The Product Owner Versus Project Manager

Project Manager vs. Product Owner

What are the differences in organizational structure?

TPM (Traditional Project Management practices) projects adhere to a very thorough plan which is formulated prior to doing any work on the venture. The basis of this plan is the notion that the solution or goal is explicitly defined at the outset. Aside from small deviations brought about by requests for change, the project goes along the plan, and the solution is attained. This approach's success is founded on accurate goal specification in the project definition phase and preliminary scoping activities.

APF (adaptive project framework) projects also keep to a comprehensive plan; however, this plan is not developed at the project's onset. Rather, it is developed in steps, as each cycle defining the project's life cycle attains completion. Project timeframe and budget are laid down at the beginning. Following each cycle's completion, the client as well as project team review the work carried out in the cycle and fine-tune the plan. Through this strategy, the solution starts appearing gradually. Due to the JIT (just-in-time) nature of planning and minimal effort and time devoted to planning and organizing elements of the solution that do not turn out to be part of the end result, projects following APF approach are more cost- and time- efficient than those that follow a TPM approach (Wysocki, 2014, p. 29).

What are the differences in monitoring and control?

Monitor/Control progress of the project

The monitoring stage commences with project commencement.

Earlier phases generate numerous status reports which can be employed for monitoring progress of the project. Some such reports are only utilized by the team directly involved in project activities, while other reports are accessible to clients and the management, as well.

A key component of this stage is change management; the project launch stage will cover establishment of procedures for processing change requests, which always bring about some re-planning. Requests activate the feedback loop, and the manager, who heads the project team, reviews the plan for determining how the request for change must be accommodated.

Issues may also crop up when work completes behind or ahead of schedule. Such situations are handled via a problem-escalation process, established during project launch (Wysocki, 2014, p. 28).

What are the differences in reporting of overall project performance?

The manager in charge of a TPM project responds to performance of individual tasks in a series of interdependent tasks while expending management time. There is no reliance on statistical characteristics of a series of interdependent tasks, in TPM (Wysocki, 2014, p. 373).

In a number of cases, particularly for projects entailing development of computer applications, appropriate team members and the client collectively draw the ATP. This is normally carried out early on into the project. The ATP necessitates compliance of project team with all elements in the performance specifications stipulated by client. This stage makes use of a checklist, which requires a part-by-part sign-off depending on performance assessments. These assessments are performed jointly; relevant project team members and the client administer it. The checklist is composed such that the assessment either does or does not demonstrate compliance. It should not be formulated in a manner that requires interpretation for ascertaining whether or not performance specifications are met (Wysocki, 2014, p. 286).

Which approach do you feel is more effective at addressing these activities: time management?

Value-based time management

Time management and cost control are the objective elements in project manager evaluation. External security consultants are evaluated based on their skill at cost-effectiveness and responsiveness. Often, the best people in the field are those capable of meeting and surpassing both criteria. Organizational project managers are also judged based on their capacity to bring the project to completion within budget and time limits. They may not be able to wholly concentrate on the project plan like external consultants, since other organizational responsibilities hinder project plan execution. Irrespective of whether a project team is headed by a company employee or an external security consultant, the budget represents the most vital document for project financial control.

In simple terms, a budget states a project plan in monetary terms. A clearly-defined budget which considers every detail and all possible contingencies will help in controlling project costs (Vellani, 2006, p. 259)

Which approach do you feel is more effective at addressing these activities: change management?

Two elements that govern technique selection are: manager traits and time availability. If the manager's personality reflects the organization, the project is in its planning stage, and there is ample, time on-ramp creation technique will mostly be adopted. Slip-in-the-fix strategy will probably be preferred if the project is midway, time is insufficient, and the manager has an organized personality. A manager will employ dumping strategy in case of extreme time limitations, when he/she only wishes to finish off the project before moving on to another venture. In my view, the on-ramp creation strategy is most effective, though occasional adoption of other techniques is also effective (Cagle, 2003, p. 190).

Which approach do you feel is more effective at addressing these activities: risk management?

Risk Monitoring and Control

After identification of risk, estimation of risk probability and effect, and planning for risk event, one should keep an eye on, and control, these risks. One good means of engaging this process is by documenting and evaluating risks, as this makes team members aware of potential risks. Documenting may be done by preparation of a 'risk chart' that enumerates every potential risk to be managed, labels individuals in charge of managing risks, and describes what steps must be taken for managing risk events (Wysocki, 2014, p. 36).