Product owner as team captains
As an agile working model, Scrum depends on a clear distribution of roles. A product owner takes on important functions within the Scrum process development team. Product owners are important figures in the world of agile software development or agile project management: The primary responsibility of a product owner is to ensure that the end product or service that the development team creates meets the requirements and needs of customers or users and offers real added value. That is why a product owner needs a certain level of technical understanding. Product owners are (in contrast to Scrum masters) an integral part of the development team itself. In short, they are something like the captains of the product, who steer it safely through the stormy seas of the development process and make sure that the metaphorical course is maintained. In the end, this is how the greatest possible benefit can be offered to customers!
What does it take to get started as a product owner?
To be a really good product owner, various skills, traits and qualities are required, ranging from strong communication skills, to the empathetic anticipation of customer needs in line with the sensitivities of the leading team, to an agile mindset including the ability to make decisions quickly and take responsibility for them. As already stated with regard to the Scrum Master, certification is not absolutely necessary, but it can't hurt to be trained by professionals.
Conclusion: Decisive and agile? Product Owner!
A framework like Scrum depends on the serious assumption of responsibility in the form of specially designated roles. Anyone who feels called to make a difference in teamwork, has relevant professional and social skills and has had enough of rigid hierarchies, should seriously consider giving their job as a product owner a chance. It's definitely worth it.
