The Product Owner manages the stakeholders’ relationship with the product

In addition to the customers, a product’s stakeholders include its users, sponsors and any people or groups that have some kind of influence on the definitions of the product, or that have a direct interest, whether in its progress, its success, or its impacts. Depending on the context, the stakeholders may include, for example, the marketing area, legal area, external regulatory agents, trade associations, etc.

The Product Owner manages the product’s customers and other stakeholders in their relationship with the product being developed, and can count on the support of the Developers, the Scrum Master, and other people outside the Scrum Team. Regarding stakeholders, these are the Product Owner’s duties:

• Correctly identify who the stakeholders are – that is, the people who are relevant to the development of the product.
• Identify, understand, and take into account the needs and interests of the different stakeholders in relation to the product.
• Manage the stakeholders’ expectations regarding the product, ensuring that they have the necessary visibility.
• Balance and manage any conflicts between the needs and the expectations of the different stakeholders.
• Help stakeholders to discover and understand what will bring them the greatest value at each moment of the work, influencing their opinions by defending the vision of what she believes will be best for the product.
• Secure the direct collaboration of the stakeholders whenever necessary, in situations such as, for example, where the Scrum Master needs help in removing any organizational impediments or those related to the stakeholders’ environment, or where the Developers need to interact with them to detail certain items that will be implemented next.
• Communicate frequently and proactively with the stakeholders to carry out this work.