Who is SAFe Product Owner? [Roles, Responsibilities & Insights]

There are various roles in the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®). They work together as cogs in a machine and have their own role to play. You can see Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Product Managers, and Release Train Engineers to name a few.

Product owners play a crucial role in ensuring the product follows the roadmap at a team level. In this blog, we will define what a Product Owner does in SAFe, their responsibilities, and compare with that of a Product Manager. 

But first, read about Product Owner Responsibilities to have more clarity.

What is a SAFe Product Owner?

The SAFe Product Owner is the member of the team who works as the voice of the customer. He or she liaises with Product Management and other POs, besides other stakeholders, to define and list out stories in the Team Backlog and order them as per priority.  

In an ideal situation, the SAFe PO is in the same office as the rest of the team. However, with today’s distributed teams, this does not always happen. 

One PO can support up to two Agile teams, at the most. The SAFe PO works with the SAFe Product Manager, who maintains the overall product vision. 

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Key Role & Responsibilities of a SAFe Product Owner

The main responsibilities of the SAFe PO extend across the team, and even beyond that to participate in Product Management events, where he or she will help to plan and create the Program vision and refine the Program Backlog. 

The following are the main responsibilities of the SAFe PO: 

1. PI Planning

The PO plays a significant role as a member of the larger Product Management team and has to participate in the events during Program Increment (PI) planning. The activity of program backlog refinement also requires every PO’s participation and close involvement. Before the event, the PO will keep the team backlog updated and will contribute to creating the vision and charting out the roadmap.

When the planning event is in progress, the PO should be at hand to give clarity wherever needed. The entire SAFe team will work to map out the team’s PI objectives for the upcoming PI.

2. During the Iteration

During the iteration execution, the PO holds extremely critical responsibilities:

• The PO builds, updates and maintains the team backlog, with updates from all stakeholders and the team.
• Reviewing and ordering the team backlog as a precursor to the Iteration Planning event is the responsibility of the PO. For this, they may need to coordinate dependencies with other POs.
• During the Iteration Planning event, the PO gives clarity of user story details, and is around to ensure alignment and concurrence on a final iteration plan.
• While the team elaborates on the backlog items and creates stories, the PO keeps track of the flow and maintains priorities.
• POs work with the team to flesh out each story, adding acceptance criteria and acceptance tests, applying Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) practices.
• As the work progresses, the PO will work closely with the team to agree on the completion of accepted stories. and see whether they meet the Definition of Done and quality standards that have been laid down.
• The PO does not need to be a technical expert but should be able to understand the scope of the work that is coming up. He or she should collaborate with the engineers to assist in making decisions and sequencing the technological infrastructures that will enable the business functionality.
• During team demos, the PO coordinates between the team and stakeholders who are present.  
• They also participate in events such as the Iteration Retrospective and the Agile Release Train’s Inspect & Adapt workshop, providing the customer’s perspective on the work progress.

3. During the Program Execution

During each PI, the PO will connect with other POs to check and coordinate other dependencies, ensuring smooth work progress without any hiccups. They will sync up typically during weekly events. 

Additionally, POs play a valuable role in creating the System Demo for all the stakeholders involved in the program value stream. 

4. Inspection and Adaptation

The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) workshop is held to address any large impediments to smooth progress. During this event, the PO works across teams to see how best to improve processes and increase team velocity and quality. During the I&A workshop, the PO participates in and holds the PI system demo for program stakeholders.

If you are interested in becoming a SAFe Product Owner, I recommend that you earn the SAFe Agile Certification. This certification will give you the knowledge and skills you need to be successful in this role. 

SAFe Product Owner vs Scrum Product Owner

Before we get into the differences in the roles and responsibilities of a SAFe Product Owner and a Scrum Product Owner, we need to also understand a third and more prominent role on a SAFe team: that of the SAFe Product Manager. 

The SAFe Product Manager is someone who works with several SAFe teams, typically two to four, and owns the Program Backlog—which gives him or her an overall view of the entire project (or the big picture). 

The table below talks about the differences in the roles played by a SAFe Product Owner and a Scrum Product Owner.

	SAFe Product Owner	Scrum Product Owner
Backlog Items	A SAFe Product Owner undertakes the responsibility for the Team Backlog. This lists all the requirements (Backlog items) for the team.	A Scrum Product Owner undertakes the responsibility for the Product Backlog. This is a prioritised list of all the requirements for the product.
Number of teams they support	A SAFe Product Owner can serve, at most, two teams.	A Scrum Product Owner can work with two or more teams.
Vision and roadmap	A SAFe Product Manager, not the SAFe Product Owner, defines the features and owns the vision and roadmap. A SAFe Product Manager is someone who works with two to four SAFe Product Owners. He or she will have an overall view of the entire program. As such, the SAFe Product Owner exerts less authority than the Scrum Product Owner.	Scrum Product Owner defines the features and owns the vision and roadmap. So, as we can see, the Scrum Product Owner undertakes responsibilities that combine those of the SAFe Product Owner and the SAFe Product Manager (but to a smaller scale as the project is typically smaller).
Who has the final say on the product?	A SAFe Product Owner does not have a final say on what must be done for a certain Product. This is done by the SAFe Product Manager, who is the final authority and owns the vision and roadmap on a SAFe project.	It is the Scrum Product Manager who has the final say on what needs to be done for the product.

Similarities

• Just like the Scrum PO, the SAFe Product Owner is also a core member of the team.
• He or she is the customer proxy on the team, ensuring that the vision is always kept in focus.
• They have the responsibility of the Backlog- the Team Backlog in the case of the SAFe PO, and the Product Backlog in the case of the Scrum PO.
• Both POs work on prioritising the tasks that the team will take up next, guiding them on the relative importance of the stories.
• Again, both the SAFe PO and the Scrum PO work toward maximizing the product value.
• They keep an eye on the goal for the next iteration.
• They participate in reflections and inspect and adapt during and after each iteration.
• The two roles take part in the Planning, Retrospective and Review of an Iteration in SAFe/ Sprint in Scrum in a similar way.

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Career Opportunities and Growth for SAFe Product Owners 

The role of a SAFe® Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM) opens significant career advancement opportunities in Agile-driven organizations. This is evident today as more businesses have begun adopting SAFe® to scale Agile practices across teams and portfolios. This creates an increasing demand for certified professionals who can drive product value on a scale. 

SAFe Product Owners are well-positioned for roles that don’t just stick to traditional team-level responsibilities. They can transition into the roles of Product Manager, Solution Manager, or even Agile Coach as they gain experience working across multiple teams and backlogs in a scaled Agile environment. Additionally, SAFe POPM-certified professionals often move into program-level roles where they influence business strategy, stakeholder alignment, and customer-centric value delivery. 

The SAFe POPM credential doesn’t just boost credibility but also validates one’s ability to operate in complex Agile ecosystems. Professionals with this certification have the ability to collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders and align team outputs with enterprise-level goals. With experience and continuous learning, SAFe Product Owners can expect to grow into further leadership roles such as Portfolio Manager, Release Train Engineer (RTE), or Lean Agile Leader. 

Salary Expectations for Product Owners 

SAFe Product Owners in India can expect an average annual salary that from ₹12 LPA and generally goes up to ₹22 LPA. This depends on experience, location, and company size. In mature markets such as the US, salaries typically range from $100,000 to $135,000. Certified SAFe POPMs often command higher pay due to their specialized skills in scaled Agile delivery. 

Companies Hiring for SAFe Product Owners 

A wide variety of companies hire SAFe Product Owners. The widespread adoption of the Scaled Agile framework has led to an increased demand for SAFe-certified Product Owners across various industries such as healthcare, software development and technology. 

They want professionals who can manage product backlogs, prioritize feature release and work with development teams across the Agile Release Train. 

Can one person do both roles in SAFe; that of the Product Owner and Product Manager?

The PO and the PM roles are completely distinct in SAFe, and each comes with its own set of responsibilities.

There is a different focus for each role: 

• The PM’s role is cantered on the benefits to the customer and the organisation. He or she is also the person with whom the business owners and members of the ART (Agile Release Train) connect. 
• POs always have the needs of their own Agile team in focus.  

Product Owners and Product Managers work together collaboratively to understand the customer’s needs and work toward fulfilling them. The flow of information is from the customer to the PM, and then down to the POs and their team members. The POs and PMs meet up at all ART or PO planning and sync up events and stay aligned with the same set of overarching goals. 

As we have seen, one person cannot undertake the roles of the SAFe Product Owner and the SAFe Product Manager at the same time. POs and PMs must at all times be connected, and work in tandem to deliver a successful product; however, having one person playing both roles is a sure route to disaster!  

Final Thoughts

The SAFe Product Owner plays a role that is at the core of SAFe, setting up the product strategy, getting deep into customer requirements, and prioritizing the features as per their importance. They hold the responsibility of ensuring customer delight, even as they keep a pulse on the economic value that is to be derived from the product.  

While the Product Manager has a bigger overview of the product in terms of a business standpoint, product owners help ensure this vision comes to life. Both of them need to work together for the product’s success.