Have you ever heard of “Scrum?

In short, it is a model or method of agile project management. In a Scrum project, there are few and simple rules. They are only there to support the project team to achieve the common project goal. The most important rule is that a team can organize itself in agile project management . For this, a clear distribution of tasks and roles is particularly important. In Scrum, there are therefore three clearly defined roles:The Scrum Master, the development team and the Product Owner. In the meantime, the term Product Owner is not only used for Scrum teams, but also in the context of agile organizations.

What are the tasks of a product owner?

The product owner acts as a contact person for the developers in the Scrum team. He/she is not the supervisor of the team, but helps with questions, problems and other concerns. Similarly, the product owner is the contact person for customers and stakeholders, whose interests he/she also represents within the team. The role of the Product Owner is usually not performed by just one person, because the tasks are too extensive and the Product Owner is very actively involved during the entire product development. This is because as a Product Owner you are at the “center” of the product and make important product development decisions. This includes a large number of tasks. Here is a brief insight into the daily tasks of a product owner:

• Recording requirements from stakeholders and communicating with stakeholders: The product owner determines which features the final product should have depending on the wishes of the customers and users.
• Evaluating and prioritizing requirements according to business value: He/she is responsible for setting priorities for the processing of individual work packages.
• Checking and giving feedback to the team: He/she reviews the functionality at the end of a sprint and determines whether it can be presented to the customer or is not yet acceptable.
• Management of the product backlog (transparency, traceability and comprehensibility): The product owner maintains the backlog. For this purpose, he/she develops so-called user stories from which the tasks for the development team are derived, while adhering to clear quality criteria.
• Responsibility: The product owner develops and formulates a product vision and is subsequently responsible for the success or failure of the project.

These are the skills a product owner should have

To be a good product owner, it requires technical expertise and the right know-how. In order to understand the product and at the same time be able to evaluate the business value and market requirements, a product owner should have the following skills:

• above average problem solving skills
• very good time management,
• empathy,
• organizational skills,
• & a positive attitude and the right mindset, as not every day is at its best.

Are you interested in the job “Product Owner”? Or maybe you already are one and are currently looking for the right employer? Then get in touch with us. We’ll be happy to advise you and connect you with the companies that really suit you!

Or take a look at our current job postings as a product owner:

We look forward to receiving your application 🙂