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A junior product owner holds an entry-level position. For the most part, they shadow a more experienced product owner and support them. Their responsibilities tend to include helping prioritize tasks during sprint planning, liaising with the end user to better understand their needs and taking care of miscellaneous tasks the senior product owner assigns them.

Another entry-level position is that of an associate product owner. An associate product owner’s responsibilities often overlap with those of a junior product owner. However, they may also need to act as a point of contact for multiple teams, including internal and external stakeholders, and help develop roadmaps.

A senior product owner is responsible for taking control of the product and overseeing product development from start to finish. They are the senior point of contact for the end user and are expected to consistently provide updates about product development. This role also entails creating the product backlog, which is a to-do list of the tasks required to build the product.

Other responsibilities include developing a strategic vision and creating a layout of everything that needs to happen to reach the end goal. More experienced product owners may be responsible for managing multiple products at once. In this case, they may be referred to as portfolio owners.

A product owner’s career path may end up deviating towards the role of a Scrum master. You may also hear of this referred to as a “professional Scrum product owner.” However, though closely related, these are two different roles.

The Scrum Master is there to assist with the Agile process for software development. They take data relating to product strategy and ensure the development team has everything they need to build the product. A Scrum Master leads daily Scrum meetings, constantly assesses and reflects on the work the development team is doing and attends to any issues along the way.

If you are a Scrum Master and are in the market for some new software, we suggest checking out our selection of the best Agile tools available.

In some cases, a product owner may go on to become an Agile coach. This involves promoting Agile practices and teaching others how to implement them in order to build a product to the highest standards. An Agile coach may also come in to analyze and improve Agile practices that are already in place on an Agile team.

Many of these responsibilities are shared among the various product owner roles. Your experience will be the main factor determining the types of product owner positions you hold. For example, junior product owners will take on less complex products or smaller clients.

Mid-level and senior product owners will likely work with more complex products. For example, they could take on software requests from local or national governments, or collaborate with large-scale brands and enterprises.

It is fairly common for a product owner to go on to become a project manager. This entails managing a range of projects, not just those pertaining to product management. A project manager will also use a wider range of project management methodologies that go beyond those relating to Agile software development. 

Because product ownership involves plenty of analysis, a product owner may eventually become a business analyst. In the product world, this role entails identifying products that can help a business improve its internal processes.

In addition to general guidance, a business analyst recommends types of software that can benefit a company, such as some of the best free project management software. They also identify areas where a business can scale in order to expand and increase its revenue.

In time, a product owner may become a product manager. In this role, you’re responsible for managing product owners. Product managers tend to work within scaled Agile frameworks, such as Scrum of Scrums and SAFe.

A chief product officer tends to have responsibilities similar to those of other types of product owners. However, they have a closer relationship with the chief executive officer in the organizational structure. This includes helping shape what a product should like and how it should function, and determining why a given company needs the product.

People often ask if they need to obtain a product owner certification to begin their career. The official answer is no; product owner career progression doesn’t need to begin with taking courses.

However, some employers may prefer Scrum product owners to have Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) certification, which you can obtain from the Scrum Alliance. Though not essential, it may be worth obtaining the certification for the benefit of your own education and potential career development.

If you’re unable to obtain a certification, there are other ways to get your foot in the door if you want to be a product owner. One of them is to take on the role of project assistant. This could include booking meetings for product owners and taking care of day-to-day administrative tasks. By doing so, you can learn about the role of a product owner on the job.

If you’re already an experienced project manager, the path is paved for you to become a product owner. Having a history of using an Agile approach to project management will be beneficial, as will having a deep understanding of terminology such as “user stories,” “backlogs,” “sprints” and “sprint reviews,” “epics” and “sprint retrospectives.”

Product owners don’t necessarily need to have experience as software developers. However, if you have experience developing products, you will have more opportunities to transition to being a product owner.