Who Does What
in Tech?

🧭 Product Manager 📋 Project Manager 📝 Product Owner ⚙️ TPM 🏛️ PMO 🔄 Scrum Master

All explained through a real startup story — zero jargon, one project, six phases.

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📖 Our Dummy Project

🚗 RideNow App
RideNow — A startup building a ride-booking mobile app competing with Uber & Ola. The team has investors, a deadline, a dev team, and a big dream. Watch how each role enters the story as the project evolves — from a napkin sketch to a live product used by real riders. 🏍️→🚗→🚀
The Project Journey
How roles appear — in the wild
1
PHASE 1 · Discovery & Vision
Someone says "Let's build RideNow"
Investor funds the idea. Before a single line of code, someone needs to ask: Who is our user? What problem do we solve? What should we build? The Product Manager steps in — researches riders & drivers, defines the roadmap, and sets the vision. Meanwhile, a PMO is set up to define how the team will work — what tools, processes, and governance standards everyone follows.
🧭 Product Manager 🏛️ PMO
2
PHASE 2 · Planning & Kickoff
"We launch in 6 months" — the clock starts
Now we need someone to own the plan — budget, milestones, risks, dependencies. The Project Manager builds the project timeline, tracks deliverables, and runs the steering committee. If RideNow runs multiple parallel workstreams (iOS app, backend, payments, maps integration), a Program Manager coordinates them all.
📋 Project Manager 🎯 Program Manager
3
PHASE 3 · Dev Sprints Begin
Devs start building — sprints kick off
The dev team is running Agile. Every 2 weeks is a Sprint. The Product Owner writes user stories, prioritizes the backlog, and accepts/rejects completed stories. The Scrum Master runs standups, removes blockers, and keeps the team's velocity healthy. The Engineering Manager handles team growth, code reviews, and 1:1s with devs.
📝 Product Owner 🔄 Scrum Master 👨‍💻 Eng Manager
4
PHASE 4 · Technical Scale-Up
RideNow grows — multiple teams now
RideNow expands: Rider app team, Driver app team, Payments team, Maps & Routing team. A Technical Program Manager (TPM) joins — they have deep engineering knowledge AND can coordinate across all 4 teams. They track cross-team dependencies, run architecture reviews, and make sure the payments team's API is ready before the booking team needs it.
⚙️ Technical Program Manager
5
PHASE 5 · Agency & Delivery
RideNow hires an agency for the website
RideNow outsources their marketing website to a digital agency. The agency assigns a Digital/Delivery PM (DPM) who manages the client relationship, tracks creative + dev milestones, reviews delivery sprints, and ensures the project ships on budget. This role is very common in agencies.
🌐 Digital PM (DPM)
🚀
PHASE 6 · Post-Launch
RideNow is live — and growing
App is live! Now the Product Manager analyzes data, talks to users, and decides what's next on the roadmap. The Project Manager closes the project and writes a retrospective. The Product Owner keeps grooming the backlog for V2 features. The PMO reviews lessons learned. The cycle restarts — just bigger this time. 🎉
🧭 Product Manager 🔍 Retro & Lessons
Role Reference
All Roles — click to expand
🧭
Product Manager
Owns: Vision & Roadmap
Decides WHAT to build and WHY. Talks to users, defines features, drives business value.
Long-term · Strategic
📋
Project Manager (PM)
Owns: Delivery & Timeline
Makes sure things ship on time, in budget, within scope. Manages risks and stakeholders.
Short-term · Execution
📝
Product Owner (PO)
Owns: Backlog & Sprints
Day-to-day Agile tactician. Writes user stories, prioritizes what devs build this sprint.
Sprint-level · Agile
🎯
Program Manager
Owns: Multiple Projects
Manages a group of related projects, tracks dependencies, aligns teams to one strategic goal.
Cross-team · Orchestrator
🏛️
PMO
Owns: Standards & Governance
A department (not a person) that sets HOW projects run org-wide — templates, tools, reporting.
Org-wide · Governance
🌐
DPM (Digital/Delivery PM)
Owns: Digital Delivery
Project Manager specialized in digital/agency work. Common at product studios and agencies.
Agency · Digital
🔄
Scrum Master (SM)
Owns: Team Process Health
Facilitates ceremonies, removes blockers, coaches Agile. NOT a manager — more of a servant-leader.
Sprint-level · Coach
⚙️
Technical PM (TPM)
Owns: Cross-team Tech Programs
Program Manager with deep engineering knowledge. Ideal for senior devs moving into coordination.
Senior · High-impact
👨‍💻
Engineering Manager (EM)
Owns: People & Team Health
Manages devs — hiring, growth, 1:1s, culture. Doesn't own the product roadmap.
People-first · Long-term
Side by Side
At a Glance comparison
Role Core Question Horizon In RideNow
🧭 Product Manager What should we build & why? Long-term Defines rider/driver features, owns roadmap
📋 Project Manager Are we on time & on budget? Short-term Tracks 6-month launch plan, risks, budget
📝 Product Owner What do devs build this sprint? Sprint Writes stories, accepts booking feature
🎯 Program Manager Are all our projects aligned? Medium-long Coordinates iOS, backend, payments teams
🏛️ PMO How do we run projects here? Org-wide Sets reporting templates, tool standards
🔄 Scrum Master Is our process healthy? Sprint Runs standups, removes blockers daily
⚙️ TPM How do we scale technically? Long-term Aligns 4 engineering teams, tracks APIs
🌐 DPM Did the digital project ship? Short-medium Manages agency building the website
👨‍💻 Eng Manager Is my team growing & happy? Long-term Grows dev team, handles 1:1s, hiring
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