Product Owner and Product Manager: What's the Difference?

The Houston Software Product Party is a shared mission for Houston’s product building community, where we bring the best of our organizations and teach each other our craft. And, yes, it’s a party. The goal is meaningful joy, reconnecting communities in Houston that got quiet during Covid, but also can connect across industries, age and demographics around the craft of product ownership.

This month’s host is Wade Pinder, Head of Product for Mainline’s esports tournament software in Houston TX. With over 13 years of experience in Product Management, Wade is a co-founder of the Houston Product Community, an active member of the Agile Leadership Network Houston group and served as a startup mentor at Station Houston.

Wade will be talking about “What’s the difference between Product Owner and Product Manager?” It's a very common question asked by new and seasoned product professionals alike. The answers people provide in response to this question are anything but common… ranging from “they are both the same thing” all the way to the opposite extreme of “they are completely different and have nothing in common.” Most of us intuitively realize that there is some “overlap” in the duties and responsibilities between these two functions, but in practice it is difficult for the individual practitioner to pin these down… especially since position to position, company to company, industry to industry these “lines of responsibility” vary. Wade explores the differences and similarities between the Product Owner and Product Manager roles and why knowing these differences can lead to a more successful product.

We meet at 5:30, then generally have a presentation around 6:30.