February 20, 2009Why have a Product Owner anyway?
I can’t stress enough just how important the role of the Product Owner really is. This job is not for the faint-of-heart. In fact, the Product Owner is probably the most important individual on the Scrum team since he single-handedly is responsible for driving the direction the team is taking.
The Product Owner And The Team
The team is responsible for how they are going to implement the functionality. The Product Owner, on the other hand, is responsible for WHAT they are going to build and in what priority order. Although, there are times that Architectural elements will be prioritized ahead of business functionality, for obvious reasons. So, the Product Owner is like the driver on a bus. He can drive the team around in circles, off a cliff or he can ensure the team is taken to a place where it can make a significant impact – Imagine that!
