Product Owner vs Product Manager: Key Differences Explained

Product owners and managers are similar but cannot be used interchangeably. These two titles have dynamic and distinct roles and functions and should be used differently.

Let’s explore the key differences between a product manager and a product owner.

The Differences Between Product Owners and Product Managers

SaaS product development and management has two main roles: the product owner and the product manager. These roles have different key functions, which include:

Focus

Product owners (executive focus) are responsible for the day-to-day execution of the product development process. They interpret the overall product vision into actionable tasks and monitor the development team's completion of these tasks. They work closely with the development teams while ensuring that they meet deadlines.

Product owners are involved in drafting the product backlog and its effective implementation. They ensure that the development team is focusing on the right things to meet customers’ demands and specific needs.

Product managers (strategic focus) are responsible for the product strategy and its execution. The product manager is saddled with the responsibility of conducting market research. They gather valuable insights and feedback on customers' needs, pain points, and goals to identify their needs. They also do competitive analysis to unravel the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors.

The information collected helps in the development of a product strategy that outlines how to meet the customer’s needs. Consider reading our Product Management Process guide for more insights.

Scope of Responsibility

Product owner (technical role): Since product owners are responsible for successful product delivery, they are responsible for the technical and managerial aspects of the product development process.

During the development lifecycle, they ensure that the team concentrates on the right items, stays on track, and delivers high-quality products. The product owner organizes and prioritizes the backlog. They decide whether a bug report should be addressed, or if enhancements to features should take precedence. Explore feature prioritization techniques to help with planning.

Product managers (broader strategic responsibilities): The product manager makes strategic decisions that affect the overall product and its success. For instance, a product manager analyzes market trends, and the customer needs to develop a long-term strategy for a mobile app. They decided to focus on building features for enterprise clients based on market research.

The product manager also manages the cross-functional teams. They coordinate the designers, engineers, developers, marketing, and sales teams to launch a product. Product managers coordinate between design, engineering, marketing, and sales teams to launch a new product.

For example, they ensure that marketing campaigns and product features are synchronized for a launch date. Their work doesn’t stop there; they also track user engagement metrics after the product launch. If user retention rates drop, they develop and implement strategies to address the issue.

Skills

Product owners need to be organized, meticulous, dynamic, detail-oriented, and agile-focused. They must have a good understanding of the product development process. A good product owner needs:

• Understanding of agile methodologies

• Prioritization skills

• Backlog grooming skills

• Conflict resolution skills

• Leadership and communication skills

On the other hand, product managers need a mix of business acumen, market research skills, and technical know-how. They must also have excellent communication skills and be able to work with stakeholders. The skills needed are:

• Strategic thinking and business acumen

• Market and customer research

• Customer data analysis

• Roadmapping and prioritization

• Communication skills

• Critical thinking and problem-solving

• Leadership skills

• Emotional intelligence and empathy

Tools

The product owner uses backlog management and prioritization tools. These tools are used to organize and prioritize the product backlog, thereby improving communication, enhancing efficiency, and team productivity success.

POs use management and collaboration tools to plan sprints and collect user feedback while also ensuring communication and execution stay on track. These tools help product owners maintain clear communication with their team, and share ideas with different support channels for various topics, direct messaging, and file sharing. Metrics tools are also used by the product owners to measure their success and make informed decisions.

In contrast, product managers make use of product analytics tools to track user behavior. These tools help product managers optimize product experiences and analyze customer behavior and interactions within digital products like websites and mobile apps. They are essential for providing vital information to enhance performance and identify problems. Additionally, A/B testing tools are important for product managers to understand how their product is performing.

Also, they use product management tools to work fast and deliver products perfectly to customers. Product management tools improve documentation and help product managers organize and monitor tasks.

Since product managers coordinate and collaborate with cross-functional teams, they require collaboration tools to ensure that cross-functional teams are aligned with the strategy. Check out the best product management software to support their efforts.

Collaboration

Product owners primarily work closely and interact with developers to ensure that the expected product features and functionalities are delivered on time.

While product owners collaborate with cross-functional teams to align marketing, sales, support, and finance strategies. They also collaborate with non-technical stakeholders like executives and investors to report the progress and gather insights.

How Product Owner and Product Manager Work together

It is important for the product owner and product manager to work together for the success of the product. They have different responsibilities but share the objective of creating a successful product to meet the needs of customers.

• Define Role and Responsibilities: It is crucial to define the roles and responsibilities of each person to avoid confusion. Regardless of how similar the titles sound, the product owner and product manager are distinct. They need to understand their roles and responsibilities to avoid conflicts in the product journey.

• Good Communication: Establishing an open line of communication is vital for both product owners and product managers. Good communication promotes effective collaboration. Scheduling meetings about the product’s progress, and tasks, and solving any problems that arise.

• Encourage Collaboration: Creating a positive work environment will encourage collaboration between teams. . Fostering a culture of collaboration that values open communication and teamwork will help create a sense of accountability for the success of the product.