Product Owner Maturity Levels – Product Ownership

There are five levels of Product Owner Maturity in an organization: The Scribe, The Proxy, The Business Representative, The Sponsor & The Entrepreneur. A competent Product Owner not only possesses a deep understanding of the product vision but also exhibits a high level of maturity in executing their responsibilities.

Based on the authority and responsibility, there are 5 stages of the Product Owner. 

• The Scribe – Someone on the technology side with little to no decision-making ability, who has been tasked with capturing requirements.
• The Proxy – Someone is seen as a representative of the business like a business analyst or system analyst who may create an unnecessary indirection.
• The Business Representative – Someone from the business side with limited autonomy over product management.
• The Sponsor – Someone who spearheaded the initial business case, acquired the budget, and has the trust and the mandate to make financial and product decisions on the spot.
• The Entrepreneur – Someone who is spending their own money to fund the development of the product. They have complete responsibility for overall product management decisions for both business and IT strategy.

Both the scribe and proxy are on the receiving side of what goes into the product. They get told what to do. At best, they work out the details. 

The Business Representative, Sponsor, and Entrepreneur are more on the initiating side of the product. Because of their deeper business understanding and their two-way communication, they 

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Product Owner Maturity – Scribe

A Scribe (Business Analyst) is likely someone on the technology side who has been tasked with capturing requirements for the Scrum Team. He/she manages the Product Backlog and translates the wishes of stakeholders into understandable language for the Development Team to interpret quickly. He/she writes everything down during meetings with the business. He/she has little to no decision-making ability, authority, and responsibilities other than translating the wishes of stakeholders which severely impacts his or her effectiveness as a Product Owner and causes delays. Organizations that haven’t fully embraced the Agile mindset or have just started with Scrum usually find Scribe Product Owner.

• Administers the Product Backlog
• Collects the wishes from the stakeholders and translates them into User Stories for the Development Team.
• Has none to very limited authorities.
• Ensures that the wishes of the stakeholders are written out in understandable language for the Development Team.
• Mandate often lies with someone else, such as a steering committee or a Project Management Office (PMO).

Product Owner Maturity – Proxy

A Proxy (project manager or team lead or system analyst) is still likely to come from the technology side but is seen as a representative of the business or for a particular product manager on the business side. Most critical decisions, such as the business goals, scope, and desired outcomes, are still determined by the principal stakeholders such as the business owner, project sponsors, or steering committees. However, the Proxy gets to make certain limited decisions, such as the ordering of the Product Backlog. However, a Proxy will still require the approval of the primary stakeholders when they need to make any amendments to the priorities or in the Product Backlog. The problem is that a proxy creates an unnecessary indirection between the Development Team and the real influencers. It is primarily seen in organizations that are in the early stages of the Scrum framework adoption. 

• Vision, Business goals, Desired outcomes/results, and Scope are still being determined by other people, such as a steering committee, project sponsor, or business owner.
• Proxy Product Owners are not the final decision-makers.
• Have to ask for approval when changes happen.
• Have to ask for approval to change priorities.
• Have to ask for approval when they want to change the planning, roadmap, and Product Backlog.

Product Owner Maturity – Business Representative

A business representative is someone from the business side who is aware of the business context, market, and customers rather than the technology side. This role demonstrates a commitment from the business toward the product as they are experts in the organization, and someone who is well familiarized with the needs and wants of the customers. In contrast to the scribe or proxy Product Owner, this role provides more direct access to domain knowledge and stakeholder expectations. However, there may still be decision-making delays, as the business representative often has limited autonomy over product management. They are responsible for the Product Backlog, and they can manage it themselves without the need for any higher approval. However, for any budget changes, the Business Representatives will have to consult primary stakeholders.

• Typically responsible for a part of the product, a system, or a (set of) process(es).
• Within this system or process, this Product Owner may determine for himself- or herself which work will be carried out by the Development Team.
• Responsible for the Product Backlog
• Authority to manage the Product Backlog by themselves
• Within the budget that was allocated by other people, such as management or a steering committee.
• Does not have own budget to spend as desired.
• Need to get approval for budget changes and therefore often still has to deal with a steering committee or manager.
• Has a list of work to be done, projects to perform or goals to achieve, which were defined by someone else.

Product Owner Maturity – Sponsor

A sponsor (IT manager or business manager) is someone who spearheaded the initial business case and acquired the budget. Consequently, he has the trust and the mandate to make financial and product decisions on the spot. This creates fewer hiccups, less context switching, and largely improved flow. The Development Team can then focus more and get more things done sooner. They have a greater impact on the return on investment (ROI) and the total cost of ownership of the product.

• The Sponsor has his or her own budget. This is the biggest difference between the ‘Business Representative’ and the ‘Sponsor’.
• More opportunities for upscaling- and downscaling the Development Team.
• Bigger say in ‘what’ needs to be done.
• Allowed to define the work to be done, the projects to perform or the business goals to achieve.

Product Owner Maturity – Entrepreneur

The ultimate Product Owner is an entrepreneur, with the maximum impact on the product, customers, and organizations. The Entrepreneur has full authority over the product and must take full responsibility for it. Therefore, the Entrepreneur Product Owners are fully responsible for the return on investment of the product. An individual with an impeccable vision of the product, market, and customers, along with strong communication and leadership skills, will well fit the Entrepreneur’s role. This is someone who is spending their own money to fund the development of the product. This gives her complete responsibility for overall product management decisions for both business and IT strategy. Now while this may not be a realistic situation for many organizations, an entrepreneurial mindset is still something that Product Owners should assume. They should expect to see a return on investment (ROI) as though their own money was at stake.

• Takes full responsibility for the product and also has full authority over the product.
• Someone with a strong vision of the market, customers, and the product.
• Someone with a passion for the product and is someone with strong leadership and communication skills.
• Ultimately responsible for the product and are therefore profit & loss responsible.
• Also responsible for maintenance, operations, marketing, legal aspects, and sales.

Summary

Both the scribe and proxy are on the receiving side of what goes into the product. They get told what to do. At best, they work out the details. Proxy has more authority and responsibilities than a Scribe Product Owner. The Business Representative, sponsor, and entrepreneur are more on the initiating side of the product. Because of their deeper business understanding and their two-way communication, they develop stronger customer empathy. This empathy allows them to initiate rather than simply receive the right requirements.

In short, a Product Owner who is a Scribe has fewer responsibilities and authority than other types, and an Entrepreneur has the maximum amount of responsibilities and authority.

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