(Newswire.net — September 5, 2022) — The roles of a product owner and a product manager are sometimes confused with one another. Product management is a vast area that includes different types of roles and responsibilities, and many people need to struggle to distinguish the roles. The difference between a product owner and a product manager is mainly about responsibility. So, let us discuss the roles of a product owner and a product manager, along with their differences.
Differences between product owner and product manager
The role and responsibility of a product owner
The product owner is mainly a member of the Agile Team. This person is responsible for defining stories and giving priority to the Team Backlog to streamline the proper execution of program priorities, along with maintaining the technical and conceptual integrity of the components or features for the product.
In a team framework of the scrum, which is created to help teams to collaborate and work together, the product owner plays a crucial role in making sure that all workers are working effectively to improve the development of the product.
Scope
The product owner is responsible for the part of a procedure. They work closely with internal stakeholders like designers, developers, and even quality assurance. The scope of their role mainly focuses on the product. Thus, a product owner needs to be an individual who is detail-oriented and technically capable.
A product owner also helps the development team. They use their strong communication skills to motivate the team to take risks. While devising a strategy, a product owner needs to keep the customer in mind, along with the vision of the product.
The scope of the responsibilities of a product owner includes:
- Owning the fulfillment work and team backlog.
- Outlining a plan and a procedure to achieve success.
- Participating in day-to-day activities and working with the team.
The role and responsibility of a product manager
A product manager needs to work to prioritize what to create or build next. A product manager works in driving the development of a product through:
- Overseeing market and user research.
- Setting product strategy and vision.
- Communicating with external and internal stakeholders.
- Find out opportunities and prioritize them.
The day-to-day tasks of a product manager differ a lot according to the stage of product development. During the first part of a product’s lifecycle, the product manager needs to focus on defining a vision of the product and product strategy. As the products are delivered to the customers, the task of a product manager is to focus on the features of the product, market research, and even customer feedback.
Scope
The product manager needs to look at the Who, Why, and What parts. The scope of their role can be limited or big depending on several factors. Generally, product managers need to work with external stakeholders like users and clients. They are mainly the face of the team and need to communicate the company’s message and strategy while satisfying the needs of the stakeholders.
The role of a product manager needs a cross-functional skill set. Along with leadership and communication skills, a product manager also needs to be technically capable and creative. They can help to define the mission of the product, design a product strategy, and identify target customers that serve the vision of the product for a long time.
A product manager needs to outline what the look of success looks like. Thus, their scopes are probably a lot larger than the product owners, who need to focus more on the day-to-day activities related to a product.
Therefore, there are many differences between a product owner and a product manager; however, both of them are crucial for the success of a product.