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What leads Product Owners to failure?
The three traps that hold Product Owners back from thriving.
The Product Owner is the value maximizer, the one who focuses on achieving goals instead of delivering features. Yet, many people fail to thrive in this role. But why does it happen?
Companies don’t have a shared understanding of what a Product Owner is. I’ve been a Product Owner in seven different places; each of them had a different set of expectations. The massive differences between companies make it harder to succeed as a Product Owner. Numerous misunderstandings within the role set us apart from our mission of maximizing the product value.
What is a Product Owner?
Simple to understand, difficult to master.
The Product Owner role is like the Scrum definition. The Scrum Guide explains the Product Owner’s mission, but assumes the execution may vary widely according to its situation. Well, Scrum leaves us alone in terms of execution. You’re on your own when it comes to implementation.
The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product resulting from work of the Development Team. How this is done may vary widely across organizations, Scrum Teams, and individuals.
What makes a successful Product Owner? Product Management skills are the answer. Product Managers understand how to build excellent products and what value means. Without this knowledge, it will be challenging to be a successful Product Owner.
Scrum’s Product Management expert is called the Product Owner. An excellent Product Owner is a strong Product Manager. You can’t be a good Product Owner without understanding Product Management. Without following Product Management practices, Scrum can’t meet its promise of delivering products of the highest possible value.
— Maarten Dalmijn, Should you hire Product Managers or Product Owners for your Scrum Teams?
The complexity does not stop with Product Management skills. In Scrum, the figure of a Project Manager is nonexistent, who has to handle it? The Product Owner also gains this responsibility.
