How does a product owner integrate into a Scrum Team?

A scrum team consists of a Scrum Master, a Product Owner, and a team of developers.

Outside of software environments, developers are the people who do the work. From content creators to writers through to designers. They are the product development and production team.

A small team. Preferably no more than 7 to 9 individuals at most.

A product owner is like the CEO of a product.

It is their job to make decisions that lead to the creation and development of products, services and features that truly delight customers.

They work with the team to prioritise and order work, but they do not tell the production team how to do their work. They work in partnership with the Scrum Team and trust that the self-organising team of professionals are best suited to designing solutions to the complex problems beings solved.

How do they integrate into a Scrum Team?

It depends on the maturity of a Scrum team.

In some environments, a Product Owner invests an hour or two per week with the scrum team to provide critical feedback and guide the team toward a great solution.

In other environments, especially where Scrum is relatively new to the team, a product owner may invest several hours per day with the scrum team.

They would be working with stakeholders and customers to design products, services and features that truly delight customers and they would be working with the scrum team to provide all the help and guidance they can to achieve that objective.

A product owner has the authority to make product decisions but does not use their authority to tell the scrum team how to do their job.

In a project management environment, a project manager would be assigning tasks and telling teams how to do their job, but in a Scrum team, the product owner trusts the developers to design and implement compelling solutions to complex problems.

A product owner works closely with the Scrum Master and the developers to produce products and services that are valuable. They are an integral part of the scrum team and play a significant role in guiding the scrum team through the product development process.

If you are interested in becoming a Product Owner, visit our Certified Scrum Product Owner course page as well as our Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner course page.

How do they integrate into a Scrum Team?

Frequently Asked Product Ownership Questions

Frequently Asked Product Owner Training Questions