Revisiting the Product Owner Maturity Model

As part of the learning path for Product Owners on scrum.org, Robbin Schuurman wrote a piece on his Product Owner maturity model in 2018. I’ve used this model in my job, managing product owners, by guiding them from the lower end of the spectrum to the higher end of the spectrum. In this piece, I’ll address some of the model’s quirks and features.

Before we move on, a quick recap of the five maturity levels of product owners, according to this model.

1. The Scribe — The Product Owner acts as a secretary of the backlog. They collect user wishes and translate them to product backlog items. None to very limited authority.
2. The Proxy — A little more authority than the scribe. Can probably order the backlog for the short term. But need approval or are dependent on others when it comes to vision, business goals, or product outcomes. In other words, they are managing someone else’s product.
3. The Business Representative — This Product Owner knows the business context, market, customers, and users well. This person is typically one of the ‘seniors’ or ‘experts’ in the organization, who has connections to customers and/or users.
4. The Sponsor — A business representative with a budget accountability.
5. The Entrepreneur — The mini-CEO. The Entrepreneur Product Owner takes full responsibility for the product and also has full authority over the product. Someone with passion for the product, strong leadership and communication…