Product owner, essential profession for IT projects

No more IT project manager. Place the product owner. A profile in high demand by companies, this product manager supports the development of a digital product (site, software, app). A specialist in Agile methods, he takes into account both the needs of end users and those of the company's IT resources. What are its missions? What skills and training are required to become one?

Interface between the client, the production teams (development, design) and the business teams (marketing, sales), the product owner has a manager and communicator profile. His goal ? Lead the delivery of a quality digital product that meets customer expectations. Working methodically using the Agile Scrum method, he maintains a product vision and maximizes the business value of the product throughout the product life cycle. It prioritizes and divides the creation process into small steps, while promoting continuous improvement of the product.

What are the missions of the product owner?

The product owner (PO) participates in the development and evolution of a digital product (site, software, mobile app, internal app, SaaS product, etc.).

It collects the needs of the end user (internal or external) to transcribe them to the technical teams. He develops, distributes and updates the list of needs (product backlog) which allows him to develop a roadmap of product developments in line with the company's marketing strategy.

It is his job to act as the interface between the end user, the development teams and the business units (marketing, customer support, sales team, etc.). Their main working tool is the product backlog (PB), which they use to prioritise topics. Another essential task is to write the user stories, which list the user requirements for each feature.

The product owner plans the technical projects for each iteration (sprint) and participates in the design of the various solutions implemented. He or she is responsible for the functional validation of developments (acceptance testing) and organises user test sessions to ensure that the functionalities meet the initial requirements. At each iteration, he or she updates the product backlog in line with user feedback and strives to maximise the product's business value.

What studies to follow?

The product owner comes from higher education (bac +5) in computer science (master's degree, engineering school with specialization in computer science, etc.) or from a business school with a digital orientation (master's degree in digital marketing, in web project management …).

What skills do you need?

An expert in Agile methods, the PO must have a good knowledge of the profession in which he operates. He must have managerial (project management), relational and technical skills to be able to interact with developers.

► TECHNICAL SKILLS (expertise)

• Experience and expertise in Agile project management methods, particularly Scrum
• Practice of collaborative project management and production tools (Asana, Jira, Slack, Trello, GitHub, etc.)
• Use of a prototyping tool (Balsamiq Mockups, Mockplus, Pidoco, etc.)
• Practice of data analysis tools (Google Analytics, Segment, etc.)
• Recommended knowledge of front and back end computer languages (Java, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, etc.)
• Recommended experience in UX (user experience)/UI (User Interface) design

► BEHAVIORAL AND RELATIONSHIP SKILLS (know-how)

• Rigor, organization and methodology
• Ability to listen and analyze, spirit of synthesis
• Reactivity
• Attentive to market trends
• Respect of deadlines
• Excellent communication skills, teacher
• Team spirit
• Good stress management
• Good command of English

What is a typical day for a product owner?

The product owner lives at the rhythm of product development. Arriving at the office, he reads his emails and, depending on the organization, consults his collaborative messaging (Slack, etc.). Next, he opens his project management tool and consults the sprint status and the comments on the user stories. He inquires about the latest performance indicators (KPI) related to his product. This could be Google Analytics if it’s a website, the number of new downloads if it’s a mobile app, or the ratings and new customer comments in the customer support backlog…

Rich in all this data, he then participates in the daily or scrum, a short daily meeting held by the development teams and during which everyone shares their work in progress.

The PO works on the upcoming sprint to refine the backlog. He interacts with marketing, customers, sales and support teams.

His second part of the day is devoted to project monitoring: managing backlog priorities, writing user stories, progress reports, preparing a PowerPoint presentation, etc.

The last part of the day consists of preparing the schedule for the next sprint.

What is the salary of a product owner?

As in most professions, the salary of the product owner depends on the professional expertise, the number of years of experience, the size and location of the company and the importance of the project he manages. .

• 35-40 K€ annual gross (beginner0-2 years experience)
• 40-50 K€ annual gross (confirmed2-5 years experience)
• 50-70 K€ annual gross (senior5 years' experience or more)

What are its development prospects?

A product owner can progress towards professions related to digital product management (software, mobile app, site, etc.). He can become a Scrum master and ensure the proper implementation of the Scrum methodology.

He can also evolve into the role of product manager, with a stronger marketing dimension, or chief product officer (CPO), who oversees the entire product strategy, managing product teams (including several POs) by following a roadmap. and an associated budget.

Do you know how to speak product owner?

The words most used by the product owner are:

Backlog (product backlog) : list of tasks classified in order of priority to be accomplished by the project team in improving a product and its various functionalities. It is the product owner's main tool.

Scrum (daily meeting, daily scrum, stand-up meeting) : daily meeting of at least 15 minutes, taking place standing, during which the development team (the dev team) takes stock of the progress of the current sprint.

Release plan : sequence of sprints to come

Release : new version of the product delivered to end users.

Scrum : methodological framework for Agile project management.

Scrum master : guarantor of compliance with the Scrum methodology, he plays the role of conductor between the development team and the product owner.

Sprint or iteration : it is a short time interval (one month maximum) during which the development team will design, create and test new features of a product.

Sprint planning Sprint planning: the first event of the sprint, the sprint planning presents the work to be carried out during the sprint and should lead to the definition of a sprint objective.

User story (US) or user story : description making it possible to formalize the needs of the end user concerning a functionality of software, a site or an app. A US must be delivered in a sprint.

Any advice for people interested in this profession?

The PO should not rely on his technical knowledge alone. The human aspect, empathy and kindness allow him to understand the needs of consumers and the company's businesses, but also to maintain good relationships with the various stakeholders. Objective: continuous improvement and maximization of product value.

What are the attractions and constraints?

The product owner in summary