Who defines your Product Owner — Business or Development?

“Wait a minute!,” you say. “That’s a nonsensical question. Scrum breaks down the organizational barriers between Business and Development. There is no us versus them. We’re all on the same team.”

True, Scrum does break down organizational barriers by placing the Product Owner and the Development Team on the same team — the Scrum Team. However, the current reality for most organizations is that distinctions between Business and Development still exist. Who, then, defines the role of Product Owner and who fills the role?

This question is further complicated by the fact that for the most part Scrum has been pushed by the development community onto their business counterparts. So much for individuals and interactions over process and tools! When Scrum is “pushed” rather than “pulled”, it’s not surprising those on whom it is pushed often fail to engage. When it is the “business” that fails to engage, who defines the role of Product Owner? Too often it is “development” who defines the role and fills it with a proxy Product Owner. It doesn’t have to be this way.