Product Owner Is Accountability, Not a Job Title

A Product Owner is a role on the Scrum team that is responsible for the success of a project. A Product Owner has the responsibility of maximizing the value of a product. When it comes to Scrum particularly, the individual that is responsible for maximizing the value of the product is called the Product Owner, and this is regardless of the individual's job title in the organization.

Contrary to what is done in most organizations, a Product Owner is not a job title. Unfortunately, most companies still use their Product Owners as a Job title. This practice shows a malfunction in the firm and a fundamental misunderstanding of modern product development.

A person with the job title "Product Owner" may not really be the one enforcing the responsibilities of a Product Owner. A lot of people allocate this title to people who are not, in reality, allowed to take ownership of the product. This is a common occurrence in companies and can have negative impacts on the functionality of the firm.

Let us start by understanding the definition and roles of a Product Owner.

Who Is a Product Owner?

The job description of a Product Owner is relatively new. It was encompassed in the Scrum Agile framework in software development. A lot of companies have their separate interpretation of the job description of a Product Owner.

The Product Owner is responsible for maintaining and sustaining the content and priority of the Product Backlog. As the popularity of the Scrum framework and Agile increases, businesses in other sectors aside from the software sector are more open to adopting the framework, thereby creating jobs for Product Owners.

Practical Example:

Using the job titles used in digital product companies as an example, the Product Owner in a digital product company might be the person with the job title; Head of Product or Vice president of Product or Director of Product or Chief Product Officer. Now, if a new product is developed, it still has limited functionalities in the initial stage. There are only a few users of this product, a few developers assigned to develop this product, and there is just one Product Owner assigned to the product.

When the product begins to scale, the user base also scales, so the company is likely to gain more revenue and add more funding to the project. Also, more developers are likely to be delegated to work on that product, and this is where the problem is. Adding more individuals with the job title "Product Owner" to work on this product and adding a manager to manage the workers does not get the job done.

Maximizing the Value of a Product Owner:

Oftentimes, the function of a Product Owner is confused. The job of a Product Owner is not just to write detailed Product Backlog Items for the developers, nor is it just to focus on doing Scrum or tactical work. The purpose of a Product Owner is not to write notes; it is to be accountable for the value of the product.

Therefore, having several Product Owners for a particular product does not increase efficiency in firms. One Product Owner who is accountable for the value of the product is enough to get the job done.

Do you add more CEOs to a company just because you have more employees in the company? No. This is the same way you do not have to add more Product Owners to handle a product just because the product has scaled.

Scrum and the Roles and Responsibilities of a Product Owner

When a product scales, the Product Owner scales as well to drive the product strategy higher. The Product Owner can delegate the tactical work to the development team or even external members that are not a part of the Scrum team. The Product Owner focuses on managing the product backlog within the Scrum team instead of adding layers that undermine the job of the Product Owner.

Having a Product Owner per product is a way to avoid conflicts of interest and misalignments to the sprint goals of a company.

When Scrum is involved, each product has one Product Owner. This is the person who is accountable for maximizing the value of the product irrespective of the number of developers involved in the development of the product.

Another way that the function of a Product Owner is misinterpreted is that some companies make their Product Owner the middleman between the customer and the development team. A lot of Scrum teams who are moving towards continuous delivery and discovery process think that the Product Owner hinders them from receiving direct feedback from the customers. This is unlikely. The Product Owner is not a proxy. This person does not need to stand in the way of communication of customer needs between customers and developers.

A way to handle this is that when the development team wants to perform continuous delivery and continuous discovery, the Product Owner can go out of the way, giving the developer direct access to the customer. In doing this, the Product Owner does not need to abandon his or her responsibility. They can step out of the way and still be accountable for maximizing the value of the product.

Generally, this is a position that requires a high level of trust. Once the Product Owner understands their roles, it's easier to implement Scrum and Agile on the product roadmap.

What to Do if You Find Out That You Are Functioning as the Product Owner

So after this knowledge, you might discover that you have the job title of Product Owner in your company, and you have the Scrum Product Owner certificates, but you are not actually carrying out the functions of a Product Owner. Here is what you can do.

First, understand that your job title does not define you. This might be a complex situation since there is a tendency that there will be some cultural issues and legacies going on in the company. However, you can work with your Scrum Master to educate all employees in the company so that they understand that the actual responsibility of a Product Owner is accountability.

The management and general structure of a company should be focused on empowering and trusting people rather than just re-labelling their job titles.

The Product Owner plays a very critical role in helping a company market its products successfully. They prioritize the right job at the right time and ensure that every member of the team is aligned with the main reason for the job, which is to help ensure the continuous delivery of value and the continuous discovery process to the user.

Integrate Scrum Into Your Projects With Our Help

There are a number of Agile Product Owner responsibilities to look at to make a product successful. You must first learn about the industry. Product owners should be knowledgeable about business rules and the technology that helps better understand clients' expectations and convert this into product specifications.

Since you are vital in providing quality products and maximizing product value through client-defined product concepts, partnering with Scrum Master and Agile experts is essential in your roadmap. To prioritize your product's success, contact us today. We'll work closely with you and your team members so you can achieve that sprint goal on time.