Use these questions to identify a candidate’s technical knowledge and abilities
Use these questions to determine how a candidate handled situations in the past
Use these questions to assess a candidate’s personal traits and cognitive skills
Why this matters
Product owners are by definition business strategists, with a central interest in keeping revenue consistent and growing. A 3% revenue decline may cause concern, and it’s helpful to know what actions they would take to mitigate the situation and turn it around.
What to listen for
- Good candidates will describe how they collect data and make efficient use of it.
- A strong answer will also mention how the candidate relies on their team for insights, especially data analysts, sales, and marketing.
Why this matters
The most successful products cannot rest on their laurels: they must change to stay relevant—to continue meeting customer preferences and to beat the competition. An effective product owner will be able to offer a practical solution to this common business occurrence.
What to listen for
- Listen for answers that mention a deep understanding of both product versions, as well as the target audience.
- Great answers may include working with sales and marketing to identify specific intel—then working with product developers to forge on-point solutions.
Why this matters
Successful product owners know a great product when they see one. But no two candidates are exactly alike in the way they would define that. This question will reveal your candidate’s key values when it comes to products. Do they prioritize function, solutions, elegance, value, or perhaps all of the above?
What to listen for
- Look for answers that demonstrate critical thinking, and an appreciation for the blend of form and function.
- Strong answers will include ways they think the product could be improved and how they would go about doing it.
Why this matters
Product owners command the strategic vision and roadmap for their products. This question seeks to understand how your candidate defines success. Beyond giving you insight into the candidate’s experience and thought process, you’ll learn how they use critical elements like roadmaps, user stories, and backlogs in their work.
What to listen for
- Strong answers will cover how the candidate planned, tracked, and empowered the development team.
- Notice the use of “I” and “we” pronouns, which highlight individual and team efforts.
Why this matters
An Agile principle is to welcome change, even late in development. At the same time, if change isn’t managed appropriately, it can negatively impact the team’s velocity, and potentially the quality of resulting components. The best product owners know the value of obtaining buy-in at all times from internal stakeholders—and they will share their tactics and views on change.
What to listen for
- Ideal candidates will resist interrupting sprints, limiting changes to the most compelling circumstances.
- Top answers will cover how they set clear expectations with stakeholders around timeframes to enable consistency from sprint to sprint.
Why this matters
Since a product owner must keep up with rapidly changing market demands, adaptability and quick learning are essential to the role. Whether it’s their team having to adjust to new processes and tools, or end users having to adopt a new feature, it’s up to the product owner to successfully steer the ship in a new direction.
What to listen for
- Strong candidates will demonstrate a proven ability to think on their feet and gather the information they for the new situation..
- Listen for indications that the candidate learned from the situation and used this knowledge to guide other projects.
Why this matters
This is not the job for people-pleasers: it takes a strong person to successfully manage and prioritize work items and requests. Top product owners can sort through requests from competing stakeholders, while staying 100% focused on what a product needs to accomplish for any given sprint, quarter, or release.
What to listen for
- Candidates should stress that while diplomacy is the goal, moving projects forward often means making stakeholders unhappy.
- Great answers will focus on the importance of keeping schedules and compromising.
Why this matters
Organizations are often faced with the task of scaling implementations and releases, but it’s not always easy to find local development talent. Smart product owners know how to balance the use of collaboration tools for constant communication with co-location during crucial points of the sprint.
What to listen for
- Mentions of Skype, WebEx, GoToMeeting, Zoom, or other tools display a practice of constant collaboration with remote developers.
- Top answers will also highlight the role co-location plays in a successful release.
Why this matters
Cross-functional communication is critical for a successful product. Marketing, development, customer service, and sales should be well informed of product features and objectives. This means the role will often require the product owner to translate technical concepts into easy-to-understand language.
What to listen for
- Look for signs the candidate can explain concepts using simple terms, quickly.
- A great answer might include analogies, or examples in everyday situations.
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