The 2020 Scrum Guide on scrumguides.org makes the Product Owner accountable for maximising the value of the product and for effective Product Backlog management. So introducing the role in a project begins with giving a named person genuine decision-making authority, a Product Goal and an ordered backlog; the tooling can wait until after that.
Quick Overview
What you will learn:
- What the Scrum Guide makes the Product Owner accountable for, and what it does not
- A practical checklist for setting up the role in a project
- How the Product Owner works with sponsors and stakeholders
- The patterns that quietly hollow the role out
Who this article is for:
- New and aspiring Product Owners
- Sponsors and project managers introducing Scrum
- Scrum Masters preparing a team for the change
Reading time: 7 minutes
What the Current Scrum Guide Changed for Product Owners
The current Scrum Guide on scrumguides.org is still the November 2020 edition. Its revision notes on scrumguides.org explain what the update set out to do: get rid of the idea of a separate team within the team, which had encouraged proxy behaviour and an “us and them” attitude between the Product Owner and the developers, and introduce the Product Goal so that the Scrum Team focuses on a larger, valuable objective. What remains is a single Scrum Team with three sets of accountabilities: Product Owner, Scrum Master and Developers.
According to scrumguides.org, Product Backlog management covers:
- developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal;
- creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog items;
- ordering Product Backlog items;
- ensuring the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.
The Product Owner can delegate this work but stays accountable for it. The guide states plainly that the Product Owner is one person, not a committee, and that the entire organisation must respect their decisions. Those decisions are visible in the content and ordering of the backlog and in the Increment inspected at the Sprint Review (scrumguides.org).
Every artifact comes with a commitment: the Product Goal for the Product Backlog, the Sprint Goal for the Sprint Backlog and the Definition of Done for the Increment. The Product Goal is the long-term objective, and the team must either fulfil or abandon it before moving on to the next.
The Implementation Checklist
- Appoint someone with a mandate. Choose a person who can decide on scope and order without gathering sign-offs for every item, and get the sponsor to confirm that mandate in writing.
- Put the decision boundaries on paper. Spell out which calls the Product Owner makes alone and which need the sponsor or the steering committee, such as budget, deadlines or a change of Product Goal.
- Draft the Product Goal. A short description of where the product is heading, which the team can plan against. Without one, ordering the backlog becomes a tug of war over individual features.
- Make the backlog the only way in. The Product Backlog is the single source of work for the Scrum Team, so requests should land there and not go straight to developers. Begin with well-described items at the top, ready for the next Sprint.
- Configure the tool properly. In Azure Boards, the Scrum process orders work using the Backlog Priority field, and in private projects users with Stakeholder access cannot reorder backlog items (
learn.microsoft.com). Make sure the Product Owner has full access. - Agree on the Definition of Done. Work it out together with the developers. If the organisation has its own standard, the team treats that as the minimum.
- Set a rhythm for stakeholders. The Sprint Review is where stakeholders inspect the Increment and have their say on what comes next.
- Protect the Product Owner’s time. The role requires attendance at refinement, Sprint Planning and the Sprint Review. If the person has another job as well, the workload plan needs to reflect that.
- Take stock after the first few Sprints. Check whether decisions are made quickly, whether the team understands the backlog and whether stakeholders know where to take new needs.
Working With Sponsors and Project Managers
Where an organisation has formal project governance, the Product Owner does not take the sponsor’s place. The sponsor owns the business case and the budget, while the Product Owner makes the most of the resources available to deliver product value. A project manager or Scrum Master looks after the process but does not decide the order of the backlog.
The Scrum Guide on scrumguides.org says a Scrum Team is typically 10 or fewer people. If a product needs more capacity than that, the teams should share the same Product Goal, Product Backlog and Product Owner.
Look out for the familiar failure modes: a Product Owner who is in fact a committee, or a messenger with no authority; stakeholders who go around the backlog with direct requests; and a role given to someone who has no time for the team.
Read Also
- The Product Owner role: competencies and where it gets hard — skills the role demands
- Agile vs Scrum: differences and when to choose — where Scrum fits within agile
- AgilePM, Scrum and PRINCE2 side by side — choosing a method for your organisation
Build Your Skills
Product Owner in Scrum Methodology: Key Competencies builds the skills the role calls for through hands-on workshops, while Professional Scrum Product Owner I (PSPO I) prepares you for the Scrum.org exam. Get in touch and we will match the scope to your team.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does a Product Owner do?
The Product Owner is the person accountable for maximising the value of the product the Scrum Team builds. As the Scrum Guide on scrumguides.org describes, their everyday work is setting out the Product Goal, writing and ordering Product Backlog items and making sure the team and stakeholders understand the backlog.
What are a Product Owner’s responsibilities in a project?
According to scrumguides.org, the core responsibility is effective Product Backlog management: the Product Goal, creating and ordering items, and keeping the backlog transparent. In a project, add to that working with the sponsor, taking part in the Sprint Review and deciding the order of work within the agreed mandate.
Can an external or interim person take on the Product Owner role?
The Scrum Guide does not rule it out, but it does set a condition: the entire organisation must respect the Product Owner’s decisions (scrumguides.org). An external Product Owner can succeed if the sponsor grants a real mandate and access to stakeholders. Without that, the role turns into a go-between, and the real decisions are made outside the backlog.
How should I prepare for Product Owner certification?
Begin with a careful reading of the Scrum Guide on scrumguides.org, because exams for this role, Scrum.org’s Professional Scrum Product Owner I among them, are based on it. Add practice on a real backlog and, if it helps, a course that combines exam preparation with exercises.