here, what would sit around me? Who would I serve, who would I depend on, and how would value actually move through this system?”

The core task of this studio is to imagine (or select) a product context and then treat it like a living system. The learner is the PO at the center; everything else—users, teams, leaders, vendors, regulations, technology, physical spaces—becomes part of the map.

Choosing a Product Context

Learners begin by choosing one product context from three broad categories:

• Current or near-future reality – A product in their current organization or field (for example, a student information portal, internal operations tool, learning platform, or ticketing system).
• Aspirational or industry-aligned – A product from an industry they care about (for example, a streaming service, theme park mobile app, gaming platform, travel planner, or retail experience).
• A Studio Aletheia / Luminous Systems case – A guided case such as a World Builders digital experience, a Luminous Systems learning portal, or a hybrid physical/digital experience at a park or museum.

The key requirement is that the product has real users, real decisions, and real trade-offs—not just a vague idea.

Step 1 – Naming the System

Learners first give the product a clear name and one-sentence description. For example: “Aurora Pass is a mobile app that lets theme park guests plan their day, reserve experiences, and receive live updates about wait times and shows.”

They then write a one-sentence Product Owner identity statement, such as: “As the Product Owner for Aurora Pass, I’m responsible for deciding which guest experience improvements we deliver next, and making sure they align with park operations and brand promises.”

Step 2 – Identifying the Surrounding Cast

Next, learners list out the people and groups that surround this product:

• Users / customers – Guests, students, teachers, staff, subscribers, operators, etc.
• Internal teams – Engineering, design/UX, data/analytics, marketing, operations, support, finance, legal/compliance, content teams.
• Leadership / strategy – Product leadership, business owners, executives, program managers.
• External partners and constraints – Vendors, APIs, platforms, payment providers, regulatory bodies, brand or creative partners.

For each group, they capture what that group needs from the product, what it provides to the product, and how frequently it would interact with the Product Owner.

Step 3 – Drawing “Center of the System”

Learners then draw a simple system diagram: a central node labeled Product Owner or “Me as PO,” surrounded by circles for Users/Customers, Engineering/Tech, Design/Experience, Business Stakeholders/Leadership, and any other critical groups.

They add arrows showing information flows (who sends feedback and data to the PO), decision flows (where the PO makes trade-offs or clarifies direction), and value flows (how improvements in the product create value for users and the business).

The diagram does not need to be visually perfect; it needs to be explainable. If the learner can point to each arrow and say, “Here’s what moves along this connection,” the diagram is doing its job.

Step 4 – Describing the PO’s Work in Context

With the diagram complete, learners write a short first-person narrative explaining how they would operate as Product Owner in this system. They describe how they would listen to users and stakeholders, translate strategy into backlog items, work with engineering and design, and handle conflicts or competing requests.

For example: “In this system, I meet regularly with operations and guest services to understand pain points and seasonal priorities. I translate those into user stories focused on guest experience—shorter waits, clearer navigation, more delightful surprises. I work with engineering and design to scope what’s realistic, and I am transparent with leadership about what we can deliver each quarter.”

Step 5 – Sharing and Critique

The studio closes with pairs or small groups. Each learner presents their product context, their PO identity statement, their system diagram, and one key trade-off they expect to manage as a Product Owner in that context.

Peers respond with prompts such as: “Where is your PO doing the most important work?”, “Is there any missing stakeholder or team that might surprise you later?”, and “Where might feedback get stuck or lost in this system?” The goal is to strengthen the map, not simply evaluate the drawing.

Mastery for Lesson 1.1

A learner demonstrates mastery of Lesson 1.1 when they can clearly name and describe a product context with real users and constraints, identify key users, stakeholders, teams, and external forces, produce a system diagram that places the Product Owner at the center with meaningful connections, and explain how they would make value-centered decisions in that system while navigating at least one meaningful trade-off.

In a single sentence, mastery sounds like: “I can place myself at the center of a real product system, name who surrounds me, and explain how I would make value-centered decisions as a Product Owner.”