Who Owns the Decision? Business Analyst vs Product Owner vs Proxy PO

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect the perspectives of IIBA.

You’ve just explained how you managed the backlog and prioritized features for your last project. The inevitable question arises: Were you acting as the business analyst or the product owner? And if you were doing both, who was actually making the final call?

The pause that often follows reveals something deeper than semantics. In today’s market, the titles "Business Analyst,” "Product Owner,” and the often-misunderstood "Proxy Product Owner" are used interchangeably, yet their core accountabilities are worlds apart. Failing to articulate these differences isn’t just a matter of terminology; it signals a lack of clarity about the governance of the value being created.

To understand this fully, we must look at the "bibles" of our profession: IIBA’s BABOK Guide and the Scrum Guide.

Defining the Players: Accountability vs. Activity

To navigate these roles effectively, it’s critical to distinguish between what a person does (activities) and what they’re answerable for (accountabilities).

1. The Product Owner: The Value Maximizer

According to the Scrum Guide, the product owner is a single person (not a committee) accountable for "maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the scrum team." They’re the sole person responsible for product backlog management, which includes developing and explicitly communicating the product goal.

• Primary focus: return on investment (ROI), product vision, and stakeholder buy-in
• The power: They have the final "yes" or "no" on investment; for the product owner to succeed, the entire organization must respect their decisions

2. The Business Analyst: The Change Enabler

The BABOK Guide defines business analysis as "the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders." A business analyst is "any person who performs business analysis tasks... no matter their job title or organizational role."

• Primary focus: Requirement elicitation, gap analysis, and ensuring the solution meets the business need
• The power: They own the integrity of the requirements, and they’re responsible for "discovering, synthesizing, and analyzing information from a variety of sources"

3. The Proxy Product Owner: The Tactical Engine

The proxy product owner is a role born out of necessity, usually when the "real product owner" is a high-level executive who lacks the time to be closely engaged with the development team.

• The reality: While the Scrum Guide emphasizes that "the product owner is one person, not a committee," organizations often use a proxy (frequently a senior business analyst) to handle daily backlog refinement while the actual authority remains with a distant stakeholder. 

This creates a common anti-pattern where the proxy carries responsibility without full decision-making power.

The Responsibility Matrix: Tactical vs. Strategic

In a healthy ecosystem, the proxy product owner or business analyst acts as the "conscience of the product." While the product owner focuses on value, the business analyst focuses on alignment.

Responsibility	Business Analyst	Product Owner	Proxy Product Owner
Vision and strategy	Supports and aligns	Owns and defines	Communicates and interprets
Backlog prioritization	Makes recommendations based on logic	Decides based on value	Facilitates based on product owner input
Requirement detail	Deep dive (functional)	High-level (user value)	Mid-level (bridging gaps)
Stakeholder management	Manages expectations	Manages ROI/politics	Filters communication
Decision authority	Low (influencer)	High (decider)	Medium (tactical only)

Case Study: The Conflict of Logic

Consider a feature prioritization debate. The product owner wants "one-click checkout" by Q3 to drive a 15% lift in conversion. The business analyst identifies that this bypasses the security validation layer, introducing long-term enterprise limitations.

The Resolution: According to the BABOK Guide, the business analyst’s role includes "assessing the performance of and value delivered by a solution" and "recommending actions to increase solution value." The business analyst presents the trade-offs, but the product owner owns the risk.

Early in my career, I worked with a product owner who was a Senior VP. He only had 15 minutes a week for the team. I functioned as his proxy. 

I quickly learned that while I could order the backlog, I couldn’t authorize changes to the product goal. When a technical roadblock appeared, the team sat idle until I could get the VP’s "yes." This clarified a key insight: a proxy product owner without delegated authority is a bottleneck with a refined title.

Deep Dive Into the BABOK Guide and Scrum Perspectives

Elicitation and Collaboration

The BABOK Guide emphasizes that elicitation is "not a phase," but an ongoing activity. For a product owner, elicitation is about identifying potential value. For a business analyst, it involves confirming results to ensure stakeholders reach a shared understanding.

Requirements Life Cycle Management

This is where the business analyst excels. The BABOK Guide includes tasks such as "trace requirements," ensuring that "requirements and designs at different levels are aligned." In contrast, the Scrum Guide simplifies this to product backlog accountability under the product owner.

The "Proxy Product Owner" Trap: A Warning Label

The proxy product owner role reveals important truths about organizational design. While it demonstrates the ability to handle the workload associated with product ownership, it can also indicate an accountability gap where the "one person" model has broken down.

A more effective approach is establishing clear decision boundaries. Defining "pre-approved decision boundaries" allows the proxy to maintain team velocity while focusing on elicitation and collaboration, ensuring designs remain aligned with business goals. Without this clarity, the role risks becoming an operational choke point rather than a force multiplier.

Understanding the Role Distinction

The overlap between business analyst and product owner roles is real, particularly in backlog management and refinement. However, the distinction lies in authority and accountability.

• The product owner is accountable for value
• The business analyst is accountable for alignment and defining needs

In practice, many professionals operate across both spaces. It’s common to see a business analyst leading refinement sessions while applying decision analysis to present options for final prioritization by a product leader. This hybridization reflects how roles are evolving in modern organizations.

The Future of the Role: The Age of the Strategic Architect

The traditional "bridge" between business and IT is being rebuilt by artificial intelligence (AI). The emerging challenge is no longer just business analyst vs. product owner—it's human judgment vs. automated capability.

• The death of the "documenter" business analyst: AI can now generate user stories and acceptance criteria from raw inputs. The business analyst who focuses only on documentation will become obsolete. The business analyst who excels in strategy analysis and enterprise alignment will thrive.
• The "orchestrator" product owner: AI will increasingly manage backlog optimization using real-time performance and market data. The product owner’s role will shift toward ethics, judgment, and long-term vision.
• The "human-centric" proxy product owner: This role may evolve into a technical product manager focused on mentoring teams, fostering collaboration, and maintaining healthy delivery environments while AI handles logic-driven prioritization.

The boundaries between roles will continue to blur. A senior business analyst will need business acumen, while a product owner will need to develop analytical and systems thinking capabilities to operate effectively in an AI-driven landscape.

Conclusion: It’s About Value, Not Labels

Whether operating as a business analyst, a product owner, or a proxy, the ultimate goal remains the same: enabling change by defining needs and delivering value.

• If you’re accountable for requirements delivery, you’re the business analyst
• If you’re accountable for business success (ROI), you’re the product owner
• If you’re sustaining delivery in the absence of clear authority, you’re the proxy

Mastering the nuances of all three roles transforms you from a participant in delivery to a navigator of value. More than simply managing tickets, you’re shaping the product’s direction and impact.

Whether you identify as a business analyst, a product owner, or a proxy, the ability to drive value is what matters most. Learn how the Certificate in Product Ownership Analysis (CPOA) helps professionals lead with confidence.

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