Scrum's “Product Owner” Problem
Role of Product vs Engineering
- Many endorse a clear split: product/PO owns “what & why,” engineers own “how,” with constant negotiation on scope, risk, and sequencing.
- Some argue product roles have become too broad; they should focus on scouting value and user needs, leaving sub-epic implementation and breakdown to engineering.
- Others strongly oppose shifting more product responsibility to engineers, warning they may prioritize interesting work over what moves the business and lack domain knowledge in areas like medical billing or finance.
Scrum, Product Owner Power, and Backlogs
- Several commenters say the article misreads Scrum: PO is accountable for the product backlog, but can and should delegate, and does not control the sprint backlog.
- Others note that in practice, POs often act as micro-managing project managers, turning engineers into “ticket-takers” and creating friction.
- Some point out frameworks like SAFe or Pivotal’s process that explicitly separate business-facing stories from technical chores, or maintain dual backlogs (program vs solution).
Collaboration, Communication, and Culture
- A recurring view: dysfunction is less about Scrum itself and more about poor communication, ego, or “command and control” culture where POs ignore technical constraints or engineers resist product input.
- Best experiences described involve shared context: engineers understand customers and domain; POs understand enough tech to avoid asking for the impossible or wasteful.
- Several stress engineers should be closer to customers and discovery work, at least at senior levels; others prefer engineers stay focused on building with minimal “side quests.”
Analogies and Talent Profiles
- Restaurant and painting analogies are debated:
- One side emphasizes a single chef/conductor or “single wringable neck” for vision and preventing chaos.
- Another side rejects viewing engineers as interchangeable “house painters” or onion-choppers, seeing it as condescending and harmful to quality.
- Some claim many programmers are detail-focused and ill-suited to product decisions; others counter this is a hiring and culture problem, not inherent to engineers.
Overall Sentiment
- Broad agreement that good product work is hard and essential.
- Main split: whether Scrum’s PO role inherently misallocates decision power, or whether the real issue is bad implementation and weak POs/PMs.