Product Management and Product Ownership are two critical roles within product driven companies. While they overlap in some capacities, Product Managers and Product Owners have distinct responsibilities and serve unique purposes. Understanding the differences between these roles is important for anyone involved in product development and management.
In previous articles titled “Product Management Skills – Mastering Success in the Role” and “Exploring the Vital Role of a Product Manager,” I’ve taken a look at some of the key aspects of the role of the Product Manager. In this article I’ll examine the core responsibilities of Product Managers vs Product Owners. We’ll look at what each role entails day-to-day as well as how they differ strategically. You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of the key distinctions and complementary aspects of product managers and owners.
What is a Product Manager?
A product manager is ultimately responsible for the strategy and roadmap for a given product. They own the long-term vision for the product and make high-level decisions about features, target customers, and competitive positioning.
Some core responsibilities include:
- Defining the product vision and strategy
- Conducting market and competitive research
- Creating and prioritizing product roadmaps
- Deciding what gets built and defining product requirements
- Working closely with engineering to guide the product development process
- Coordinating go-to-market plans with the marketing team
A key part of the Product Manager role is looking outward at the market to determine how the product should evolve to meet customer needs while differentiating from competitors. Product Managers take a big picture view of the roadmap and prioritize features based on market research, industry trends, and strategic opportunities.
What is a Product Owner?
Whereas Product Managers focus on strategic direction, Product Owners are responsible for maximizing the value of the product by managing the product backlog. Product Owners represent the voice of the customer and ensure the right features are built in the right order.
Key responsibilities include:
- Maintaining and grooming the product backlog
- Prioritizing features and requirements in the backlog
- Clearly defining requirements and acceptance criteria
- Working closely with engineering to ensure requirements are understood
- Representing customer needs in backlog prioritization
- Ensuring value is maximized throughout the development process
- Validating completed work meets requirements and accepting
Product Owners are inward-facing, working closely with development teams to represent customer needs. While Product Managers look at the market, Product Owners look at the existing product and backlog to decide what should get built next based on inputs like customer value, dependencies, and effort required.
Product Manager vs Product Owner – Key Differences
While Product Managers and Owners have some shared skills and complementary aspects, there are clear differences between the two roles:
- Product Managers take a high-level strategic view versus Product Owners focused on tactical details
- Product Managers define roadmaps and conduct external market research while Product Owners manage the internal backlog
- Product Managers decide WHAT gets built based on strategy while Product Owners decide WHAT gets built next based on customer value, dependencies, and effort
- Product Managers look outward at the market while Product Owners look inward at the dev team and existing product
- Product managers worry about positioning and messaging while product owners focus on detailed requirements
Shared Responsibilities
Despite the different focuses, Product Managers and Owners do share several commonalities:
- Both require strong product intuition and domain expertise
- Both prioritize features, but Product Managers from a market view and Product Owners from a customer value perspective
- Both gather inputs and feedback from customers but Product Owners solicit direct feedback while Product Managers take a higher-level view of overall market needs
- Both act as the primary point of contact for the product but product owners are more inward-facing while product managers are outward-facing
Bringing These Roles Together
While their focuses differ, the Product Manager and Product Owner roles are incredibly complementary. Product Managers focus on the forest while Product Owners zoom in on the trees. Strong partnership between the two helps translate high-level strategy into successful execution and delivery.
Product managers and owners optimize different aspects of the product development process. Effective collaboration enables companies to build great products that balance strategic vision and customer value.
Conclusion: Product Managers vs Product Owners
Product Managers and Product Owners serve unique but complementary purposes. Understanding the key differences outlined in this article will help any organization leverage the strengths of these roles.
Product Managers focus on high-level vision and strategy while Product Owners manage tactical backlog prioritization and requirements. While areas of overlap exist, the core responsibilities differ significantly.
Leveraging the partnership between strategic Product Management and tactical Product Ownership is key to building products that meet market needs and deliver maximum value to the end customer.
