Who is a product owner?
A product owner is a key member of an Agile scrum team tasked with maximizing the value of a product. Their responsibilities span from initial product development through to the product’s completion and release to the market.
Product owners typically work with stakeholders, end users, and the rest of the scrum team to ensure that the finished product aligns with both business goals and user needs.
The work ranges from determining a product’s function, creating clear plans for specific product features, and managing the product backlog to ensure that all user requirements are met during the product’s development. Product owners often turn to product management software for help developing and improving products.
Types of product owners
Most scrum teams have a single product owner who fulfills the necessary responsibilities. On larger teams, multiple product owners may bring specific expertise and fall under five types:
- The Scribe. Scribes translate the needs and requests of end users and stakeholders into easy-to-understand language for product developers.
- The Proxy. Like a Scribe, the Proxy must communicate user and stakeholder needs to the rest of the team, but they also have the authority to prioritize these needs when it comes to the product’s development.
- The Business Representative. These product owners have extensive knowledge of the product and the market. They identify which features a product must have to meet the expectations of users and stakeholders, along with standing out from competitors.
- The Sponsor. Sponsors typically manage the budget portion of product development. They work with stakeholders to align the budget with business goals.
- The Entrepreneur. Also known as the “mini CEO,” the Entrepreneur product owner has the most responsibility and authority. It’s their responsibility to get the most return-on-investment (ROI) from a product and drive its success.
Basic responsibilities of product owners
Product owners are at the center of every scrum team during product development. Even though the other members of the team and the type of product determine what an owner’s day-to-day duties are, all product owners are responsible for:
- Defining the vision of the project. As the go-between for stakeholders, customers, and the team, a product owner typically leads the high-level goal planning and strategy before development begins.
- Creating and managing a product backlog. The product backlog is a prioritized list of customer and stakeholder needs. The product owner must decide on the importance of each need, then manage and communicate to the scrum team how these features should be developed.
- Overseeing product development. From idea generation, initial design, and prototyping to testing, refining, and commercial release, product owners oversee every step of the product’s build and release.
- Anticipating customer and stakeholder needs. Product owners must use their expertise and knowledge to plan for what they think the end user and stakeholders want and need from a product. This also helps product owners prioritize when managing the backlog.
Benefits of product owners
The product owner is an integral part of the scrum team. Without them, products take much longer to move from idea to commercial release and require additional testing and revisions. Product owners:
- Ensure clear communication between stakeholders and the team. The primary responsibility of the product owner is to make communication seamless for all involved. They’re the bridge that brings together product users, business stakeholders, and developers. Their experience with all parties leads to better decision-making.
- Make the project more efficient. Product owners are responsible for building and managing a clearly prioritized and organized product backlog. This keeps a product’s development moving forward in a timely and cost-effective way.
- Support short- and long-term planning. Knowing what product features are most important, the product owner ensures that the budget is being used appropriately. For short-term planning, this moves all parts of the product backlog forward during a scrum sprint. Further, in the future, the product owner ensures that the product is maximizing its value and providing a positive ROI.
- Encourage product creation. Developers can sometimes be too close to the product to see problems or missing features. The product owner offers a second set of eyes to review the product at every stage of development, catching issues before they happen and supporting the developers with additional information that can fuel creative thinking and targeted solutions.
Best practices for product owners
Every product owner works differently based on their experience and the needs of their scrum team. But incorporating some of these best practices can ensure a successful project from the outset.
- Use a sprint goal. Part of maximizing a product’s value is deciding what is and isn’t important to build during a sprint. Making clear goals for developers increases output and efficiency while also giving the team something tangible to target.
- Review and refine the product backlog. Product owners should always assess the product backlog to ensure all goals are met. New information from end users or stakeholders can come in at any time, so reviewing the backlog regularly gives owners an opportunity to incorporate these additional requests or changes into product development.
- Take feedback from product developers. While feedback from stakeholders and users is crucial, so is information from the developers. Product owners should work with the rest of the team to determine if a feature isn’t working as planned and look for revisions that satisfy everyone.
- Work with the scrum master every day. The scrum master is responsible for the overall workflow of the team. Working with this individual on a daily basis makes sure nothing is missed in the product development process.
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