Feeling useless as a PO
Hello everyone
I am a new PO, having transitioned from a startup environment where I did everything and had a lot of responsibility.
In my current team, there is a someone who defines business goals and manages the users, someone who does all the user research, and someone who does the management of the whole team.
I don't feel like the "CEO of the product". I feel like a monkey who has to take business objectives from one person, and user objectives from another, and do nothing more but write up tickets and move the backlog (i don't even prioritize, as that is done by aforementioned people).
Feels like I could be replaced by a chair and nothing would change.
Is this normal? Is this what the role is? I may have misunderstood the role when accepting the job, as I have never been a PO before.
Thanks everyone
Are you able to fulfil the Product Ownership responsibilities which others appear to be doing? If so, do you believe you should fulfil them, bearing in mind that you -- as PO -- are ultimately accountable for maximizing product value?
Do you work for a large organization now? Do they follow a popular scaled agile system? If so, your experience is common. In many large organizations the Product Owner is seen as more of an assistant Product Manager while the Product Manager makes the key decisions. You may also have UI UX who may do some of the product design work, and other people helping with product management. Working in a startup or a small, empowered team can be rewarding but Product Owners are not seen as CEOs of products in many large companies.
Dear Mark,
Yes you are right. I am in a larger organization, but in the interview I was told I would be both a PO and a PM. I was a PM before and it is really what I thought I was doing.
Any advice on how to handle the situation? My motivation and inspiration are at 0, and it has only been a few months..