Many businesses use an agile methodology these days. That means that many Product Teams are likely going to have a Scrum Master and a Product Owner within their midst. The issue here is that these two roles can easily be – and often are – confused. 

The Product Owner and the Scrum Master are two unique team members. It’s time, once and for all, to explain what those roles mean so that you can go away with a solid understanding of both positions and how to get the most out of them. 

We’re going to do that by running through a checklist of the burning questions people have about these roles.

Scrum Master vs Product Owner: What do they do? 

Let’s start small by covering the top-level explanation of these two roles. What’s their purpose? Why do they exist?

What is a Scrum Master? 

A Scrum Master’s entire role is designed to make sure that an Agile squad in an Agile release train follows the Agile playbook properly. They do all the background work to make sure that a team continues to adopt the Agile methodology at all times, helping them to work more efficiently. 

Here’s our definition:

To properly visualize this, imagine a rugby coach who’s talking the players through their strategies and tactics while nurturing camaraderie, teamwork, and innovation. That’s the Scrum Master. 

A ruby coach ensures that every player knows the rules, and understands the game plan, just like how a Scrum Master makes sure that everyone executes and follows the core principles of the Agile manifesto. They ensure that everyone operates in an Agile way. 

What is a Product Owner?

A Product Owner is responsible for articulating the product vision and ensuring the Development Team builds what delivers the most value to users. They act as the bridge between stakeholders and the team, prioritizing the backlog, refining requirements, and making decisions that keep the product moving in the right direction.

Here’s how we define it internally: 

To put it simply, a Product Owner is like a navigator, setting the course and making sure the team stays on track. They translate big-picture ideas into actionable tasks, ensuring that what gets built truly meets user and business needs.

Because they can help guide product development, Product Owners are also often confused with Product Managers.  

The easiest way to differentiate them is that Product Owners manage the product backlog, ensuring the team is building the right features at the right time, while Product Managers own the product roadmap, setting the overall direction and vision for the product.

That’s the surface-level distinction, but it’s worth checking out our article explaining the difference between those two as well. 

Scrum Master vs Product Owner: Why are they important? 

Both roles are pretty important to well-functioning Scrum teams, but they serve distinct purposes. The Scrum Master focuses on making sure the team follows Agile best practices and works efficiently, while the Product Owner ensures the team is building the right things. Having both means your team stays focused, productive, and aligned with business product goals.

Why should you have a Scrum Master?

A Scrum Master is key to keeping the Agile process running smoothly, helping teams collaborate effectively and continuously improve. They remove obstacles, facilitate all the ceremonies (fancy word for meetings), and ensure Agile principles are followed without unnecessary hassle.

The benefits of having a Scrum Master are:

Keeps the team focused and efficient by eliminating roadblocks.
Ensures Agile processes are followed correctly, preventing bad habits.
Facilitates team collaboration between team members and stakeholders.
Helps the team continuously improve through retrospectives and feedback.
Shields the team from distractions so they can focus on delivering value.

Without a Scrum Master, teams risk inefficiencies, unstructured workflows, and process breakdowns that slow progress.

Why should you have a Product Owner?

A Product Owner ensures the team builds what matters most, aligning development efforts with customer needs and business objectives. They own the product backlog, define priorities, and make critical decisions about what gets built next.

The benefits of having a Product Owner are:

Maintains a clear product vision and communicates it effectively to the team.
Prioritizes the backlog to ensure the team works on the most valuable tasks.
Balances business goals with user needs to maximize impact.
Provides clarity on requirements, reducing rework and confusion.
Keeps stakeholders aligned and informed on product progress.

Without a Product Owner, teams risk working on low-impact tasks, losing sight of customer needs, and struggling with misaligned priorities.

Why you need both

While their responsibilities are different, the Scrum Master and Product Owner work best together. The Scrum Master optimizes how the team works, while the Product Owner defines what the team should work on. Without both, teams either risk building the wrong thing efficiently or struggling with productivity despite having a clear vision. Having both ensures a balanced, high-performing Agile team that delivers real value.

Scrum Master vs Product Owner: What are their responsibilities? 

So we now understand the main aims of both these roles. But let’s dive deeper into the details and take a granular look at what these two roles do in their day to day.

While both roles are crucial to an Agile Product Team, their day-to-day responsibilities are very different. That becomes clear when you focus on their daily and weekly activities.

What are the Scrum Master’s responsibilities? 

The Scrum Master’s overarching responsibility is to keep the Agile methodology working effectively within the team. In a nutshell, the Scrum Master clears the way so the team can focus on delivering value without unnecessary disruptions. They obsess over Agiel so that others don’t have to.

Here’s a simple breakdown of a Scrum master’s main responsibilities:

Facilitating Scrum events such as daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and sprint reviews.
Removing any impediments that obstruct the team’s progress.
Coaching the team on self-organization and cross-functionality.
Protecting the team from external distractions.
Encouraging continuous improvement and the adoption of Agile best practices.

What are the Product Owner’s responsibilities? 

A Product Owner’s main job is to ensure the team is always working on the most valuable things. They look after the product vision, break it down into actionable work, and communicate priorities to the Development Team. Their role is highly strategic, requiring them to balance business goals, customer needs, and technical feasibility.

While they don’t dictate how the work is done, they are responsible for defining what the team should build and why it matters.

A Product Owner can do a lot. Here are some of the main responsibilities of the role.

Break down strategy into user stories and tasks.
Gather insights from customer feedback and product data.
Prioritize and groom the backlog effectively.
Say no when necessary to keep focus.
Bridge the gap between Product and Development.
Align stakeholders on goals and priorities.
Advocate for customers in every decision.
Oversee releases and maintain quality standards.

If you’re curious to dive deeper into these responsibilities, we cover them in great detail:

Scrum Master vs Product Owner: What skills do you need? 

Since these two roles serve completely different purposes, they also require distinct skill sets. Sure, there’s some overlap – strong communication and adaptability are valuable for both – but the day-to-day demands of each role mean they require vastly different strengths. Let’s break it down.

Scrum Master skills

A Scrum Master is more of a coach than a manager. Here’s what it takes to do that well:

Strong leadership skills: A Scrum Master isn’t the boss, but they do need to guide and motivate the team, keeping everyone aligned and engaged.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills: Whether it’s running standups, facilitating retrospectives, or conflict resolution, clear and effective communication is key.

Deep knowledge of Scrum and Agile methodologies: You can’t guide a team through Agile without a rock-solid understanding of its principles, frameworks, and best practices.

Problem-solving and conflict resolution abilities: Scrum Masters need to anticipate roadblocks, clear obstacles, and navigate team dynamics without derailing progress.

Champion of continuous improvement: Agile is all about iteration. A great Scrum Master encourages feedback loops, retrospectives, and process tweaks to keep things running smoothly.

Empathy and emotional intelligence: Understanding team dynamics and individual needs helps create a collaborative and psychologically safe work environment.

Adaptability and flexibility: Priorities shift, challenges pop up, and teams evolve. A great Scrum Master rolls with the punches while keeping the team focused and motivated.

Product Owner skills

A Product Owner is the visionary of the team, responsible for ensuring the product delivers real value. Here’s a list of the most important skills that make up an effective product owner:

Strong business and market acumen: A Product Owner needs to understand the market landscape, industry trends, and customer pain points to make informed product decisions.

Excellent communication and negotiation skills: Whether it’s aligning stakeholders, defending prioritization decisions, or sharing the product vision, strong communication is non-negotiable.

Prioritization and strategic decision-making: With endless requests and limited resources, a Product Owner must ruthlessly prioritize what delivers the most value.

Empathy for customers: Understanding the user’s perspective is crucial. A great Product Owner puts themselves in the customer’s shoes to build products people actually want.

Data-driven decision-making: It’s not about opinions; it’s about evidence. A Product Owner must rely on data, not gut feelings or HiPPOs (Highest Paid Person’s Opinions), to drive decisions.

Analytical and problem-solving capabilities: From assessing product performance to interpreting user feedback, strong analytical skills help a Product Owner identify opportunities for improvement.

Leadership and collaboration: A Product Owner works with development, marketing, sales, and leadership teams. Aligning everyone toward a common goal is a must.

Adaptability and flexibility: The market changes. Customer needs evolve. A good Product Owner is always ready to pivot and adjust the roadmap accordingly.

Scrum Master vs Product Owner: Where do they sit in a Product Team?

A clear way to differentiate between a Scrum Master and a Product Owner is to look at where they sit within the Product Team hierarchy in an Agile setup. While both roles are essential to the success of a Scrum team, they carry distinct responsibilities and report to different individuals, which helps to clarify the demands and expectations placed on each role.

Let’s take a look at who each reports to and where they fit into the Agile team structure.

Who does a Scrum Master report to? 

While this role isn’t typically hierarchical, the Scrum Master still reports to someone depending on the organizational structure and the scope of their responsibilities.

In smaller teams, the Scrum Master often reports to a Head of Product or Head of Engineering. The Scrum Master is less involved in the business-side decisions and more focused on enabling the Development Team to succeed in their day-to-day sprint work.

In larger organizations or more complex projects, the Scrum Master may report to a Program Manager, Project Manager, or even a senior-level Scrum Master overseeing multiple teams. This setup helps maintain consistency across teams while allowing the Scrum Master to focus on their primary duty: facilitating team efficiency and removing blockers. The Scrum Master is there to serve the team and remove obstacles, not to make product or business decisions.

Who does a Product Owner report to?

The Product Owner typically reports to a senior leadership figure within the product department, such as the Head of Product, VP of Product, or Chief Product Officer. In some organizations, the Product Owner might also have a line to the Business Development or Marketing teams, especially if they play a role in the go-to-market strategy. While the Scrum Master focuses on the process, the Product Owner ensures the output aligns with business goals and customer value.

In terms of day-to-day interactions, the Product Owner works closely with stakeholders across the organization, including Sales, Marketing, Customer Support, and Development Teams. They are responsible for maintaining the product backlog, prioritizing Ideas, and ensuring the team’s work aligns with the broader strategic vision. 

Learn more about the relationship between Product Owner and product vision:

Here’s a good look at the Product Owner and Scrum Master both chilling out in an Agile scrum squad: 

Scrum Master vs Product Owner: How do you become one? 

How do you become a Scrum Master? 

Becoming a Scrum Master is all about understanding Agile principles and the Scrum framework, along with gaining hands-on experience in leading teams through Agile processes. If you’re looking to transition into this role, here’s a simple step-by-step guide to help you along the way:

1. Gain a thorough understanding of Agile principles and Scrum framework

Dive deep into the Agile Manifesto and familiarize yourself with Scrum values, roles, and processes. Understanding the core principles of Agile methodologies is key to your success.

2. Acquire hands-on experience in Scrum projects as a team member

Get involved in Agile projects, whether it’s as part of Development Teams, as a tester, or any other role. Experience within a Scrum team will give you a solid understanding of how an Agile sprint works.

3. Enroll in a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) training program

Sign up for a reputable Scrum Master training course. These programs often last a few days and cover all essential topics, including Scrum ceremonies, roles, and techniques to facilitate team processes.

4. Obtain the Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification from a recognized institution

After completing the training, take the CSM exam to get your certification. This credential proves you understand the fundamentals and are ready to take on the role of Scrum Master. 

5. Continuously update your knowledge and skills

Agile and Scrum practices evolve. Stay up-to-date by attending workshops, joining Scrum communities, and networking with industry professionals to continue improving your skills and knowledge.

How do you become a Product Owner?

The path to becoming a Product Owner involves gaining experience in Product Management, understanding customer needs, and learning the ins and outs of Agile product development. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you there:

1. Gain practical experience in Product Management or related fields

Start by working in roles like business analysis or Product Operations Management. These roles give you valuable insights into understanding customer needs, business goals, and the product development process.

2. Develop a deep understanding of the product development lifecycle and Agile methodologies

Familiarize yourself with the entire Product Management lifecycle, from ideation and design to launch and iteration. Additionally, strengthen your understanding of Agile methodologies and how they apply to product management.

3. Enhance your communication and negotiation skills

As a Product Owner, you’ll need to communicate effectively with stakeholders, customers, and your Development Team. Consider taking courses in communication and negotiation to sharpen these critical skills.

4. Obtain the Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) certification

The CSPO certification is a recognized credential that demonstrates your knowledge of Agile practices and your ability to manage the product backlog. It’s one of the essential certification courses to show your expertise in product ownership.

5. Continuously gather feedback and stay updated with market trends

A successful Product Owner listens to customers and stakeholders, iterating on the product to deliver maximum value. Regularly collect feedback, monitor market trends, and adjust your product strategy to keep it relevant and competitive.

The Product Management career path

Both the Scrum Master and Product Owner are early, entry-level roles within the Product Management career tree. From these roles, you can take multiple directions and sculpt your skillset to make you a better fit for more specialized roles in the future. 

To see where you can go from these positions, read our article on the Product Management career path:

Scrum Master vs Product Owner: How much do they get paid? 

When it comes to compensation, the annual salary for both Scrum Masters and Product Owners varies based on factors like location, experience, and company size. While these are average figures in the U.S., keep in mind that salary expectations can differ significantly across regions, and outliers may skew the data. Nonetheless, the following should provide a clear snapshot of what you can expect to earn in each role.

What is the Scrum Master salary? 

On average, a Scrum Master in the U.S. earns around $115,000 per year. The salary range typically spans from $96,000 to $139,000, according to Glassdoor.

This range is consistent across multiple sources, although it’s important to note that entry-level Scrum Masters will likely earn less than the average, with starting salaries on the lower end of the spectrum. Factors such as company size, industry, and geographic location all play a role in determining the exact figure.

In addition to the base annual salary, many Scrum Masters also receive bonuses and other supplementary benefits, which can increase their overall compensation package.

What is the Product Owner salary?

The average salary for a Product Owner is around $124,000, according to Talent.com – roughly $9,000 more than the average Scrum Master salary. This is in line with the fact that Product Owners tend to have more seniority and broader responsibilities compared to Scrum Masters.

The salary range for Product Owners typically starts at $105,000 and can reach as high as $159,000, depending on experience and seniority level. The higher end of the range generally applies to those with significant experience or working in larger, high-paying organizations.

Geography also plays a significant role in salary differences. For example, according to Built In, cities like San Francisco and Colorado offer notably higher salaries compared to places like Orlando or Miami, highlighting regional pay discrepancies within the U.S.

The Final Comparison 

I don’t know about you, but I think we sufficiently broke down the differences between a Scrum Master and a Product Owner. We’ve covered quite a lot, so we thought it’d be handy to break it all down into a neat comparison table: 

Of course, we don’t think these two roles should be seen as competitors – they’re complementary. Both play essential but distinct roles in an Agile Product Team, working together to enhance efficiency and deliver value.

It’s like apples and oranges – different in function and flavor, but both essential in their own way. And when combined and mixed with other fruits, they create a killer fruit salad.

Understanding their differences is useful, but once that’s clear, like it should be now, it’s best to see them as separate, yet equally vital, parts of the team.

The Scrum Master and Product Owner are just two cogs in the machine that make great Product Management Teams, and Agile is just one aspect of impactful Product Management. 

Want to learn how to improve the product function in your business? Of course you do! 

We’ve got a comprehensive Product Management Handbook, covering everything you need to know to build a product that can thrive. Used by the folks at Amazon, Google, and more, this is a resource that can supercharge your capabilities. 

Download it now. 

The post Scrum Master vs Product Owner: What’s the Difference appeared first on ProdPad.

“The Product Owner is the voice of the customer in Scrum, ensuring the Development Team delivers maximum value.” 

“The Product Owner is often a Product Manager in disguise – balancing feedback from customers, stakeholder demands, and roadmap strategy.” 

“A Product Owner is the mini-CEO of their product area, making key decisions that shape the roadmap.”

So, which one is it? That’s what we’re here to figure out, together.

I think the easiest way to fully understand the impact and importance of a Product Owner is to go through the tasks that they’re fully responsible for. 

By walking through the complete list of Product Owner responsibilities, this often hard-to-pindown role should become more clear. 

Let’s take a look at the responsibilities of a Product Owner, but first, let’s define it real quick.

What is a Product Owner? 

Our definition of a Product Owner goes something like this:

So the overarching aim of a Product Owner is to ensure the Development Team builds the right thing by managing the product backlog, defining and refining user stories, and aligning work with customer needs and business goals. They serve as the bridge between business strategy and execution, keeping the team focused on delivering value in an agile way while maintaining momentum in the sprint cycle.

If you want to learn more, we’ve got a detailed article comparing the Product Owner role to another key figure in agile teams – the Scrum Master.

Here’s a key point: A Product Owner doesn’t actually own the product, despite what the title might suggest. 

They have the power to shape the product and guide the development process, but they aren’t the final authority on every decision. Instead, they represent the voice of the customer, the business, and the team, steering the development process while aligning it with broader business objectives.

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Many of you may be thinking, gee this sounds a lot like Product Management. That’s because, at first, A Product Manager and Product Owner were the same thing. 

Let’s dig deeper.

Product Owner vs Product Manager

The difference between a Product Owner and a Product Manager is one of the most puzzling distinctions in Product Management. That’s because, once upon a time, these roles were practically identical.

Before the rise of Product Owners and agile methodologies, Product Managers followed slow, document-heavy waterfall methods. They’d spend months planning, only for the Development Team to deliver something completely different from what they envisioned. This repetitive cycle of rework made it clear that a more adaptive approach was needed.

In the 90s, agile frameworks like Scrum, XP, and DSDM emerged to boost speed and flexibility. Within Scrum and agile teams, a new role – Product Owner – was introduced to break away from the rigid waterfall approach. The Product Owner was responsible for ensuring the team was building the right thing, while the development team focused on building it correctly and the Scrum Master kept things moving efficiently. This helped teams hit the sweet spot.

To fully embrace Scrum, the traditional Product Manager role evolved into the Product Owner. The job title was intentionally rebranded to shift the way people thought about Product Development, with the Product Owner responsibilities emphasizing flexibility, collaboration, and responsiveness to change. Over time, this role continued to morph, gradually becoming more distinct from the original Product Manager function. What was once a shared responsibility now became a specialized, tactical role with a much narrower focus.

Today, Product Owners and Product Managers are completely different positions. The easiest way to differentiate them is that Product Owners manage product backlog items, ensuring the team is building the right features at the right time, while Product Managers own the product roadmap, setting the overall direction and vision for the product.

However, the distinction isn’t always clear-cut. Often, a Product Manager is also expected to take on the responsibilities of a Product Owner. Rather than having a separate individual fill this role, the Product Manager wears both hats – leading to confusion about where Product Owner responsibilities end and the Product Manager’s begin.

But they shouldn’t be the same. The Product Owner is a tactical role with specific responsibilities that ensure the Development Team is aligned with business goals and customer needs. To better understand the difference, check out ProdPad CEO, Janna Bastow’s blog for a more in-depth explanation.

Where does a Product Owner sit within an organization? 

Where the Product Owner fits within an organization can vary, depending on the Product Team structure. As we’ve mentioned, the Product Owner may also double as the Product Manager, so let’s simplify things.

Typically, the Product Owner sits within the Product Team as the key liaison to the Development Team. They usually report to a Chief Product Officer, Head of Product, or Chief Product Owner.

In organizations with both a Head of Product and a Chief Product Owner, Product Managers will likely report to the Head of Product, while Product Owners report to the Chief Product Owner.

The Product Owner is responsible for managing the relationship between the Product Team and their Scrum Team/Squad. Within that squad, you’ll typically find a Scrum Master, a Product Owner, and Developers.

This would be the general structure:

13 Product Owner Responsibilities

It’s time to put a magnifying glass on the core Product Owner responsibilities. If you’re solely a Product Owner or a PM who wears the Product Owner hat, these are the Product Owner responsibilities that you need to manage. 

1. Turn product strategy into user stories

Turning a product strategy into actionable user stories is one of the most important tasks for a Product Owner. This process takes the high-level business goals and breaks them down into clear, bite-sized user stories that can be understood by the Development Team. These user stories focus on the needs of the user and guide the team in the right direction.

But why is it important?

Without user stories, the Development Team would be left to interpret vague product strategies, leading to confusion and potentially misaligned results. Clear user stories help ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same product vision.

To be good at this, practice is key. You’ll need to write stories from the user’s perspective, avoid jargon, and break down tasks to the most manageable level possible. We’ve got a few tips to help you write them:

A great user story clearly articulates why a feature is needed and how it will benefit the user. Focus on clarity and simplicity – less is more! It’s also important to keep refining your user story skills over time and use feedback from your team to improve.

2. Gather and analyze customer feedback and product performance data 

A great product isn’t built on assumptions – it’s built on real user feedback and performance data. As a Product Owner, your job is to gather insights from customers, Support Teams, and analytics to understand what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change.

This is crucial because it ensures the team is solving real problems, not just guessing. A feature that seemed like a great idea on paper might flop in the real world, and without the right data, you won’t know why.

To do this well, stay close to customer conversations, read support tickets, conduct user interviews, and dig into survey responses. Make sure to perform assumption testing too so that everything you do is backed by facts.

3. Manage, groom, and prioritize backlogs

Managing, grooming, and prioritizing backlogs is one of the key Product Owner responsibilities. The product backlog is a living ecosystem that evolves with the product, and the development backlog is where the team focuses on actual development work. 

One of your Product Owner responsibilities is to keep both backlogs clear, relevant, and prioritized to make sure that the team is always working on the most important tasks.

A cluttered, outdated backlog leads to confusion and wasted resources. If the product backlog contains ideas that won’t make it into development, they need to be removed to keep things moving smoothly. Similarly, the development backlog should be kept free of unnecessary tasks.

To perform product backlog refinement well, you need to nail prioritization. Being methodical is key – ensure that only high-priority tasks get through to the development team. 

A well-maintained backlog with groomed product backlog items helps the Development Team stay focused, reduces friction, and increases overall efficiency. Download our ebook on prioritization frameworks to help you create well-maintained backlogs.

4. Say NO when necessary 

Not every idea belongs in the backlog. Saying yes to everything leads to bloated roadmaps, missed deadlines, and a product that tries to do too much but excels at nothing. That’s where a Product Owner’s ability to say no comes in.

Your job isn’t to please everyone – it’s to build the best product possible. If a request doesn’t align with the product vision or isn’t backed by clear user needs, it’s your responsibility to push back. This keeps the team focused on work that truly moves the needle.

The key is how you say no. Explain your reasoning with data and business goals, and offer alternative solutions when possible. A well-handled no builds trust and keeps stakeholders engaged, rather than frustrated. 

We’ve got a great article to help you say no to stakeholders:

5. Manage the relationship between Product and Development Teams 

The Product Owner acts as the link between the Product and Development teams. As the gatekeeper of information, it’s your job to ensure a free flow of communication in both directions. You’re not just relaying what needs to be done; you’re also ensuring the Development Team has all the context they need to execute tasks efficiently.

Miscommunication can lead to wasted time, misunderstanding of product requirements, or even failure to deliver on key features. It’s essential that the Development Team understands not just the what but also the why behind each task. At the same time, you need to communicate clearly with the Product Team about how development is progressing and any potential hurdles, be it technical feasibility or other issues.

To be good at managing this relationship, establish regular check-ins with both teams. Be available for questions and clarifications, but also keep a clear line of communication to prevent bottlenecks. Understand the needs of both sides and make sure you’re proactively addressing issues before they arise. 

This all stems from coming from a place of empathy – a piece of advice we’d give to all Product Managers who want to get better. Check out our article for more advice on what makes a good Product Manager.

6. Ensure stakeholder alignment

Product development is a team sport, and without alignment between stakeholders – Executives, Developers, Sales, Support, and other key roles – things can fall apart fast. As a Product Owner, you act as the bridge, making sure everyone understands what’s being built and why.

This matters because misalignment leads to wasted effort. If leadership expects one thing and the Development Team builds another, you’re in for last-minute pivots, scope creep, and missed deadlines.

To avoid this, improve communication skills to keep discussions flowing. Regular check-ins, clear product documentation, and well-structured backlog grooming sessions help keep expectations in sync. Aligning everyone under a North Star metric can also improve alignment. Transparency is your best tool. Make sure stakeholders have visibility into priorities, progress, and constraints. When everyone is on the same page, execution becomes much smoother.

7. Be the voice of the customer 

A Product Owner needs to be the voice of the customer within the development process. This means deeply understanding the customer’s needs, pain points, and desires, and ensuring those are reflected in the product. By gathering insights from user testing, product research, and feedback from Sales, Support, and Marketing teams, you can make sure that every decision aligns with the customer’s best interests.

As you can guess, if the product doesn’t align with customer needs, it won’t succeed. Your role as the voice of the customer makes sure the product is relevant, valuable, and solves real problems.

To do this, stay close to the data. Use user testing, surveys, and market research to understand what your customers want. Engage with customer-facing teams regularly, and always keep the end user in mind. It’s not just about building product features; it’s about delivering value that resonates with your customers.

8. Oversee releases and ensure quality standards are met 

Once the sprint has ended and a product release is shipped, your job as a Product Owner isn’t over. You’ll need to oversee product releases, making sure that updates, bug fixes, and new features are rolled out smoothly. You also ensure that all the necessary stakeholders – like Marketing and Sales – are updated with release notes, changelogs, and any educational resources you need.

Product releases are a critical time to communicate the value proposition of new updates. If the product is released without proper communication, it can confuse users, frustrate stakeholders, and miss an opportunity to highlight improvements.

Many Product Teams don’t do their releases justice, as they’re unsure who takes responsibility for things like release notes. Here’s me to say that it’s firmly the Product Owner. You’re communicating needs to Developers, now it’s time to communicate value to users.

9. Be available to answer questions from the Development Team

During each sprint, the Development Team will inevitably have questions about user stories, features, and implementation details. It’s your job to be available to answer these questions and provide clarification when needed. This is key for preventing delays and ensuring that work doesn’t stall due to confusion.

When Developers have to stop their work to hunt for answers, it delays progress and can lead to frustration. Quick, timely responses help maintain product velocity and reduce stress.

To be good at this, keep track of what’s in the sprint and what’s coming up next. Make sure you’re familiar with all the user stories and tasks, so you can answer questions accurately. Set aside time during the sprint to be accessible and responsive. Being proactive in answering questions and providing guidance shows you’re engaged and committed to supporting your team.

10. Monitor key product metrics

As a Product Owner, tracking key product metrics helps you see if your features are actually delivering value. Common metrics include adoption rates, churn, feature usage, and customer satisfaction scores.

This is important because without it, you’re flying blind. If adoption rates are low, maybe users don’t see value in a new feature. If customer churn is rising, something might be frustrating them. Monitoring these signals helps you spot issues early and adjust before they become bigger problems.

To get good at this, define key performance indicators before launching a feature. Set up dashboards, track trends over time, and regularly review the data. More importantly, act on what you learn – don’t just collect numbers, use them to drive decisions.

11. Articulate the product vision

A Product Owner must clearly articulate the product vision to the team. This means understanding the big picture of what the product aims to achieve and communicating it clearly to everyone involved. It’s the Product Owner’s primary responsibility to ensure that the team stays aligned with this vision throughout the development process.

If the vision isn’t clear, the product might end up going in the wrong direction. Clear communication ensures everyone is working towards the same goal and avoids misaligned expectations.

Now big distinction coming up: yes a Product Owner articulates the vision, but they DO NOT set it. A Product Owner has no say in the direction the product goes, they instead just take the direction they’re given and make sure everyone else is on the right path.

To be good at this, refine your ability to communicate the vision clearly and concisely. Use simple language and concrete examples to make sure everyone understands. Revisit the vision regularly, especially during planning sessions and sprint reviews, so it stays top of mind. The clearer you are about the vision, the better the product will reflect the original goals.

12. Evaluate progress at each iteration

Agile teams move fast, and if you’re not stopping to check progress, you risk veering off course. After each sprint, the Product Owner should evaluate what was delivered, whether it met expectations, and what to improve next.

This matters because it keeps the team aligned on outcomes, not just output. Just delivering a feature isn’t enough – it needs to create value. If something doesn’t land well with users, it’s better to catch it early and adjust rather than plowing ahead blindly.

Be rigorous in your sprint reviews. Compare what was built to the original goal, gather team and stakeholder feedback, and check key metrics. Celebrate wins, learn from misses, and continuously refine the backlog based on what you’ve learned. Strong iteration leads to better products, faster.

13. Attend daily standups, planning sessions, reviews, and retrospectives

As a Product Owner, you’ll be involved in daily standups, sprint planning sessions, sprint reviews, and retrospectives. You’re an ever-present in all of these get-togethers. These meetings are essential to staying aligned with the team and ensuring the product is progressing as planned.

These meetings are where problems are identified, solutions are proposed, and everyone’s priorities are clarified. By participating, you help guide the team and ensure the product stays on track. As a Product Owner, you’re kind of like the orchestrator – people won’t know how to play their instruments if you don’t turn up to rehearsals. 

To be a valued participant, listen actively and participate meaningfully. You don’t need to dominate every conversation, but make sure your voice is heard, especially when representing customer needs or articulating product goals. Be prepared, stay focused, and use these meetings as an opportunity to keep the team aligned and moving forward.

What does a Product Owner not do? 

Here’s a quick bonus section exploring some of the things that a Product Owner shouldn’t do. Or more specifically, things don’t fall into the Product Owner job description. As you can see from our list, there’s a fair bit you need to have a handle on, so it can be a nice relief to know that you can unshackle the following responsibilities and hand them off to someone else. 

Of course, that’s only if you’re a Product Owner and Product Owner only. As we’ve discussed, 9.9 times out of 10, a Product Owner will be a responsibility – a hat – that others wear. 

So if you’re just a Product Owner, or a PM who wears the Product Owner hat and likes to compartmentalize, Here are all the things that don’t fall under your jurisdiction as a Product Owner: 

• Define the overall product strategy and vision – This is the Product Manager’s responsibility. The Product Owner takes the strategy and vision set by the Product Manager and ensures it’s executed properly, turning that vision into actionable user stories.
• Own the release management process – While the Product Owner ensures that a product is ready for release and sorts things like release notes, the actual timing, deployment, and coordination with Sales, Marketing, and Customer Support are typically handled by Product Managers, Release Managers, or Engineering Leads.
• Design the user experience (UX/UI) – The Product Owner works to ensure the product’s features meet user needs, but UX research, wireframing, and design fall under the expertise of UX/UI Designers and Researchers.
• Manage Engineering Teams or technical execution – The Product Owner collaborates with Development Teams, but the technical execution of how things get built is the responsibility of Engineering Managers, who guide the team on best practices and timelines.
• Conduct deep customer research or market analysis – The Product Owner may consider user feedback, but in-depth customer research and market analysis are handled by Product Managers, UX Researchers, or Marketing teams who specialize in gathering and analyzing these insights.
• Define pricing or go-to-market strategy – While the Product Owner shapes features based on customer needs, defining pricing models and go-to-market strategies are the responsibilities of Product Marketing teams and Product Managers.
• Micromanage the Development Team – The Product Owner prioritizes tasks and ensures the right features are being worked on, but they don’t manage the day-to-day work or timelines of the Development team. This is the role of Scrum Masters and Engineering Leads.

Know the Product Owner responsibilities to be a successful Product Owner

Knowing your responsibilities as a Product Owner is essential for driving product success. Without clear goals, stakeholder alignment, and a well-managed backlog, a Product Owner’s ability to guide a team effectively can be compromised. 

Managing all these tasks efficiently can be a challenge, especially without the right tools. That’s where our Product Management platform comes in. With features tailored to streamline your product roadmap, backlog management, and prioritization, ProdPad helps Product Owners maintain clarity and stay aligned with stakeholders. 

It empowers you to create a clear, actionable plan, track progress, and make informed decisions, all while reducing the chaos that often comes with managing a product. 

Learn how to get the most out of ProdPad with our ultimate Product Roadmap template, found in our interactive product Sandbox.

The post The Complete List of Product Owner Responsibilities: 13 Things You Need to Do appeared first on ProdPad.

• The job definitions vary from company to company – What a product manager does at Company X could be quite different from the product manager at Company Y.
• The job titles and terms themselves are tricky – Does “owner” really make sense?
• The actual day-to-day work doesn’t always match the job title – Classic company issue!

We’ll get into these reasons as we go along.

But first, let’s break down what the product manager (PM) and product owner (PO) do, both the daily responsibilities they have and the roles they play in the bigger picture.

Then we’ll explore where the confusion comes from and how to clarify these two titles so that your team functions like a well-oiled machine — or, you know, like a happy ecosystem of smart people!

What is a Product Owner?

The product owner is like a project manager for a sprint. This is the person who makes sure the product backlog is in tiptop shape before any tickets are handed off to the development team.

The PO represents the voice of the customer, understands user needs, and communicates requirements to the dev team by writing great user stories or product specs. In some cases, they’re also in charge of prioritizing the backlog for each sprint.

It’s helpful to think of PO as a responsibility rather than an exclusive role for a single person, although many companies have someone on the team with the PO title!

I describe it as “a hat that someone wears” — anyone could wear it! In fact, the classic definition of a PO is a roaming role, which changes with each sprint or as needed. It could even be someone on the development team itself doing the product owner responsibilities.

That’s why the term “owner” can be misleading, because the person in this role could be temporary. Plus, this role doesn’t actually have final say on the overall product or its direction.

Bottom line: No matter who wears the PO hat (or title), their purpose is to represent the voice of the customer in each spec and handle backlog grooming before the sprint begins.

Sometimes the work of a product owner is included in the job of a PM, which brings us to…

What is a Product Manager?

The product manager is a wider-reaching role. This is the person focused on overall product strategy, collecting feedback, discovering the problems facing the business and its customers, and figuring out how to bring vetted solutions into reality.

The PM generally leads and works across teams to get the product designed, built, and launched. The work involves cross-functional collaboration with design, business development, marketing, customer support, you name it! And of course, the PM is in charge of building a product roadmap that is not only useful and reliable, but generates buy-in among these teams.

The PM role is much more strategic and people-oriented than strictly technical or sprint-focused. We’ve even documented some surprising skills needed to master the Product Manager role.

Bottom line: The PM is a researcher, strategizer, and decision maker, with authority on product direction and the responsibility to bring people on board and manage those stakeholder expectations.

Why the confusion around Product Owner Vs Product Manager?

Like we said up top, it’s nearly impossible to compare titles across companies. Someone could be called “product manager” but doing work that’s unrelated — or, on the flip side, they could be doing PM work but not have the title. Someone called the “product owner” could absolutely be executing the whole gamut of the PM role.

Inconsistency across companies isn’t much of a problem so long as within your team, you understand clearly which role has which defined responsibilities, and how they can work best together.

Whenever roles aren’t clearly defined, there’s a risk of tension on a team. In the product context, the handover and cadence between PO and PM is important. My recommendation is that you focus first on the functions (such as each person’s role, responsibilities, remits, workflows, etc.) then figure out appropriate titles.

How a Product Owner and Product Manager can work together?

Indeed, the work is closely linked! The PM captures all ideas, suggestions, and feedback. The PO helps flesh these out, so that a decision can be made: What takes priority? What just isn’t feasible? The two share a product backlog and often must manage it together.

With ProdPad, we’ve built a tool that helps each role (or anyone who might be doing both roles at once!) carry out daily tasks, without losing sight of the big picture and while keeping other teams in the loop.

The PM can store all feedback or potential ideas in one place, work on their backlog in their own time, create a space that’s transparent for the whole team, and show how solutions or priorities meet overall business objectives.

Meanwhile, the PO can prioritize ideas or spec out prioritized tickets to be “ready for dev.” ProdPad offers a final touchpoint before handoff, where the PM and other teammates can view what’s coming down the pipeline.

The result? Aligned teams, smooth sprints, and happier users.

The post Product Owner Vs Product Manager – What’s the difference? appeared first on ProdPad.