Two Product Owners split a library digital-holds product—one owns discovery and one owns fulfillment—and conflicting orders appear within a week. Why is this an anti-pattern?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Two Product Owners on one holds product is two chefs salting the same pot. Discovery and fulfillment are slices of one citizen journey, not two products. One person has to own the order or the conflicts never end.
Full Explanation
Product Owner accountability for a product is singular so the Product Backlog has one order. Splitting that accountability by discovery versus fulfillment, left versus right, or department creates irreconcilable priorities and unclear decision rights. Month-end averaging and adding a Scrum Master as a tie-breaker institutionalize the conflict. If the work is truly two products, that boundary must be explicit; a hidden split of one library product is not.