Learn why turning product managers into product owners was a disaster and how to fix it.
Agile methodology has reshaped the landscape of product management, promising more flexibility, faster time-to-market, and better alignment with customer needs. Yet, for many organizations, the reality has been starkly different.
I interviewed over 100 heads of product for my book, Turn Ideas Into Products, and their feedback was eye-opening: while 50% praised Agile for its benefits, the other 50% called it a disaster. The root cause? Turning product managers into product owners.
The Role Confusion: Product Manager vs. Product Owner
The Product Manager's Job
The product manager’s role is essential in any business. They identify problems worth solving, make critical business decisions, and provide technical and go-to-market teams with the market context they need. They also ensure that the product meets the needs of its intended audience and stands out from the competition.
In essence, product managers systematically turn good ideas into successful products. They are the architects of product success, balancing customer needs, business goals, and technical capabilities.
The Product Owner's Reality
Contrast this with the typical day of a product owner in many Agile organizations. Instead of focusing on identifying market opportunities and guiding the product strategy, product owners are often buried in solution design, prototyping, usability research, story mapping, project management, and even sales support.
These tasks are undoubtedly important, but they are not product management activities. Instead, they represent a shift away from the strategic aspects of the role, leading to a dilution of the product manager’s responsibilities.
The Agile Trap: How Implementation Failed
The Agile Manifesto Isn't to Blame
It’s important to clarify that the Agile Manifesto isn’t the culprit here. Agile, in theory, is sound—its principles of collaboration, customer focus, and adaptability are as relevant today as they were when the manifesto was first written.
The issue lies in how Agile has been implemented in many organizations. The transition of roles—turning product managers into product owners or simply removing product professionals entirely—has often been poorly handled, leading to confusion and inefficiency.
The Disaster: Turning Product Managers into Product Owners
When organizations redefined the product manager role as the product owner role, they didn’t just change a title—they changed the focus of the job. Product managers, who were once strategic leaders, became tactical executors, often bogged down by tasks that pulled them away from their core responsibilities.
When explaining the importance of market and customer expertise, I have heard from far too many product owners that they have never, not once, talked with a customer. You simply cannot do product management in this scenario.
This shift to the tactical caused significant problems:
Strategic Drift: Product managers lost their strategic focus, leading to products that were well-executed but poorly aligned with market needs.
Absent Market Facts. Without statistically relevant feedback from the market and customers, we returned to the failed feature-factory approach, where opinions drove priorities and we simply built things because we could. (“I talked to a guy” is not a valid research study.)
Role Confusion: Teams were unclear about who was responsible for what, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
Burnout: Product managers became overwhelmed with the sheer volume of tasks that fell outside their expertise, leading to burnout and turnover.
The Success: Turning Business Analysts into Product Owners
On the other hand, some organizations found success by turning business analysts into product owners. Business analysts are already accustomed to working closely with development teams, refining requirements, and managing backlogs. This made the transition smoother and more effective, as they were able to take on the product owner role without losing focus on their core responsibilities.
Reclaiming the Role of the Product Manager
Step 1: Analyze Product-Related Activities
The first step in reclaiming the product manager’s role is to conduct a thorough analysis of all product-related activities. Identify which tasks are genuinely part of product management and which are not. This clarity will help you reassign responsibilities more effectively.
Step 2: Assign Responsibilities to the Right Teams
Once you’ve identified the different activities, assign them to the appropriate teams. Solution design, for example, might be better handled by UX designers or solution architects. Story mapping and backlog management could be led by business analysts or dedicated project managers.
Step 3: Empower Solutions Teams with Product and Market Context
Finally, it’s crucial to empower your solution teams with the right product and market context. This ensures that they can make informed decisions without needing constant input from the product manager. The product manager can then focus on their true role: identifying market opportunities, crafting product strategy, and ensuring alignment with business goals.
A Return to Strategic Product Management
Agile doesn’t have to create chaos in product management. By recognizing the mistakes made in the implementation—particularly the misalignment of roles—you can return product managers to their rightful place as strategic leaders. This shift will improve your teams' effectiveness and morale and ensure that your products are better aligned with market needs and business goals.
In Turn Ideas into Products, author Steve Johnson introduces a nimble idea-to-market process with a strong emphasis on personal experience with customers. From business planning to product launch, this approach for managing products empowers your product team to work smarter and collaborate better with colleagues and customers based on the QuartzOpen Framework.
Since I have been exploring Product Management, your book Turn Ideas Into Products has been the single reference that I have read that made sense! — Mallory Allen, WizeHive
Get it for 50% off by using the discount code "halfoff"
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