Product Manager vs. Product Owner

March 6, 2023

Happy Monday everyone! There is a lot going on in the Cleveland Product scene, so let’s get to it!

Article of the Week

As organizations look to build and/or scale their Product teams, one of the challenges is hiring the right talent. To hire the right talent, you have to have the right job descriptions and job classes, clearly identifying the responsibilities, qualifications, and skills sets of various Product roles. One common question I hear is: what is the difference between a Product Manager and a Product Owner? When I get this question, I often site an article by Product consultant and author Melissa Perri who states that a Product Manager is a job - owning the vision and the roadmap, providing business context, talking to users, and understanding the market and opportunity - while a Product Owner is a role - focused on the solution, supporting the engineering team, and driving the delivery. Read on to find out more!

Product Jobs of the Week

The Product roles at Cleveland companies keep rolling in!

Upcoming Events

  • March 16th - How to Build Relationships as a Remote Product Manager @ COhatch Ohio City

  • March 23rd - Product Lean Coffee

  • March 27th - In partnership with OhioX, join us to discuss Intellectual Property in Product Development

About the Author

My name is Shawn Leitner. I started the Cleveland Product networking group in 2017, which helps to connect Product professionals around Cleveland, providing them with a forum to network, learn, and share stories. For my day job, I'm a Product Consultant & Coach for Pathfinder Product and help clients implement strong Product practices so they can create products that their teams love building and their customers love using. Connect with me on LinkedIn or feel free to attend one of my events either virtually or in-person. Always up for meeting for a cup of coffee also!