Most Important Product Owner Roles and Responsibilities to Know in 2024

Explore the roles and responsibilities of a Product Owner along with the skills required to become one. This professional is critical in driving product development and success within Agile environments, which requires a grasp on both technical expertise and soft skills in fulfilling effectively.

A product owner in the agile project management framework is one of the three important roles, including the Scrum Master and Development Team. They fulfil various duties, from product design and development to defining and implementing the product roadmap strategy. 

A product owner must be able to raise the overall company’s and product’s value, even though some responsibilities may vary depending on the organisation’s resources. 

Who is a Product Owner?

A product owner bridges the gap between the needs of customers and clients and the development process. 

According to the 2020 Scrum Guide, the role of the Scrum product owner is explained like this – ‘the product owner orders the work for a complex problem into a Product Backlog.’ They manage everything related to the product. 

In a Scrum team, they manage the product backlog, meaning they must identify the client’s requirements, create the product’s vision, communicate the business objectives with team members, and plan its release. The end goal is to ensure that there are returns. 

Top Product Owner Roles and Responsibilities 

The roles and responsibilities of a product owner include the following. 

• Specifying the product roadmap to the development team and ensuring everyone understands the tasks at hand
• Setting priorities in the product roadmap for budget and scope of work for product development
• Understanding the needs of the stakeholders and formulating user stories (See stakeholder management in product development) 
• Organising sprints to emphasise flexibility, collaboration, and adaptability that leads to continuous development
• Working closely with team members and ensuring they can progress and adapt as and when the requirements of clients change
• Creating and refining the items in the product backlog as per feedback
• Mapping the customer journey to solve the pain points
• Predicting the needs of the clients by creating mock product designs based on the evolving demands of the market
• Guiding the development team at any stage 
• Creating value throughout the product development cycle

Required Skills of a Product Owner

A product owner must have all the skills of product management. But they must also be strategic and possess good communication skills and leadership qualities. 

Communication Skills

This is the top soft skill for a product owner. They need to constantly interact with various levels of people in the organisation and with external stakeholders regularly. They have to be detailed and give accurate instructions. 

The product owner must be able to set boundaries while communicating and not saying yes to everything. They must be able to discern and be accessible at the same time. 

The product owner must also have all the knowledge of technical and complex terminology related to the product and, simultaneously, be able to simplify the requirements in layman’s terms. 

Product Skills

Having a product vision is only possible when there is clarity on the client’s unique demands. This also includes knowing what the product can provide for the business in terms of revenue and brand recognition, and reach. 

With that, the product owner needs to be able to define the product roadmap. Further, they must regularly update the product backlog of development tasks. 

Prioritising is key when it comes to continuous product development in phases because it is both time and budget bound. You can check on the new product development process. 

Leadership Skills

Leadership comes with strategy when we talk about a product owner. They must have the quality to motivate team members and constantly be able to motivate them. If the development team has clarity on the evolving requirements and can keep sufficient time for their individual growth, they are always productive. 

Marketing Skills

Commercialising a product requires a good amount of market knowledge. This means the product owner must know about core marketing concepts and ensure the product provides good revenue. 

Becoming a Product Owner Now

Companies look for certified product owners everywhere who are well-versed in agile methodologies. Certified Scrum Product Owner® (CSPO®) from Scrum.org or Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner on Scrum Alliance are courses you should be looking for.