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Can you create a product owner role in a company that doesn’t use Scrum?

Yes, you can.

Agile purists will spend hours debating whether it is genuinely a product owner role or not if the rest of the team isn’t using Scrum to build that product but that is a matter of semantics.

I would argue that many successful companies already have some form of product ownership role within the firm.

Someone that acts as the CEO of that product and helps steer the team toward creating compelling products and services that truly delight customers.

So, do you need to operate in a Scrum environment to harness the benefits of product ownership?

No. You can set up the role and crack on without any barriers.

A great product owner acts as the CEO of the product.

They are the guardian of the brand and act as a custodian for quality.

They make decisions around what needs to be built and when those features, products and/or services need to be released.

They work with customers, product stakeholders and internal team members to refine the product and ensure that there is a clear priority for what is being built.

In many ways, the CEO or company founders act as the product owners.

It can only benefit your company to look at establishing a clear product owner and using the tools and resources available to Scrum Product Owners to make them more effective in the role.

We believe Scrum is one of the best ways to go about developing and continuously improving your products and services, but you don’t need to be a fully-fledged Scrum environment to start.

If you are interested in becoming a product owner, visit our Certified Scrum Product Owner course page as well as our Advanced Certified Product Owner course page.

Product Owner Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Product Owner Training Question