What's a Typical Day for a Product Owner?

In the scrum framework, the product owner (PO) is one of the three accountabilities (or roles) on the scrum team. They oversee optimizing a product's value through efficient development management and making sure it satisfies all relevant stakeholder and customer needs. 

So, what does an average day in the life of a product owner look like? Depending on the organization's structure, the product under development, and the stage of the product life cycle, a product owner's typical day can be quite varied.

Nevertheless, a representative day might look something like this:

Preparing and Planning Your Day as a Product Owner

9 a.m.

Examine your communication channels, e.g., Slack, visual work boards, and emails, first thing in the morning to see if there are any updates or pressing issues from the stakeholders or scrum team developers.

Review your objectives, concerns, and other issues as you get ready for the day. The product owner prioritizes the most crucial tasks for the day after evaluating the product’s state. Because conditions are always evolving and changing, one day may look very different from the next. That's why a product owner must have outstanding communication skills and the ability to juggle multiple priorities.

Daily Scrum (Sometimes Called a Stand-up Meeting)

10 a.m.

While the daily scrum is a daily synchronization for the developer accountabilities on the team, the product owner and scrum master may choose to attend. It depends on the context of your organization and what you've adopted.

Should the product owner attend a daily scrum? It depends. Remember the daily scrum event is primarily for developers, and “The purpose of the Daily Scrum is to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary, adjusting the upcoming planned work.” (Source: Scrum Guide 2020).

While the Scrum Guide does not require it, many scrum practitioners believe the PO—as an integral part of the scrum team—adds value to this daily event.

Here are a few ways you can contribute as the product owner:

• Provide quick updates on any new user feedback
• Respond to queries from the team
• Help remove any roadblocks or obstacles when possible 

The daily scrum event has a timebox of 15 minutes, so make sure, as the product owner, you know how much time you're using during the daily scrum. Leave plenty of time for the developers to synchronize their daily activities.

Product Backlog Management

10:30-noon

The product owner devotes a significant chunk of their working day to managing and maintaining the product backlog. Product backlog items (PBIs) must be improved and further refined, priorities reassessed, and the backlog must be kept current and up to date.

The product owner may work with stakeholders and collect input to further hone the product backlog.

User Research and Feedback Analysis

1 p.m.

Understanding users' needs and wants is a critical component of the product owner's job. Your day might include some time to:

• Perform user research
• Review user comments
• Validate assumptions
• Look for opportunities to add new functions or improve existing ones

Decision-making and product strategy are influenced by the product owner’s deep understanding of the user’s needs.

Continuous Collaboration and Communication

The product owner interacts with various stakeholders throughout the day. They also collaborate with the developers to ensure shared understanding and alignment on the product goal and requirements.

They also engage with other product owners and teams (such as marketing, sales, and customer support) to gather insights and ensure effective coordination.

Preparing for Upcoming Sprint Planning and Refinement

2 p.m.

The product owner participates in sprint planning events to establish the sprint goal and top priorities for the upcoming sprints. Refinement activities take place continuously to prepare for sprint planning.

“Product Backlog refinement is the act of breaking down and further defining Product Backlog items into smaller, more precise items. This is an ongoing activity to add details, such as a description, order, and size. Attributes often vary with the domain of work.” (Source:Scrum Guide 2020)

To ensure that the team is fully aware of what needs to be built during the sprint, the product owner may collaborate closely with the developers to improve user stories, estimate effort, and guarantee that the team has that understanding.

Decision-Making and Trade-Offs

2:45 p.m.

Making tough decisions and trade-offs is one of your major responsibilities as the product owner.

You may weigh several choices, consider technical limitations, business priorities, and user wants, and then decide how to drive the product in the appropriate direction.

Remember that product owners must learn how to say "No" without alienating primary stakeholders. Learning how to do so may come from a combination of experience, training, mentoring, reaching out to your network for advice, and learning from others' experiences.

Continuous Learning and Improvement

3 p.m.

Product owners must keep up with changes in consumer behavior as well as market trends and new technologies. They put effort into lifelong learning, which includes reading relevant materials, going to conferences, or engaging in professional networks, to expand their expertise. A portion of your day or week may be dedicated to this professional development.

Consider Conducting a Daily Product Owner Gemba

4:15 p.m.

“Scrum is founded on empiricism and lean thinking.” (Source: Scrum Guide 2020)

Genchi Genbutsu and Kaizen, two other Japanese concepts used in Lean management, are closely linked to Gemba. Genchi Genbutsu, which translates to "go and see for yourself," highlights the value of direct observation.

Consider planning time for in-person or virtual Gemba walks, during which you, as a product owner, explore and interact with team members' workspaces. This could be participating in online video meetings, conducting collaborative exercises, or simply remotely observing others at work.

Inspect and Adapt Daily

4:45 p.m.

At the end of the day, the product owner assesses the day's worth of work and considers any adjustments that need to be made to the product backlog. Additionally, they might improve user stories, organize tasks for the following day, or get ready for upcoming events.

The Always-Dynamic Day in the Life of a Product Owner

It's vital to keep in mind that actual tasks and time commitments may change based on organizational procedures, team size, and product complexity. To deliver an excellent product, a product owner must strike a balance between strategic and tactical thinking, effective communication, and tight cooperation with multiple stakeholders.

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