Product Owners and Product Managers Allan Kelly

Of all the roles that play a part when software is created only one is essential: Coders. You can get by without Testers, either because the Coders are so good you don’t need to test or through sheer bloody mindedness. And if you are very lucky the Coders will be able to work out what is required directly from the people who want the software. But generally speaking it helps to have someone decide what is needed from software before coding begins. This is not to make a case for big requirements document – or indeed any documentation. Documentation may help, but it is only a medium for communication. The spoken word is another, and requirements are often better communicated by a conversation. The advantage of conversation is that it is a two way process. The listener can ask questions during a conversation and they can resume the conversation at a later date if they need clarification- both difficult to do with a document. However the requirements are communicated, somebody needs to decide what they are. Scrum calls this person the Product Owner. It is the perso