The top 5 things to look for in a Product Owner
Finding a good Product Owner isn’t all that easy. I should know. I’ve spent the past several months searching for two suitable candidates to help realise some of our product and service ambitions. Well the good news is, we’ve signed up two great people and one has already hit the ground running.
So what should you be looking for in selecting a good Product Owner?
- An end-to-end ‘strategic’ thinker, problem solver and designer.
Beware picking a Product Owner who is only good at digital development. Like any app or digital product there is a huge offline component that if ignored, could set you up for disaster. Remember that eventual product users will need support and this will have implications for systems, processes, training and technology. Good POs lead from the front and engage with other interdependent teams such as service operations and sales, to design a perfect multichannel, online and offline end-to-end experience.
Look out for someone who is good at identifying, articulating and more importantly overcoming problems. There’s nothing worse than a PO who is able to identify weaknesses and gaps but can’t bring themselves to identify a fix.
From a strategy point of view, look for POs that can see beyond their first drop of features. You need people who can scan the horizon and see opportunities far ahead. A good PO is someone who will have a long term plan in place to deliver a product and service that changes the game for competitors.
2. Someone obsessed about users.
Search for those who are comfortable spending time with users and see that as an intrinsic part of their job. Look for candidates who are experienced in user ethnography and research. Individuals who care about what really matters to a user. These people are the ones who will save you from a development long tail of product requirements and features no one was ever likely to want.
3. A good pitcher and negotiator.
Both go hand in hand but you need a leader who can pitch their idea clearly and succinctly. Storytelling is taking the business world by storm and it shouldn’t be a surprise. How many meetings have you been to where you sat through a large deck only to come out confused, perplexed or simply apathetic? A good PO is someone who can tell their product story in a compelling way. They need to be able to convince people to change behaviours and patterns that might have been in place for a long time.
Negotiators are good at managing the internal politics of any organisation. They can listen to the point of view of others and if necessary compromise to bring people together. They are great at understanding the competing challenges a business might have, from user centricity to the need to drive revenue growth. Trust me — sometimes those two things don’t always meet.
4. Someone with a commercial and numbers head.
Being great at understanding users, writing requirements and interpreting UX and UI is all great, but if you don’t understand commercial reality you’re sunk. Make sure you pick a PO who understands the fundamentals of a product and it’s need to make money. They need to be able to talk fluently about margin, revenue and costs without needing a crutch from the finance team. POs should also be clear on how to design metrics that matter. Pick a PO that puts vanity metrics like ‘downloads’ aside and focuses instead on what really matters like ‘user stickiness’.
5. A person willing to try new things.
Good POs are those willing to learn on the job and stretch themselves. They’re also more likely to experiment with new approaches, methodologies and new ways of thinking. They are the ones that will keep your business innovating in everything from product design to DevOps. You want individuals who are at the cutting edge of their profession. People who always feel like they’re doing the best work of their lives.
Good POs aren’t all that easy to find. The market is competitive and you’ll have to search high and low for the right candidate. Just make sure you go for someone who is self starter with the attributes outlined above. When you find the right candidate you’ll know. You get that tingle, and it stays with you long after they’ve left the interview room.
At Strategy Activist we actively get involved in helping clients source and secure the best talent possible. To learn more about how we can help, please visit us at www.strategyactivist.com or call us on +44 77860 63053
