Hiring a Product Owner? Don’t just copy-paste a job spec from the internet. A real PO isn’t just a requirements collector or project manager—they own product success.
Here’s what a strong Product Owner actually does:
And here’s the hard truth: one person alone cannot do all of this at scale. POs delegate, but they remain accountable. If a PO is just taking orders, someone else is actually running the product—and that’s a problem.
If your PO is buried in admin work instead of driving outcomes, you don’t have a real PO. You have a backlog secretary.
What’s the biggest gap in most Product Owner job descriptions you’ve seen?
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
Jack Links
Big Data for Humans
Trayport
Ericson
Sage
Genus Breeding Ltd
Microsoft
YearUp.org
Schlumberger
Flowmaster (a Mentor Graphics Company)
Workday
Capita Secure Information Solutions Ltd
Bistech
Milliman
Akaditi
Philips
Higher Education Statistics Agency
Freadom
Royal Air Force
Ghana Police Service
Washington Department of Transport
Nottingham County Council
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
Qualco
New Signature
Ericson
Emerson Process Management
Lean SA
Graham & Brown