You may find several roles that emerge as a linchpin in the process of delivering value to customers across Agile methodologies and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®). However, the most popular one among these roles is the SAFe® Product Owner/Product Manager, abbreviated as SAFe® POPM. 

Let us delve deeper into the roles of the SAFe® POPM and learn how they contribute to the different fields of Agile.

Who is the SAFe® Product Owner, and Who is SAFe® Product Manager?

The SAFe® Product Owner is a member of the Scrum team. This professional often works as the voice of the customer. The SAFE® PO liaises with Product Management and other POs, including other stakeholders for various tasks. The most important task involves defining and listing out stories in the Team Backlog and ordering them as per priority.  

The SAFe® Product Owner is in the same office as the rest of the team. However, this may not happen in the case of widely distributed teams across larger organizations. A particular professional in this field can support up to two different Agile teams. 

A certified product owner also works with the SAFe® Product Manager to maintain the overall product vision across different projects. 

Now, let’s talk about the SAFe® Product Manager. This professional defines the role as a strategic to product development and holds a market-driving position. The Product Manager further connects the business strategy, design, and product potential based on the user's needs. It helps them build a relevant, feasible, and valuable product for the customers. 

So, a SAFe® Product Manager focuses on optimizing the value of the product. This helps them attain all the business goals and user needs while maximizing the returns on the investments (ROIs).

Key Roles and Responsibilities of SAFe® Product Owner

The SAFe® Product Owner is an important Agile team member responsible for maximizing the value delivered by the team. They do so by ensuring the following roles and responsibilities: 

1. PI Planning

The PO actively participates in Program Increment (PI) planning events as an integral part of the larger Product Management team. This includes involvement in program backlog refinement to ensure the team backlog is up-to-date and contributes to vision creation. The PO further provides clarity when needed during PI planning. They work collaboratively with the SAFe team to define PI objectives.

2. During the Iteration

The PO manages crucial tasks throughout the iteration execution. This involves building, updating, and maintaining the team backlog with inputs from stakeholders and the team. The PO reviews and prioritizes the team backlog before Iteration Planning to coordinate dependencies with other POs. 

The professional also clarifies user story details to ensure alignment on the final iteration plan. Throughout the process, they track the flow and maintain priorities as the team elaborates on backlog items. The PO collaborates with the team to define stories, add acceptance criteria, and apply Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) practices. 

3. During Program Execution

Throughout each PI, the PO collaborates with other POs to check and coordinate dependencies, fostering smooth work progress. Weekly sync-ups ensure effective communication.

4. Inspection and Adaptation

The PO actively engages in the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) workshop, addressing impediments to progress. This involves collaborating across teams to improve processes, increase team velocity, and enhance quality. During the I&A workshop, the PO participates in and hosts the PI system demo for program stakeholders.

Key Roles and Responsibilities SAFe® Product Manager

Product managers bear a range of crucial responsibilities, particularly within the framework of SAFe®. Their key responsibilities include:

1. Promoting a Shared Vision

Define a compelling vision that serves as the guiding star for your team. This vision should encompass customer and business needs, align with organizational strategic themes, and provide both long-term direction for the overall product solution and short-term goals for each Agile Release Train (ART).

2. Understanding Customer and Business Needs

Advocate for the customer by focusing on delivering solutions to real pain points. Conduct continuous user research to grasp customer needs and preferences, using these insights to shape the vision and roadmap. Collaborate with business stakeholders to maintain alignment amid changing priorities and scope.

3. Building and Maintaining Product Roadmaps

Develop release roadmaps based on delivery milestones, sharing them with teams and the broader organization to ensure synchronization.

4. Maintaining Workflow Board and Backlog

Keep work progressing and ensure an updated product backlog through meticulous grooming. SAFe, defines features on a kanban board, with each card including a benefit hypothesis and acceptance criteria. You can also assess the economic implications of each feature by employing the "Weighted Shortest Job First" (WSJF) method. Features that receive approval from the product management team are subsequently moved to the backlog and prioritized for implementation.

5. Leading Planning Interval (PI) Planning

Present the vision, roadmap, and highest-priority features during PI planning. Collaborate with the team to assess achievable goals based on capacity, dependencies, and technical considerations. 

6. Validating Features

Conduct a system demo at the end of each iteration within the PI, where product managers and product owners play a central role. Gather feedback from primary stakeholders, review progress against PI objectives, and validate features against acceptance criteria, approving them for release.

Learn more about:Role of a Product Manager in SAFe

Is It Possible for an Individual to Fulfill Both Roles in SAFe® PO & PM?

Yes, it is possible for an individual to fulfil both roles in SAFe® as a Product Owner and a Product Manager. While SAFe® defines distinct responsibilities for each role, the framework acknowledges that in some circumstances, especially in smaller organizations or teams, an individual may take on multiple roles. 

In such cases, the person playing both the PO and PM roles needs to carefully balance and manage the responsibilities associated with each role. It means they must know the intricacies of the SAFe® Product Owner vs Product Manager as shown in this comparison table. 

Conclusion

Now that you know that both SAFe® product owners and product managers play an important role in the Agile framework, the next question that comes to mind is the eligibility to perform both these roles efficiently. For this, you must undertake the SAFe® POPM certification from Simpliaxis. This certification encompasses the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) to help individuals become an integral part of the product development process across businesses. It will further prepare you to explore the job roles Product Owner and Product Manager in an Agile environment. So, what wait? Enroll with us now!