Product Manager vs. Product Owner: What's the Difference?

While these roles often overlap in smaller companies, they serve distinct purposes at the enterprise level.

The Product Manager (PM) is externally focused. They conduct market research, validate hypotheses, define the overarching product vision, and ensure commercial viability.

The Product Owner (PO) is internally focused. They translate the PM's vision into actionable user stories, prioritize the team's sprint backlog, and accept completed work to ensure iterative value delivery.