Today’s podcast episode of “Product Workers” takes up one of the most frequently – and also quite wildly – discussed topics in agile product management: Is the question “Product Owner versus Product Manager” correct? Are we really dealing with a conflict here – opposition and difference?
With the “Product Owner” the origin and thus the definition is still quite clear: the whole thing is a responsibility (formerly: role) from the Scrum framework. Today, however, the term is not only used in the scaling framework SAFe, but also in many other contexts – even without a reference to Scrum. In this respect, many companies advertise jobs as “Product Owner” – even if they do not work according to Scrum principles. Often even without agile working at all.
P&G: Product managers have been around since 1927
With the product manager (Product Manager) the matter is much more blurred. The job of product manager has existed since 1927 at Procter & Gamble for the first time when the role of product manager was established to create the market success for the “Camay” soap and care series. It often has to do with business models, product vision, product strategy, competitor analysis, customer feedback, controlling a product or a product line – with a view to market success and formulating the requirements for the further development of the product. But with regard to the initial product design, product development and above all the technical product creation, opinions differ as to whether these are the tasks of a product owner or those of a product manager.
This is often where the lines of conflict begin and it means: product owner versus product manager! Who has what decision-making and co-determination rights? Is one role subordinate to the other, and if so, who submits to whom? In practice, we see a wide variety of variants here. A lot of fuel arises from misunderstandings and unspoken or unexplained responsibility for making decisions.
The product workers cannot and do not want to solve the eternal question once and for all with this episode, but we want to make a contribution to a qualified and considered discussion of the two terms. Our opinion is quite clear: Product Manager is a job in product management and Product Owner is a responsibility (formerly called a role) in Scrum.
This means: A product manager can also be a product owner. In this respect, it makes sense to assign job titles such as “junior product manager” and “senior product manager” as part of a product manager career path. In the context of product owners, on the other hand, gradations such as “Junior” and “Senior” make little sense. Here the development stage of the product owner experience should be better documented via the relevance, size and complexity of the product.
Previous podcast episodes to snap to
In the episode, Tim and Oliver reference these earlier podcast episodes, among others:
Likewise, the two refer to the following sources:
The result and further information can be found under the following link: Product Owner vs. Product Manager.
(sih)