A common mistake Product Owners (POs) often make is assigning Product Backlog items to specific Scrum Teams or individuals. While this approach may seem efficient - and even helpful - it undermines team dynamics, disempowers Developers, and distracts the PO from their true purpose: maximizing value.
The Product Owner’s Focus
The purpose of the Product Owner is to maximize the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. One of the Product Owner's primary means of achieving this is the content and ordering of items in the Product Backlog. The Product Backlog is a single, ordered list of everything that will add value to the product. It is a never-ending, ever-evolving plan that shows what the team will work on next.
Keeping the Product Backlog up to date is a never-ending job. It requires a relentless focus on what will add the most value to the Product - whether that is new features, bug fixes, or addressing outstanding technical debt.
On the other hand, delivering items in the Product Backlog is the Developers' job - and that includes deciding who will do what. When the Product Owner spends their time assigning tasks to specific individuals (or when working with multiple teams, when the PO assigns work to a Sprint or a particular team), they shift their focus away from what will add value and instead, they are focused on how to deliver value.
When the Product Owner assigns work to Scrum Teams, that can come across as micromanagement, which is not only inefficient but also disempowering for developers. Developers thrive when they are trusted to make decisions about how to deliver value. It’s their role to figure out the “how” of delivery, including which team members or teams are best suited for the work.
Empowering Teams to Decide
Scrum is built on the foundation of self-management. When developers decide how to deliver their work - including who will do what - they feel a stronger sense of ownership and accountability for the product as a whole—not just their portion of it. This fosters collaboration across teams, encourages innovative solutions, and avoids pigeonholing individuals or teams into specific types of work.
For example, if a PO assigns all bug fixes to a single team, it may create a siloed environment where developers in other teams lose opportunities to broaden their skill sets. Over time, this limits flexibility and creates dependency on specific teams for specific types of work.
Cross-Functional Growth and Accountability
As a product evolves, the needs of the product may require developers to expand their skill sets. If developers are always assigned work that aligns with their current expertise, they miss out on growth opportunities. Allowing teams to choose their work ensures that developers can align tasks with both their skills and areas they want to grow.
This approach also encourages developers to consider the Product Backlog holistically. When teams own the decision of which work to tackle, they begin to look beyond their specializations and think about what will bring the most value to the product overall.
Avoiding the Pitfall of Keeping Teams "Busy"
Assigning work based on perceived team preferences can also create a dangerous pitfall: the PO begins to prioritize keeping teams busy over delivering value. For example, if the PO assigns work based on the idea that Team A handles new features while Team B handles technical debt, they may inadvertently prioritize less valuable work just to keep everyone busy. Instead, developers should be empowered to choose work based on what is most valuable at any given time, even if it means stepping outside their comfort zones.
Benefits of Self-Organization
When POs focus on the “what” and leave the “how” to the teams, this results in:
Better Collaboration: Teams take collective responsibility for the product and align their efforts across boundaries.
Developer Empowerment: Developers feel trusted to make decisions, fostering engagement and ownership.
Enhanced Flexibility: Teams adapt to the evolving needs of the product, building cross-functional skills.
Value-Driven Prioritization: The PO can focus on maximizing value instead of managing task allocation.
Conclusion
The Product Owner’s focus should remain firmly on what is most valuable for the product—not on assigning work to teams or keeping everyone busy. By allowing teams to decide how to deliver value, developers are empowered, collaboration improves, and the Product Owner can focus on what really matters: maximizing value by improving customer outcomes.
To learn more about the Product Owner accountability in Scrum, sign up for Rebel Scrum's Professional Scrum Product Owner course, developed by Scrum.org.