What Are Chief Product Owner Types?

A chief product owner is in charge of providing a thorough view of the entire product or product suite. But, what are Chief Product Owner types? 

In this section, we will discuss at least 6 Chief Product Owner types. And how is it important to know? 

Introduction about Chief Product Owner

First, let’s understand what a Chief Product Owner (CPO) is. 

The CPO owns the vision and strategy of the product. He/she is responsible for all the aspects of the product, including quality, cost, schedule, and scope. Thus, he/she has to provide a thorough view of the entire product or product suite.

Now that you have understood what a Chief Product Owner (CPO) is, let’s discuss at least 6 of the Chief Product Owners types.

Chief Product Owner Types

Let’s understand what are Chief Product Owner types? 

There are many kinds of CPOs. Some are listed below: 

1. Visionary CPO

A visionary CPO is someone who can envision things that are not there yet. For example, if he/she is building a product for an e-commerce website, he/she can visualize how that website will look in 10 years even if there are no customer requirements yet. 

This type of CPO usually belongs to companies that have a long-term vision for their products. If you are working on a product that has no clear direction, this type of CPO will not fit your profile because you will not be able to make decisions or communicate with other stakeholders effectively.

2. User-Centric CPO

A user-centric CPO is someone who focuses on users’ needs and wants as well as their behavior and context. He/she goes through various business models and decides on one model to launch with his/her perspective and judgment with help from user insights and customer feedback. 

But, it is important to note that user-centricity is not just about gathering data from users. But also about understanding business models and ensuring that users will be able to use your products easily with your business model in mind. 

A user-centric CPO knows how to attract customers and keep them coming back by providing value every time they interact with his/her products. 

For example, if you are building an online e-commerce website like eBay or Amazon. Or another online store like Shopify or BigCommerce, it would be easier for you to become a user-centric CPO. Because you already know how users behave; therefore, you will know what kind of product you should build to attract more users. 

A user-centric CPO also knows how to provide value to users through different business models. 

3. Product-Centric CPO

A product-centric CPO is someone who focuses on the product. He/she has an engineering background and mostly works with developers or engineering teams. He/she is not necessarily involved with users or customers, but he/she knows how to build a good product.

A product-centric CPO understands that products are made for users or customers; thus, he/she needs to work with both.

For example, if you are building a security system like ADT, Vivint Smart Home, etc. Or if you are building an e-commerce website like Alibaba, you might become a product-centric CPO. Because you will be working closely with engineering teams to build a good product that satisfies users and customers.

Conclusion

The Chief Product Owner (CPO) role is very important; thus, it is important to know what Chief Product Owner types. 

If you want to become Chief Product Owners, it is better to have a technical background or a business background. Having a technical background will help you understand your users and customers better. On the other hand, if you have a business background, it will help you understand how to build a good product that satisfies users and customers.