My top 5 Tools for broke Product Owner

Let’s describe the situation: you are newly hired for a great Product Owner position. You arrive for your first day and you face an issue: there’s no money for software licences. Whether you’re in a startup or your company is cheap, let’s see together 5 softwares you can use for free on your day-to-day work.

Draw.io

Drawing diagrams

One of the main ways for writting specifications is UML and other diagrams. This is typically for Business Analysts yet I recommend using them when needed. There are already many application like Enterprise Architect, Microsoft Visio or LucidChart. Draw.io is a free on-line application for drawing charts. It has UML and BPMN elements you can drop and edit. Yes it is not as beautiful or complete than the other softwares, but it is entirely free.

When I try to map my writter flow

Trello

Organizing work

Quite famous, Trello is an online project management tool based on kanban method. You create a board, its columns, then add cards representing tasks. You can share it with other people and add comments, colors and other distinctive elements to the cards. Even if there is a paid version, the free one is sufficient for having some boards and share with some collaborators.

What my Medium Trello looks like

Pencil

Drawing mockups

A picture speaks better than words. For specifying your user stories and explain simply your ideas about user interface, what better than a wireframe ?Pencil is an open source software for drawing basic concepts of interface. Draw what elements the screen should contain and share the picture with stakeholders for validation or developers for explanation.

Draw simply what’s in your mind for the application

Figma

Designing prototypes

This is the next level after wireframes: mockups and prototypes. Here it is more the job of a designer, but still it is a good asset to know how to make it yourself. You simulate exactly what the pages will look like and share a prototype version of the application. Figma is a web based application perfect for this. It also has a paid version but the free one is perfectly fine for a basic use for a Product Owner having interest into UX.

Figma is good for simulating the application before you implement it

Greenshot

Screenshotting issues

I know, no one would have expected this one. But it is definitely the one I use the most often. Greenshot is an open-source screenshot tools. It allows you to take a capture from a section of your screen then add immediately some comments or simple drawings. It is really useful when reporting a bug or when you want to point out something on a page. Not a must have but definitely one that simplify your life (way over Windows snipping tool).

An example of Greenshot capture editor

I hope this was useful for you ! What are your applications for broke Product Owner ? Don’t hesitate to share them !