Product Owner Vs Product Manager : Oversimplified

Understanding the difference between PM & PO in easiest language

Product Owner Vs Product Manager

Hi ,

The product manager and product owner are connected roles that focus on different aspects of the product In the product development lifecycle

The product manager has focused more on outward-looking business strategy while the product owner is focused more on managing the development of the product. In Small organizations, Product Owner and Product Manager can be the same person, However, when it comes to enterprise-level projects then two roles are different with different roles and responsibilities.

In this newsletter:

  1. Product Owner Vs Product Manager

  2. PM & PO Responsibilities

  3. Summary for the interview question

  4. Tools For Product People

  5. A Tweet

1. Product Owner Vs Product Manager

Product Owner Vs Product Manager

2. PM & PO Responsibilities ⚔

Product Owner:

The Product Owner only exists during the scrum events and he/she can make the decision independently. According to the scrum guide, Product Owner has to:

  • Communicate the goal of the sprint at the beginning of each sprint to the team

  • The product owner is responsible for prioritizing development and making release plans.

  • Define the product backlog and prioritize the sprint backlog items, to maximize the product value.

  • Making sure that the scrum team is clear, transparent and well aware of the product backlog items and conducting backlog refinement meetings.

  • Setting the delivery objectives, conducting the UAT and writing the DoD (Definition of Done).

    Along with these, PO is also responsible for:

  • Turning the customer’s feedback and their pain points into the actionable product backlog

  • Attend scrum-based meetings and events to evaluate whether the team is working towards the goal and vision.

  • Solving the doubts of the developers and ensuring that the stakeholders and developers are on the same page for the same goal.

Product Manager:

  • The product manager is responsible for driving the long-term strategy and goals of the product

  • The PM majorly focused on Product discovery, Product-Market fit (PMF), Creating the MVP etc.

  • Defining the customers and market for product development.

  • The PM also plays an important role when it comes to a business-driven decisions, revenue and pricing.

  • The metrics and focus areas are NPS rate, Churn rate, revenue increase and customer retention etc.

  • Supports and aligned with the Marketing, Sales and Development team for the overall success of the product on a larger scale.

  • Defining the pricing model and revenue plans for the products.

3. Summary for the interview question: 💁‍♂️

  • A product manager is responsible for the entire product development lifecycle, while the product owner position only exists during a Scrum-based development cycle.

  • Product Owners are expected to decide on product features independently and without oversight.

  • The product owner's duties are defined entirely by the Scrum Guide. The role of the product manager can be officially assigned or simply understood throughout the organization.

  • A Product Owner is more focused on Product Backlog, Priotiziation of stories, Maximizing the value of the product etc.

4. Tools For Product People ⚒

  • Create Beautiful Presentations with AI for Storytelling (link)
    [50 Credits FREE from my link]

  • Generate Images, Logos, and Illustrations with AI (link)

  • Wise one for a Better reading experience and summary based on AI (link)

  • Ellie - AI-Generated replies to all your email with tone and manner (link)

  • Slide Ai - AI-generated slides in seconds, You can customize and theme the slide and give a detailed prompt (link)

5. A Tweet 🐦