Institute of Design and Technology - IDT Skopje interviewed Kunal Patel, Head of Product Owners at Allocate Software

Interview with Kunal Patel, Head of Product Owners at Allocate Software

When you want to learn something, find the person who has something to tell you from of their own personal experience. If your conversation was long enough to lose your sense of time and space, then you have learned something…  


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To our great honor, we had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Kunal Patel, Head of Product Owners at Allocate Software, who has experience in this IT company for almost a decade, and on multiple roles in the Product Management space for more than 15 years. 

This conversation aims to bring us closer to the profession of Product Owner and reveal more dilemmas by analyzing its evolution and emergence to its role today, to the needs and characteristics that a person should have to start a career.

 

Kunal, it is really impressive to meet a man who has gone through most of the roles in the Product Management process, especially in the IT industry, and has grown with the development of the profession itself – from IT operations Analyst, Project and Product Manager to Head of Product Owners at Allocate Software over the past 15 years. Given the fact that you have been with Allocate Software for almost a decade, how much has the role of a Product Owner changed today since the very beginning of this profession?

Great question. I’d say the biggest change is the role has become more structured over time and the roles and responsibilities are clearer. At one of the first companies, I worked for, we wanted to embrace Scrum and as part of that, introduce the role of the Product Owner. The definition of this wasn’t very well defined at the time so we decided to make up our own. And we ended up coming up with a hybrid ‘Business Analyst/Project Manager who also works with the development team’ type role. And there are probably companies around that still do that but, in the main, where we are now is that this previously created ‘catch all’ role has been split into various segments dealt with by Product Managers, Business Analysts, Product Owners and Engineering Management.  

With these specialist roles, there is more time to focus on key things like strategy, customer research, data driven decision making and striving for excellence in delivery.  And beyond this, the PO role itself has evolved and we now see the use of ‘Scrum Product Owners’ (more like the original PO role and own the product in its entirety from strategy and vision to delivery) to the ‘SAFe Product Owner’ (who are more focused on the product details, backlog and working with the development teams). 

In short, organisations have more choice around how they want to implement the Product Owner role. 

 

This profession is gaining more and more importance today, why is that so?

As software organisations grow, gain more customers, and become more complex, there will inevitably be more voices to consider when deciding what to develop next. Having a Product Owner helps add some structure to the way these decisions are made and ensures there is a proper channel of communication from the wider business into the development function. This is invaluable as it ensures the development function is focusing on the ‘right’ things and has the correct level of information to be productive.

 

To better understand, is the need for this profession related to the growth of the IT companies and the level of their implementation of Scrum methodology, and what can we expect in the future?

The official role of the ‘Product Owner’ came about with Scrum but I think the responsibilities of the role have been around for a lot longer and carried out by various people. In terms of the future, I believe the role will continue to evolve as new technology and processes are introduced. But the core aspects of the role (stakeholder interaction, backlog management, being the bridge between the business and the development team) will remain constant.  

 

Who is the right person to fill in the role of the Product Owner? Do they come from marketing, sales or maybe from the IT department? Or maybe it’s that perfect project or product manager?

This really does vary. Ideally, they would have practical experience in a software organization, doing a similar role. But I’ve worked in various companies and hired people who come from various backgrounds. The key things we look for are if they have shown the attributes (in whatever profession) that we seek in a Product Owner. To name a few: Excellent communication and planning skills, attention to detail, and a curiosity to learn and question the norm. Bonus points if they have shown a willingness to get into the PO space by doing courses / gaining other practical experience. 

 

What age is ideal to studying and start working in this profession? Can adults be retrained and what previous experience would help them in that?

 Age is just a number 😊 Obviously experience counts but I’ve worked with great Product Owners of all ages. The key thing is showing the transferrable skills from whatever profession they’ve come from into a Product Owner role.


Be part of the first Academy for Product Owners.

Институт за развој и поддршка на прогресивни образовни политики и иницијативи од неформално и формално образование преку едукација и имлементација на проекти и активности поврзани со дизајн и технологија.

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