Who Is a Product Owner & What Do They Do?

It’s easy to misunderstand what a product owner is, considering it’s a relatively new term in the corporate workspace. Defining what a product owner depends on:

• How the company or the organisation views this position
• How the individuals themselves view this role as they delegate to the team

Many experts weigh in that there are many different types of product owners with the same title but different responsibilities. However, their role is mainly perpetuated in the SCRUM methodologies, popular in software development. Don’t worry if you are confused. This article will help you clearly define what a product owner is and what their roles and responsibilities are in a company. So read on to find out!

Product Owner: An Overview

If you want to define what a product owner is at a very basic level, they can be assumed to be someone responsible for increasing the value of a specific product for the company. However, depending on the product and its promotion, product owners may have to assume several roles according to the workplace environment. They might be a strategist, a project manager, liaisons, analyst or even a designer. Suffice it to say many businesses will have a different idea of what their product owners should do or take care of.

Various Responsibilities Of A Product Owner

Now that you have an idea about what a product owner is let’s see what they do in a company:

1. They consider various priorities that go into the making and marketing of a product and then weigh them and choose the best path. They must juggle the interests of the stakeholders as well as the customers, trim the budget and consider deadlines before they decide to choose which avenue to take.

2. Product owners must anticipate the needs and demands of the client. Only then can they effectively manage the whole product development process.

3. They act as the primary liaison between their team and the investors or the company’s stakeholders. Hence, they must be adept in communication, handling conflicts and negotiating a win-win scenario.

4. They evaluate the progress of the product and make sure that everything is going according to the plan. They make the necessary judgment calls if their product overshoots the deadlines or does not meet the standards of the clients, company or customers.

5. They must know the customer landscape regarding the product and be up-to-date with the latest trends and market demands in the sector.

6. They must ensure that the product meets all standards of compliance as issued by the government. They must be willing to manage all legal as well as any ethical considerations that are related to the product.

Product owners are visionaries, the focal point for cross-functional teams in the workspace. They have a clear vision of the product cycle and are willing to experiment with different processes and avenues to achieve the best results.

Conclusion

Product owners may not be key players in a company, but they are a must-have asset in any team that makes products for customers. By reading this article, we hope you have a good idea about what a product owner is and what they do in an organisation. If you want to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of product owners, you can visit our website, Education Nest, where there are a lot of materials and resources from experts and leaders in the field that you can check out for free!