Product Owners have the difficult task of helping Product Teams create the best products. This paper aims to shine light on the four great challenges they face and to provide insights into how to overcome them.
At their core, Product Owners are accountable for maximizing the Value of the work done by their Product Team. To achieve this, Product Owners help Teams answer the following questions:
- Who is affected by the product?
- What makes these people happy?
- How do we know they are happier?
- How do you prioritize the Product Backlog to maximize happiness?
These questions represent the four challenges that Product Owners face in their work.
Note that this white paper uses “Product Team” in contrast to “Scrum Team” as a Product Team may include multiple Scrum Teams. In the spirit of Scrum, the Product Team includes everyone working on the product including designers and engineers.
Doceo’s most popular product management courses
Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO)
$1,695 CAD-
Professional Scrum Product Owner – Advanced (PSPO-A)
$1,695 CAD 
Professional Scrum Product Discovery and Validation (PPDV)
$995 CAD
Professional Scrum Product Backlog Management Skills (PSPBMS)
$995 CAD
Click here to find out more about our product management training courses.
About the author
Luc St-Laurent is a professional trainer whose goal is to help product managers create better products using iterative release and learning cycles. With years of experience in both virtual and real-world environments, Luc bases his teaching on pedagogical theories, interactions, concrete exercises and real-life examples, all within a playful framework. Evaluations are available on the Scrum.org website. Luc has over 20 years’ experience as a Product Manager, including 15 years as a Product Owner. He has worked, coached and trained in a wide variety of contexts and industries, both IT and non-IT. Outside of work, Luc is a family man, a keen hiker and an avid board game player.
