The Role Of A Product Owner

The product owner in scrum
The product owner is a very important person in scrum. He or she owns the product on behalf of the company and the stakeholders. The person is responsible for the overall success of the project, and should oversee that the product development is carried out in a proper and planned manner as per the implementation rules suggested in scrum methodology. To carry out the responsibilities in an effective manner and make proper decisions at the correct time and in the correct manner, the product owner is endowed with certain powers, and authority, and the person should utilize those powers to ensure that the project is executed in a successful and desired manner. 
 

In real life, the role of the product owner varies in accordance to the nature and requirements associated with the project. Several factors such as the ongoing market conditions, the product development life cycle and stage, and the management influence how the product owner should set up priorities in a project. The participation of the product owner is very important in the initial stages of the scrum project when the product backlog is to be created and sprint durations are to be set up. The product owner’s work profile is not an easy one, especially if the organization is new to scrum, or if the individual lacks enough experience working as a product owner. 
 

What decides the role of a product owner in real life?
The best way of knowing about what a product owner should ideally do to be considered as a “perfect” product owner is to refer to the official scrum guide and pick up hints as to what the guide suggests. It is important to know that scrum is all about adaptation and being “agile” in its implementation. When scrum is to be implemented in a project, it should be done so in a manner such that the objectives are best fulfilled in the manner desired by the stakeholders. Many a times, the product owner has to change his or her working style and adapt to:

• What the project demands in terms of responsibilities
• The goals set up by the stakeholders
• What the scrum team is capable of delivering
• What the person is capable of delivering in terms of productivity and goal achievement on a personal level

When scrum is being implemented, the product owner is expected to engage himself or herself in a proactive manner and facilitate the working as and when possible. The person is generally expected to:

• Collaborate closely with the team members on a consistent basis
• Guide and direct the scrum team
• Monitor and actively manage the product backlog
• Answer questions and provide solutions to problems and questions when they arise
• Provide appropriate and useful feedback to the stakeholders and the scrum team whenever required or demanded
• Signing off work

In simple words, the product owner takes the back seat, decides what should and should not be done, and make sure the product is shipped at the correct time.

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