Stop 07 · Agile & Product Delivery for BAsTopics · 8/10

Working With Product Owners

In short

When a team has both a BA and a Product Owner, the two can be a brilliant duo or step on each other's toes daily. It mostly comes down to agreeing who decides what.

The BA and Product Owner roles overlap significantly — in companies with both, a healthy relationship means clear division of who owns final prioritization decisions versus who owns requirement detail and clarity.

The purple blob sits in a folding director's chair holding a rolled-up script and a small megaphone.

Think of it like this

Film director and scriptwriter

The director decides which scenes make the film and in what order. The writer makes each scene work: who says what, what happens if the hero is late. Both shape the film, but when they disagree on a scene staying in, the director decides.

Watch it happen

A healthy BA and PO week

Product Owner

Team

Goal: fewer refunds

1/5The PO shares the outcome they want this quarter and why it matters.

The big ideas

What you need to know

PO owns priority

The Product Owner is accountable for the backlog order and what the product should become.

BA owns depth

The BA usually owns analysis, business rules and the detail that makes stories buildable.

Agree it out loud

Write down who decides what in week one. Unspoken assumptions cause most BA-PO friction.

Bring options, not just facts

A PO gets the most from a BA who says 'here are three options, I'd pick B because…'.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Reordering the backlog yourself because you know the details best.

Do this instead

Give the PO your analysis and recommendation, then let them make the call.

Oops

Waiting for the PO to tell you exactly what to analyse.

Do this instead

Ask about the goal, then go find the questions that need answering.

Your mission

Write a working agreement

~15 min

Quick check

You and the PO disagree on which of two stories goes first. What's usually right?

Go deeper

1Clarify (in a hypothetical scenario) exactly where BA responsibilities end and Product Owner responsibilities begin.
2Learn why unclear role boundaries between these two positions cause real friction on teams.
3Practice a scenario where you'd need to defer a prioritization decision to the Product Owner.