Proxy Product Owner

A Proxy PO usually perform activities that are usually done by a Product Owner, such as:

· Gather the customer needs.

· Define and order the Product Backlog.

· Plan how to realize the Backlog together with the team.

· Decide when the product increments can be released to the customers.

However, a Proxy PO is an incomplete version of a Product Owner. This seriously undermines its efectiveness and makes the value-maximizer mission of a PO difficult to achieve. The main shortcommings of a Proxy are typically:

· It is not the owner of the product! So neither takes the main decissions about the product nor is truly accountable for its success.

· Does not control the product's budget.

· Does not define neither the product's vision nor its strategy.

· Does not have the last say over the Backlog and its items.