What is the primary responsibility of the Product Owner?

The primary responsibility of the Product Owner is to create and maintain the Product Backlog. This involves several key activities that ensure the backlog is a correct representation of the product requirements and priorities. The Product Owner is tasked with defining and prioritizing the items in the backlog based on customer needs, business value, and feedback gathered from stakeholders.

By managing the Product Backlog, the Product Owner ensures that the development team is working on the most valuable features first, which aligns with the overall goals and vision for the product. This role requires regular refinement and re-prioritization of backlog items, making sure that the team has a clear and actionable list of tasks ahead of each Sprint.

This focus on backlog management allows the Scrum Team to remain aligned with stakeholder expectations and to adapt to changing requirements efficiently. While other roles may involve aspects of coordination or monitoring, the Product Owner is specifically responsible for the product vision and backlog, which are central to the application's success in an Agile context.