• Product Owner

What does the future product owner look like in the whimsical Agile landscape?

Jochem Nuij and Gert-Jan Danenberg on PO’s right to exist

At a time when Agile is being talked about more and more critically, does the product owner still have a right to exist? An uncomfortable question for those who passionately throw themselves into the game of product owners, management and product managers every day. But also a question that kicks off the conversation between two experts on the subject. What is the answer of Jochem Nuij, director of Productowner.nl, to that question? And how does Gert-Jan Danenberg, managing director of Scrum Academy, envision the product owner of the future? You can read it in this article, concluding with two concrete tips for eager product owners who want to work on their future starting tomorrow.

“Yes indeed, I really see a lot of opportunity for the product owner (PO) in every market for now. The number of product owners, the search volume on that word combination and the list of vacancies keeps growing for a reason.” With this clear answer, Jochem Nuij seems to conclude this article in the first paragraph. Were it not for the fact that Gert-Jan Danenberg quickly puts a stop to this: “No, I think that the current PO really needs to continue to develop in order to remain relevant. If you don’t, you become nothing more than an extension of management. Yes , and then you can wonder if you have a right to exist.” The tone is set. Although these two seemingly ambivalent views will reconcile further on in this article. But before we sprinkle high-fives, let’s go back to the beginning.

I think the current PO really needs to evolve to stay relevant – Gert-Jan

The PO prehistory

“I think it was around 2009,” Jochem looks back, “that I first encountered Agile working myself.” It was also around that period that Agile and its associated roles were presented to the Dutch IT landscape as the holy grail. Something that Gert-Jan skillfully flattens out as, “The Agile roles were created to piece together the attributes of visionary, strategic, people skilled super managers. The very first batch of Dutch product owners could thus start focusing purely on creating valuable products for the end user.” Clear.

Soon a small group of Dutch IT POs is growing into thousands of PO professionals spread across all markets, organizations, teams and layers. With positive consequences. “In 2015 you still had to explain everywhere what you were doing as PO, that is different now. As a result, as a PO you are now really involved better and faster. This has enabled the PO to develop further, together with its environment,” outlines Jochem, before making it very clear: “Those now 12,000 Product Owners have really long since transcended the dodo era.” Yet there is a concern on Jochem’s part in that choice of words. After all, hasn’t the dodo become extinct by now?

We often cry out that the PO needs to be trained, but we also need to train leaders to respect the autonomy of the PO – Jochem

The PO in present tense

Bouncy. Unlike that walking bird, the product owner anno 2025 is still. The PO is usually even valued more highly than the scrum master and in about 30% of Agile teams the PO even does without the scrum master as a colleague. So the PO is really seen as the Agile team member with mandate, product vision and (if all goes well) contact with all stakeholders, always ensures the focus on developing new valuable products. And that’s where Jochem’s “concern” comes in: “Product owners deserve a little more self-love here and don’t always have to reinvent products. Sometimes improving your existing product a little further, and then delivering it, is valuable enough.” A bold statement, but one that can be substantiated with numbers. Because recent research shows that four in 10 POs are behind on the roadmap. Contrast that with the fact that 69% of executives who embrace Agile are judged in the end on roadmap realization, and you can feel the tension building.

So Agile doesn’t amount to anything if you don’t deliver as a PO – Jochem

Talk about excitement. Gert-Jan: “Of course, you have to deliver. But I like to make a comment on that. I see more and more that the PO is completely out of touch with its stakeholders because of this pressure to deliver. I find that shocking!” Sketch that statement within the framework of a top down system, then you get something like this. Board makes an annual plan and wants MT not to deviate from it → MT sees the value of working Agile, but holds PO responsible for roadmap realization → PO wants to steer on constant value creation, but must let the Agile team deliver. So are we back to square one? Or can we also ensure that the PO is busy with new value creation and delivers at the same time? Jochem: “Yes, that is certainly possible. That’s exactly where Gert-Jan’s and my insights come together as well.” Okay, time for the announced reconciliation.

The PO from a future galaxy

Yes, there are still plenty of opportunities for the product owner for a valuable future. And yes, in order to actually seize all those opportunities, the product owner will have to continue to develop. And in four concrete points that Jochem and Gert-Jan will define together in this paragraph. Here we go. “Point one is the work-in-progress of the PO. That has to come down with a finish-starting-and-start-finishing mentality, ensuring focus in other words,” Jochem kicks off. “And second, the PO needs to be able to develop, embrace and communicate its product vision well.” Two out of four points to Jochem’s credit.

As a product owner of the future, feel free to underline owner – Gert-Jan

Then the moment when Gert-Jan puts development point number three on the table for the product owner of the future. “Get back in regular direct contact with stakeholders, the end users of the product, to be able to substantiate your value creation,” he adds. “And if you don’t get the chance to do that, take mandate. That’s point four as far as I’m concerned: don’t wait until you get mandate, but dare to grab mandate and show personality. As the product owner of the future, feel free to underline your owner.” There we are, the moment when the proverbial high-five between the two experts can really be given. Thus endorses Jochem: “Exactly, if we get these four development points done, then the role of the product owner in an Agile team is still the best thing we have to offer the world!”

Oh well, you are still owed these two concrete tips

• Tip #1 from Jochem: make sure you choose a mentor. And that really doesn’t have to be a PO. Above all, choose someone who values you more than your work, who is knowledgeable and who can share his or her wisdom unattached.
  
• Tip #2 from Gert-Jan: work on your personal leadership. A mentor can indeed feed you perfectly in that, but of course there are other pathways for that. Either way, it helps you as a PO to fill your role with even more confidence.