The Product Manager is the Product Owner
Have you worked with a great product manager? If yes, you know that she led the product with pride and was at the epicenter of every major product decision. She knew customers like family, was the go-to-source for everything product, and guided engineering and the rest of the non-technical team to greatness.
So why would a company want to cut the product manager in half and force her to look only externally or internally?
The best product managers thrive in complex environments where they are responsible for leading the success of a product. And they do so with grace. They are effective externally because they are product experts. They are also trusted internally because they empathize with customers and are thought leaders in their market.
For these reasons, it’s curious that companies want to split the role and have one person be the “external” product manager and one act as the internal “product owner." It’s obvious that some teams are thinking about product management in this way — especially at bigger companies.
The reasoning is simple for dividing product leadership, but we think it’s all wrong. At the end of the day, there should be one product champion driving the business forward.
Based on my own experience leading product in six software companies, and as CEO of Aha! (which is product roadmap software), we think there are a number of compelling reasons to avoid cutting the product manager in half. Ultimately, when you do divide the role, individuals and the business suffer. Here are two major reasons why:
Who’s in charge here?
Authority is the ability to make decisions and responsibility is being held accountable for them. When you split any role, it becomes less clear as to who has what authority. Even in the most functional organizations, this leads to confusion and unnecessary pauses, as it is not obvious who has the final word on complex decisions. And product management is all about making decisions when data is limited.
Expert no more
Product managers should be humble, but fearless. This confidence comes from being a master of their domain. When you separate the role, the externally facing product manager loses touch with the reality of the product and internal capabilities. Worse, the product manager very likely loses contact with engineering. And the same is true for the internal facing product owner. He becomes confined to the office — an engineering prisoner only to be punished by the same group for not really understanding what the customer wants.
The intersection of customer insight plus technical chops leads to innovation breakthroughs. And for this to happen, you need a product manager who speaks customer and engineering.
Product management can be the best and worst of jobs. You are the CEO of your product and chief firefighter. It can be very rewarding in terms of having an impact, career growth, and financial achievement. It also can be overwhelming and thankless.
However, splitting the product manager's role in half does not help her or the organization. It destroys both. With humility, hard work, and teamwork, product managers can own their entire product and lead with conviction. When they are given the authority to do so -- and held accountable -- everyone wins.
Do you agree that the PM is the PO?
Also, if you would like to read my future posts then please click 'Follow' at the top of this article and feel free to connect via Twitter
__________________________________________________________________
ABOUT BRIAN AND AHA!
Brian seeks business and wilderness adventure. He has been the founder or early employee of six cloud-based software companies and is the CEO of Aha! -- the world's #1 product roadmap software. His last two companies were acquired by Aruba Networks [ARUN] and Citrix [CTXS].
Signup for a free trial of Aha! and see why 10,000+ users on the world's leading product and engineering teams trust Aha! to build brilliant product strategy and visual roadmaps.
We are rapidly growing and hiring. Rails Developers. Customer Success. Marketing Campaign Manager. Product Manager. Join a winning team -- work from anywhere in the US and be happy.
Follow Brian on LinkedIn and @bdehaaff
Follow Aha! @aha_io
Depends how big your product is. The Product Owner role is actually very demanding and it's hard to be an effective Product Owner and sit on more than 2 Scrum teams. When you scale up development on large products you need a Product Owner network who collaborate with each other and take guidance from a Product Manager.
Digital Engineer | Solution Optimisation | iPaas | Productivity
10 年Like others, i think there are organisations and industries where a pair of product "evangelists" can work. The Product Manager role is more business oriented, establishing the vision and the value proposition. The Product Owner is more IS focused and ensuring the techncal execution and delivery. Ideally the two meet in the middle where the Product Manager focuses on the needs and has some high level appreciation of the technology and the Product Owner has some appreciation of the business and the commercial imperative.
CEO & Founder @ Collective Genius | Author of “Peak Teams - Mastering the Habits of Unstoppable Venture-backed Companies”
10 年Depends on the situation Thanks for sharing
Software Product Owner at Halliburton
10 年I believe to a certain extent the PM can be a PO. But it depends on the workflow. The PM I work with (as a PO) is more focused on the time, money, and meeting expectations. I am the business and user representative to my team. I am design, scope, and priority while the PM is really not concern with any of that specifically and directly.
Fractional CMO / Marketing Leader for B2B tech companies. Helping growing companies reach the right customers with a clear, thoughtful message. Delivered through channels that move the needle.
10 年It is probably the ideal situation to have PM and PO as the same person, but that can encompass a wide range of skills, depending on the product type, company size, and industry. And even broader if Product Marketing falls into this description as well. It may not be practical to find that one super-human who has the skillset to do it all. It's more critical to make sure that the Product Owner/Champion has authority and influence in the organization, works well with all the members of the product team, and has direct management over the key team members..