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Everything you’ve ever wanted…

0:00

1:24:19

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about SAFe and the product owner role | Melissa Perri (author, founder of Product Institute)

Melissa Perri on product owners vs. managers, SAFe issues, and leveling up non-tech product teams

Nov 10

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Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

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Melissa Perri is the founder of Product Institute, author of Escaping the Build Trap, and host of the Product Thinking Podcast. She has worked with startups, Fortune 50 companies, and everything in between to help them build better products and level up their product teams. In our conversation, we discuss:

The history of the product owner role
The differences between product owners and product managers
How to transition from product owner to product manager
The evolution of and problems with the SAFe framework
How large non-tech companies can improve their product practices
Much more

Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/product-owners-melissa-perri

Some takeaways:

The product owner role is rooted in Scrum, not traditional product management. It was established by software developers to assist with task prioritization rather than complete product oversight.
Don’t just turn your product owners into order-takers. Empower them to engage in discovery, customer conversations, and prioritization. Make sure they’re not bogged down by an endless backlog of user stories that don’t contribute to real value. If your product owner is spending 40 hours a week writing user stories for things that are already working, you have a problem.
If you’re already talking to your team daily and breaking down tasks collaboratively, great! You probably don’t need a rigid Scrum framework. Instead, focus on what works for your team, whether that’s weekly sprints or daily check-ins. The key is to keep the lines of communication open and ensure that everyone is aligned on priorities without unnecessary meetings.
Look for organizations that offer real training and mentorship, not just surface-level certifications. The best environments for growth are those where you can learn from experienced product managers and apply that knowledge practically.

Where to find Melissa Perri:

• X: https://twitter.com/lissijean

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissajeanperri/

• Website: https://melissaperri.com/

• Product Institute: https://productinstitute.com/

• Podcast: https://www.produxlabs.com/product-thinking

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Melissa’s background

(02:12) The rise of the product owner role

(06:37) Understanding Agile and Scrum

(08:27) Challenges in Agile transformations

(10:41) The history of the product owner role