Introduction
In my previous
article, we saw how the Product Owner crafts a product vision from the problem statement.
In the Scrum framework, there are 3 roles, Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team, all 3 roles are equally important but, the Product Owner's role is to maximize the value of the Product.
Who is the Product Owner? A common question in agile project management, in this article, we will see who is the Product Owner and their role and responsibilities.
Before that, let's explore the roles and activities we have during Application lifecycle management.
Users
User who uses your software or application to get their job done and the main reason you are building your product.
Buyers
Who buy your products or licenses, they are the customer who buys the product for their users.
Development Team
Who designs and builds the product or application.
Sponsors
Who invest in your product to get a good return in the investment.
It is a product manager's role to do the User Research and understand how they are going to use your application, their job, needs, and pain area.
A product manager works closely with Buyers to understand the competitors by doing competitor analysis, understands the partners and product positioning.
Dealing with buyers and users is external work, and can be managed by the Product Manager.
The Project Manager must closely work with the dev team and explain to them the requirements, answer questions, review work and give feedback and suggestions.
The Project Manager is also committed to understanding the Sponsor's expectations and fulfilling them.
Dealing with Sponsors and the Development Team is internal work and likewise can be managed by the Project Manager. This focuses on maximizing business value.
Working with the sponsors and development team is inbound or internal activities and can be managed by the Product Manager.
To deal with the Buyers and Sponsors is strategic work and can be managed by the Marketing Manager.
To deal with the Users and Development requires creativity and technical skills, and can be managed by the Business Analyst.
So the old school saying is: Several roles, like product marketer, product manager, and project manager share the responsibilities of bringing the product life.
In Agile Scrum Frameworks one person - the Product Owner is in charge of the product and leads the project, he plays the roles of product manager, project manager, business analyst, and marketing manager.
Summary
The following are the desirable characteristics of the Product Owner.
- Visionary
- Leader
- Team Player
- Communicator
- Negotiator
- Committed
- Available and works with the team.
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Reference: Leanpitch.com