What is a Product Owner?
A Product Owner (PO) is one of the key members of an Agile development team. The primary responsibilities of a PO is to define the stories, maintain the product backlog and define the length and workload within a sprint.
This role is often combined with that of the Product Manager (PM) but in organisations that clearly delineate between the two it is important to not get confused. The Product Owner is responsible for the sprints and the backlog whereas the Product Manager is responsible for understanding the user needs and creating the product road-map (The PM focuses on the ‘what’ and the ‘why’, the PO focuses on the ‘who’ and ‘how’ – both come together to discuss the ‘when’)
Product Owner salary – A Product Owner is a highly skilled and challenging role. As such it commands a high salary. Those in the UK can expect to pick-up an average of £60,000 working as a Product Owner. For our American readers you can expect to command a much higher salary, the average Product Owner in the USA picks up around $100,000.
With such [relatively] high wages the competition for each role can be fierce. That is why in this post we are going to look at applying for PO jobs, in particular how to handle the interview portion of the application.
Product Owner Interview Tips
Lean heavily on your experience. This applies even if you have never held a PO position before. A Product Owner is responsible for numerous things but primarily ensuring that the right activities are being worked on at the right time (managing the product backlog). You don’t need to have held a PO title previously to have participated in similar activities. Perhaps you have worked in a role before where you had to choose which features to deploy at which time? Or maybe you have instituted changes to processes when there were multiple options available? When answering questions lean heavily into these experiences.
Talk about how important quality is to a firm. Working in a agile fashion is great for pushing out product updates quickly, but often it can result in quality taking a back-seat. Hiring managers will want to see how you balance the need for frequent and rapid deployments with the need to product a high quality product.
Know your audience. You should always research the organisation you are interviewing for. But what people don’t think to do is also research the interviewer and the hiring manager (if these are different persons). You want to impress the person making the hiring decision so you should research them specifically trying to understand what makes them tick and what they are looking for in a new employee.
Pepper your answers with technical terms. Agile deployment has a number of technical terms, processes, systems, tools etc. For example when answering a question you can talk about how your team uses JIRA for defect tracking. Or you might talk about how you used Selenium for automated browser testing. These little things show the interviewer that you are well versed in the area and are not just full of fluff.
How Best To Answer Product Owner Interview Questions
Unless the question you are asked is a straight ‘up or down / yes or no’ style question then you are going to need to learn to describe, expand and elaborate on your answers. The best way of doing this is to follow the B-STAR technique for answering interview questions.
Answers using this method follow the below structure:
B – Belief – What are your thoughts and feelings with regard to the subject matter? – As a Product Owner you should have your own set of processes and management techniques that you tailor to each situation.
S – Situation – What was going on? Briefly explain the scenario that was taking place. – Try not to spend too much time describing the situation. The bulk of your answer needs to be about you and what you did so keep the situation simple to understand and even simpler to describe. Try to make sure the scenario directly relates to one of the responsibilities in the job you are applying for.
T – Task – What was your role in the action? Most of the time it is best that you are taking an active rather than passive role in the encounter – You are going for a Product Owner role (presumably if you are reading this) so the situation you describe should have you involved with overseeing and managing the delivery of a product going to launch.
A – Activity (or action) – What did you do? Detail the steps you took and why you took them. – This should take up the bulk of your time answering the question.
R – Result – How did everything end up? Try to use figures if possible (e.g. 99% of issues were resolved in first instance, End user feedback scores went from 4.3 to 4.8, etc.).
Remember though that the B-STAR technique is descriptive not prescriptive. You do not need to follow this flow strictly, go with what is best for your answers and that will allow you to put your point across and show your experience the best.
What You Should Not Do When Answering Product Owner Questions
Do not avoid the question.
Do not describe a failure (unless specifically asked).
Do not downplay the situation.
Do not overhype the situation.
Do not say you have no experience with the subject matter.
Do not reject the premise of the question.
Do not have a passive role in the situation.
Do not give a one-sentence answer.
Do not overly describe the scenario and miss the action.
Product Owner Interview Question & Answers
“I believe that it’s incredibly difficult to overcome a bad first impression. Because of this I always strive to never make one. That’s why for important meetings, or interviews like this, I make a clear plan of what I want to get from the meeting and outline the steps I need to take to achieve that goal.
So when I received the call about scheduling this interview the first thing I did was research your offices. As you are based in an area of town I am not familiar with I drove by here after work one evening just to make sure I knew the way. I also checked Google Maps to see what the traffic would be like at this time. Nothing worse than being late sitting in traffic after all.
I actually have a contact who works in your finance department, Claire, we were colleagues in the place I am currently working. I reached out to her to see if there was anything she could tell me about the interview process. We had spoken before about the company as a whole and how she talks about the company is one of the reasons I applied.
Following our chat I went through all of my work achievements and made sure they fully encompassed everything I have accomplished in my career.
I’m glad I took the time to prepare as I did because there was a lot of traffic so it was good I knew to expect that. Also talking with Claire helped jog my memory on a project we both worked on a few years back delivering a piece of financial software that I believe your company is in the process of deploying.”
Check out our full post on how to answer this question
“As Product Owner at X company it was my responsibility to prioritise the backlog of tasks. The way things worked in our organisation was that any stakeholder could raise an item to add to the backlog, then as a team we would discuss in which order it would be best that they were worked and deployed.
Ultimately however the final decision on priority lay with myself.
As you can imagine with so many different areas of the business raises items, each with their own agendas and goals the backlog meetings would often end with a lot of disagreement
One such occasion we had two business areas both asking us to deploy a change to our product and both were asking for the change to be deployed in the next sprint. Unfortunately we only had the dev resource to implement the one change in this cycle.
The backlog call became heated between the two representing colleagues and I was forced to cut the meeting short to let cooler heads prevail.
After the meeting I sat with both colleagues to further understand the urgency behind both changes. Asking them to describe the benefits of the change and also the drawbacks of waiting until the next cycle.
Once I had this information in hand it was clear to me which change would be most beneficial to the business. I invited both colleagues into a meeting where I had compiled the information into a presentation deck with a few charts showing the resources available within the product team and the relative benefits of each change.
Explaining it this way allowed both colleagues to fully appreciate the restrictions that were on my team and also the comparative benefits of each change.
Both colleagues left the meeting happy with the outcome and both changes were pushed into production in the next 2 sprints”
Check out our full post on how to answer this question
Tell me about a time you were late delivering a piece of work
“I was given the task of producing a spec delivery report for a very important potential client. This was on top of my regular workload but I was happy to pick it up as the client would bring a lot of business to our firm if we were able to secure the contract.
During the week that I had to complete the report a number of unforeseen events happened; my work laptop died, the office I worked in flooded and someone stole my car. It really was one of those weeks!
I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to meet the deadline so I looked at the piece of work that I had been given and the reasons why the firm wanted it. From my conversation with the firm I knew they were more interested in the capacity my team could deliver within each sprint rather than the specifics of the product itself.
So I focused my efforts so that I was working only on the capacity portion of the report. I communicated this with the client and with my colleagues. Everyone seemed largely happy with this and I delivered the report in 2 stages, the first at the agreed upon date and the full report just 2 business days later.
Luckily this delay did not upset the clients and we did bring them onboard. After this fiasco I petitioned the firm to provision VPN access on personal devices (with the relevant security software added) so that if this confluence of events were to repeat I would suffer no downtime…except for the time spent wondering where my car was.”
Check out our full post on how to answer this question
Tell me about a time when you needed to communicate bad news to a colleague or stakeholder?
“I believe that bad news is best delivered in person and discretely, where it is responsible to do so. I don’t particularly relish giving bad news (I suppose not many do) so I often try to resolve the situation in advance so the bad news never needs to be given.
Obviously though that isn’t possible all of the time. For example in a previous role I managed a team of developers working in a agile fashion when word came down from senior management that we were offshoring a large part of our process and this meant layoffs of nearly 40% of the department.
I tried to go to bat for my team and show how our quality and production scores were the highest around and unlikely to be replicated using our offshore colleagues, but the decision had been made and was purely cost driven.
It was my job to determine which members of my team would be let go and which would stay.
We had all joined the department together on the same contract so there was no element of seniority that needed to be accounted for. Instead I devised a balanced scorecard type of approach, ranking each team member against the department’s relevant KPIs (quality, production, skills).
Once I had my list I booked one-on-ones with all of my team members as close together as possible, starting with the colleagues who would be staying. With the colleagues who were being let go I got straight to the point and told them the company would be terminating their contract. I allowed them to ask any questions they wanted and informed them that I would be around for any help they needed in looking for a new role.
During the meetings 2 of the colleagues I wanted to keep informed me that they were planning to leave soon anyway and suggested that they would leave now instead freeing up room for other colleagues to stay.
In the end I had to tell 6 members of my team that they were being let go. They were all understanding of the situation and were grateful that I offered to help them look for new roles.
Going forward if I were to be in the same position I would have gone to the meetings with some open positions that I would recommend the colleagues apply for”
Check out our full post on how to answer this question
Have You Ever Needed To Change Someone’s Mind?
“We had two options for a supplier; supplier A who we had used before and supplier B who we had not used but who were cheaper. As my target was to reduce costs for our department I thought that we should go with supplier B.
I approached my other colleagues, informally over coffee, to understand more about their concerns with supplier B. Learning that the principal worry was that supplier B was an unknown quantity whereas with supplier A we knew the quality to expect. It was then that I came up with a solution to quell any worries.
I approached supplier B and negotiated for them to provide sample products and also to agree to a trial/probationary contract that could be ended fairly easily should the quality not be up to scratch. Once I had this proposal in hand I went back to my colleagues who were now in agreement that supplier B was the correct option for the company.
With all colleagues in agreement we pitched the idea to the director together, ultimately we went with supplier B and enjoyed a high quality product for a lower price”
Check out our full post on how to answer this question
Tell me about a new skill or qualification you have learned over the last 6 months?
“In my current role I use Microsoft Projects extensively for scheduling tasks when working with certain clients. A few months ago I learned that one of our newer clients used Primavera as their preferred PM tool.
Even though the new firm were content that we continue to use Microsoft Projects I thought it would be best to upskill myself on Primavera so that I at least could understand what the client was used to versus what we would be providing.
I started by following some courses on LinkedIn and eventually I asked my employer if they would support me in attaining the certification – which they did.
I passed the qualification on the first go and was able to successfully amend our MS Project reports so that they more closely resembled what the client was used to”
Check out our full post on how to answer this question
How would you characterize your role as Product Owner? Are you a facilitator, a coach, a manager, a visionary, a tactician, a coordinator, or a “driver?”
What is the purpose of being agile in the first place?
To what extent is the Product Owner a “product manager”?
When was the last time you told a stakeholder “No”? How did you approach this situation, and what was the reason for it?
What “labels” come to your mind when you think of your role as Product Owner?
How do you collaborate with the other Scrum Team members?
What roles would you deem necessary for a cross-functional Scrum Team delivering software?
In what Scrum events shall the Product Owner be participating?
How do you know that you are a good Product Owner?
How do you include user research in the product discovery process?
How would you design a process to handle product ideas from stakeholders and other members of the organization?
At what stage do you involve the Scrum Team in the product discovery process?
How do you determine whether an idea is a worthwhile investment?
How do you avoid misallocating resources on features or products that no one wants?
During which stages are Product Owners participating in planning activities?
Your organization has recently decided to become agile and product-driven. How do you educate your stakeholders about the implications?
How do you organize the collaboration with stakeholders and improve it over time?
How do you communicate with uncooperative stakeholders?
In your opinion, how often should product roadmaps be planned?
Who shall participate in the product roadmap planning?
How much of your time do you spend talking with customers and researching industry trends?
How much time should you spend on Product Backlog refinement?
How would you organize the “refining” process of Product Backlog items?
At what level do you include other team members in the refinement process?
How do you handle bugs and technical debt when many valuable new features are competing for resources?
What shall a good user story look like? What is it structure?
When would you remove a feature?
Do you recommend that a Product Owner shall assign work items to individual members of the Scrum Team?
Tell me about a time you worked well as part of a team
Interview Question: Tell me about a time you worked well as part of a team – Answer Tips
How does your current job fit into the overall business?
Interview Question: How does your current (or previous) role fit into the organisation’s wider goals? – Answer Tips
Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed
Interview Question: Tell me about a time when you have had to make a decision using only limited information? – Answer Tips
Do you have any questions for us?
10 Questions To Ask At The End Of An Interview (And 6 That You Shouldn’t!)
Additional Product Owner Interview Questions and Example Answers
“Can you explain your understanding of the Product Owner role?”
Sure, I’d be happy to explain my understanding of the Product Owner role.
The Product Owner plays a critical role in any Agile or Scrum environment. They act as the lynchpin that connects the business, the development team, and the customers. They essentially serve as a ‘mini-CEO’ for a product, owning the responsibility for the product’s success, and making key decisions about the product direction.
In terms of the relationship with stakeholders, the Product Owner is the key liaison. They need to have a close working relationship with business stakeholders to understand their needs and translate them into product requirements. They also need to communicate regularly with customers and users to understand their needs and feedback. Moreover, they must collaborate effectively with the development team to ensure the product vision is being realized as intended.
A major part of the Product Owner’s role is managing the product backlog. They are responsible for creating, maintaining, and prioritizing the backlog based on the needs of the business and the customers. This involves breaking down complex tasks into manageable user stories, deciding the priority of each story based on its value, and continuously updating the backlog as requirements change and new information becomes available.
One of my key experiences as a Product Owner at my current company, XYZ Technology, was managing a major overhaul of our core software product. I was responsible for gathering requirements from various business stakeholders, managing the backlog, and working closely with the development team throughout the project. Despite the complexity of the project, we were able to deliver the new version on time and within budget, leading to significant improvements in customer satisfaction and user engagement.
The role also involves significant decision-making responsibility. The Product Owner has to make tough calls on what features to build and when, based on their understanding of the market, competition, customer needs, and business goals.
In summary, the Product Owner is the visionary, the decision-maker, the communicator, and the team motivator. They are crucial in bridging the gap between the business side and the technical side, making sure that the product delivers value to customers and aligns with the business’s strategic goals. This is a role that I find both challenging and rewarding, and I look forward to the opportunity to discuss how I can bring my experience and skills to your team.
“What methodologies are you familiar with? (e.g. Agile, Scrum, Kanban)”
Throughout my career as a Product Owner, I’ve had the opportunity to work with several methodologies, each with its unique strengths and challenges.
Primarily, I’ve worked in Agile environments. Agile is all about delivering value incrementally and being able to respond to changes quickly. At my previous role in TechSolutions, we employed the Agile methodology for our software development process, and it played a significant role in allowing us to deliver regular updates to our clients based on their feedback, leading to improved customer satisfaction.
In terms of specific Agile frameworks, I have extensive experience with Scrum. In Scrum, work is broken down into sprints, usually two weeks long, with specific goals for each sprint. This framework creates a good rhythm of work and allows for regular feedback and adjustments. One particular project at TechSolutions involved developing a new feature for our software product. Using Scrum, we were able to effectively manage the development process, iteratively delivering parts of the feature and adjusting our plans based on stakeholder feedback.
Kanban is another methodology I’m familiar with. While it shares similarities with Scrum, it’s more fluid and continuous, as it doesn’t have the concept of sprints. Kanban utilizes a visual board to manage work in progress, allowing the team to focus on completing tasks before taking on new ones. During a stint at StartUpY, we used Kanban for managing our smaller, ongoing tasks. It helped us keep a handle on our work and ensure nothing fell through the cracks.
Lastly, I’ve also worked with Lean methodology, especially in terms of eliminating waste in the development process and focusing on delivering value to customers as efficiently as possible.
Overall, I believe the key to successful product development isn’t necessarily about picking one specific methodology, but about understanding the team, the nature of the project, and the business environment, and then using the most appropriate methodology or even a mix of methodologies to deliver the best results.
“Can you share an example of a difficult product decision you had to make, and how did you approach it?”
Certainly, I can recall a challenging situation from my previous role at HealthTech, where I was the Product Owner of a digital health application. We were developing a major feature that would allow users to directly book appointments with doctors through our app. The development was in advanced stages when one of our key stakeholders – a network of medical professionals – raised serious concerns about the feature. They were worried that this feature might lead to a significant increase in the number of appointments, which their current staffing levels might not be able to accommodate.
The situation was complex. We had already committed significant resources to this feature, and user research had indicated that it could greatly increase user engagement and retention. On the other hand, the medical professionals’ network was a crucial stakeholder, and their buy-in was vital to our product’s success.
I decided to approach the problem with a two-fold strategy. Firstly, I arranged a meeting with the concerned stakeholder to better understand their concerns. We discussed the potential impact on their operations and their staffing constraints.
Then, I brought this information to the development team and brainstormed potential ways to address the stakeholder’s concerns. We considered several options, like introducing a feature to limit the number of daily appointments or creating a waiting list system.
While reviewing these options, we also revisited our user research and found a potential solution in the data. It indicated that while users liked the idea of being able to book appointments, they also highly valued timely service and didn’t like waiting times. This helped us realize that our original feature could lead to dissatisfaction if the medical network was overwhelmed with appointments, leading to long waiting times.
In the end, we decided to implement a system that allowed users to request appointments, which the medical professionals could then confirm based on their availability. This decision required significant alterations to our original plan and additional work for our development team. However, it addressed the stakeholder’s concerns while still providing value to our users.
The eventual result was successful. The modified feature was well received by both our users and the medical professionals, and it improved user engagement without overwhelming our partners. This experience reinforced my belief in the importance of clear communication, thorough understanding of user needs and stakeholder concerns, and flexibility in decision-making.
“What methods do you employ to manage product backlogs effectively?”
Managing the product backlog effectively is absolutely crucial for a Product Owner. It is about ensuring that the most important items are dealt with first and that nothing important slips through the cracks. In my experience, there are several key principles and tools I’ve used to manage the product backlog effectively.
First and foremost, it’s important to ensure that the product backlog is DEEP, which stands for Detailed Appropriately, Emergent, Estimated, and Prioritized. The backlog items at the top, the ones that are ready for the next sprint, should be very well defined and detailed. Those further down the list will be less defined and can be fleshed out when they move up in priority. The backlog is also emergent, meaning it can change over time based on feedback and new information.
I also strongly believe in the principle of regular backlog grooming or refinement sessions. These sessions involve reviewing the items on the backlog, ensuring they’re still relevant, and reprioritizing if necessary. This helps keep the backlog manageable and ensures that the most important items are always at the top.
As for estimation, I’ve used story points in the past, which I find to be a very effective method. Story points take into account not just the amount of work to be done but also the complexity of the work and any uncertainty or risk involved. This provides a more accurate estimation than simply basing it on time.
In terms of prioritization, I use a variety of techniques depending on the situation. For example, the MoSCoW method, which stands for Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won’t have, is an excellent way to categorize backlog items based on their importance. Additionally, I’ve also used the RICE scoring model, which stands for Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort, for more complex prioritization decisions.
In my previous role at XYZ Corp, we had a large and complex product with many stakeholders. Regular backlog refinement sessions, combined with effective use of story points and the MoSCoW method, helped us manage the backlog efficiently. It ensured that the development team always had a clear understanding of what to work on next and that our product development was always aligned with business goals.
“Describe a time when you successfully handled a conflict within your team.”
There was an incident that took place while I was a Product Owner at BlueWave Technologies, a mid-sized software development firm. We were in the middle of a critical project with tight deadlines. A serious conflict arose between two senior developers in the team – one was a UI/UX specialist, and the other was a backend developer. The disagreement was over the implementation of a feature, with each person insisting their approach was the best. This disagreement brought progress to a halt, and tensions were starting to affect the entire team’s morale.
Firstly, I didn’t ignore the issue, hoping it would resolve itself. Instead, I took prompt action, as I was aware that unresolved conflicts could derail the entire project. I scheduled a meeting with the two developers individually to understand their perspectives without the pressure of the opposing party.
During the discussions, I discovered that both were passionately advocating their approach because they genuinely believed it would yield the best result for the project. While the UI/UX developer was focused on user experience, the backend developer was more concerned about system performance and stability.
Having understood the root cause of their disagreement, I organized a meeting with both of them present, providing a structured and safe environment for them to express their viewpoints. The key here was to shift the conversation from a combative stance to a collaborative one, focusing on the shared goal – the project’s success.
In this meeting, we thoroughly discussed both approaches, weighing their merits and demerits. I encouraged them to consider the project’s overall objectives and how each approach would impact these goals. Through this conversation, the developers began to understand each other’s perspectives better and recognize the value each brought to the table.
Finally, we reached a consensus to adopt a hybrid approach, taking components from each of their original ideas, ensuring a balance between user experience and system performance.
The outcome was positive: not only did we resolve the conflict and get the project back on track, but it also created a deeper sense of understanding and respect among team members. It reinforced the notion that everyone’s contributions are valuable and that open communication and mutual respect are vital for our success as a team.
“What is your strategy to prioritize product features?”
My strategy for prioritizing product features is based on a combination of different factors: business value, user value, feasibility, and alignment with our product’s vision and strategy.
Firstly, I always begin by understanding the needs of our customers and stakeholders. I regularly engage with them through interviews, surveys, or focus groups to get insights into their challenges and expectations. This is a critical step in identifying features that provide the most value to the user.
Secondly, I consider the business value. I work closely with the business development and sales team to understand market trends, the competitive landscape, and the company’s strategic objectives. This helps me prioritize features that can enhance our market positioning and drive revenue or other important KPIs.
Next, I collaborate with the development team to understand the feasibility of each feature. This includes assessing the technical complexity, resource requirements, and potential risks associated with each feature.
After gathering all this information, I usually use a prioritization framework, such as the RICE scoring model (Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort), to objectively rank the features. This scoring model takes into account the potential reach and impact of each feature, our confidence in our estimates, and the effort required to implement it.
Lastly, it’s also crucial to manage stakeholder expectations throughout this process. I strive for transparency and regular communication to ensure all parties understand the rationale behind the prioritization decisions.
An example of this in action was when I was a Product Owner at ClearPath Logistics. We had a long list of feature requests for our shipping optimization software, both from internal stakeholders and from clients. By utilizing the aforementioned strategy, we were able to prioritize the development of a route prediction feature that was technically feasible, provided significant time savings for our clients, and positioned us uniquely in the market. This led to a substantial increase in customer satisfaction and a boost in our market share.
“How would you handle a situation when there’s disagreement on the team about the direction of the product?”
Disagreements, especially in product development teams, are quite common, and often, they can be healthy, as they bring multiple perspectives to the table. As a Product Owner, I believe my role is to navigate these disagreements and find the most beneficial way forward for the product.
One of the critical first steps I’d take when a disagreement arises is to ensure all perspectives are thoroughly understood. This means facilitating open and respectful communication between team members to allow everyone to voice their concerns or ideas. I’ve found that sometimes disagreements stem from misunderstandings or incomplete information, so this step is crucial.
For instance, in my previous role at XYZ Corp, there was a significant disagreement between the development team and the UX designers about the direction of a new feature we were planning. The developers were concerned about the feasibility of the design, while the UX team was convinced that their approach would offer the best user experience. Rather than allowing this to become a point of contention, I organized a workshop where each team could present their perspective. By fostering this open dialogue, we discovered that there was a misunderstanding about the technical constraints we were working under. This clarified conversation allowed us to reach a solution that both teams could agree upon.
After gathering all viewpoints, I usually try to bring the discussion back to the product’s main goal and our users’ needs. Data and user feedback can be very helpful at this stage to guide the decision-making process. In the above-mentioned situation, we also brought in user data and feedback to support the decision-making process.
When a consensus still can’t be reached, I find it helpful to propose potential solutions and their pros and cons. By evaluating each approach’s benefits and drawbacks, the team can make a more informed decision. If necessary, I am also comfortable making the final call, always explaining the reasoning behind it, ensuring it aligns with our strategic goals and end-user value.
In my experience, addressing disagreements in this way helps build a stronger, more collaborative team. It demonstrates that every team member’s input is valued and that our ultimate goal is to make the best possible decisions for the product and our users. It’s also essential to foster an environment where disagreements can be openly discussed and resolved in a productive and respectful manner.
“Describe your approach to stakeholder management.”