I’m trying a little bit different format for the newsletter this week.
Instead of sharing separate posts in each of the main topics I cover on the site, I thought I’d share five posts all about the same topic.
The topic for this newsletter is the product ownership model where the product manager and product owner are the same person. This is a continuation of the series on examining the Product Owner role I started last week.
I’ll start off sharing the post I wrote describing the Product Manager is Product Owner model, and then share some other posts that add a bit to that discussion.
Let me know if you like the new format, or you’d rather see something different. Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Kent J. McDonald
KBP.Media
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Model 1 – Product manager is the product owner.
As part of an ongoing series, I explore the model where the product manager and the product owner are the same person. As I mentioned in the post, this is the model I find myself in these days, but as I’ll describe with later models, it isn’t the only model I’ve run across.
Product Manager vs Product Owner via Marty Cagan
Marty Cagan of Silicon Valley Product Group wrote a couple of posts, separated by a few years and several interactions, where he advocates strongly for the model of product manager is product owner. In his first post, he explains why he thinks this model is the only way to go. In his second post from earlier this year, he shares why he should have been a bit more specific about why product management is a lot more than just being a product owner.
Product Manager vs Product Owner via Dave West
Around the same time that Marty shared revisited his views on the Product Manager vs Product Owner conundrum, Dave West, Product Owner of Scrum.org weighed in with his perspective on why there should only be one Product Owner, but his reasoning, and his views on the relationship between product management and product ownership are quite different than Marty’s views.
That stands to reason since Marty looks at things from a Product Management perspective, while Dave looks at things through a Scrum lens. Which is right? I’ll leave that for you to decide, though I’d encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments.
Product Manager and Product Owner
Given the two views I shared above, the fact remains that a lot of people find themselves having to do product management and product ownership. With that in mind, I thought I’d share a couple of posts that will help all of those who aren’t as concerned about which model is right, but would rather figure out how to live with the model they live in.
Scott Sehlhorst of Tyner Blain shared a post that looks at how product people (whether they are called owner or manager) take an organization’s strategy, figure out the appropriate product strategy, and convert that into actionable work for the delivery teams to create the right product.
Rich Mironov of Mironov Consulting shares Marty Cagan’s view that there’s more to Product Ownership that what’s described in many Scrum classes and shares product management skills for internal Product Owners. This is a great post on what people in internal IT situations need to know about product management.