Podcast Summary:

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast – Agile Storytelling from the Trenches

Episode: The Product Owner Role in Construction—Voice of the Customer Across Every Phase
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Felipe Engineer-Manriquez
Date: January 30, 2026

Overview

This episode explores the unique challenges and adaptations of the Product Owner (PO) role within the construction industry. Vasco Duarte sits down with Felipe Engineer-Manriquez, a leading advocate for bringing Agile and Lean practices into construction, to discuss practical strategies for ensuring the "voice of the customer" is present throughout every phase of a construction project. The conversation also covers how Agile principles, often seen in software, can be thoughtfully translated into environments where physical, high-stakes, and highly regulated work is performed.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining the Product Owner Role in Construction

• PO Role is Foreign in Construction:
  • The term "Product Owner" is not naturally understood in construction, where titles like Project Manager (PM) and Superintendent are more commonplace.
    • "Product owner in construction is like I'm speaking a foreign language because we have project managers...people often will misunderstand and think like, 'oh, the PM is definitely the product owner.'" — Felipe (03:10)
• Flexible Representation:
  • The ‘voice of the customer’ may be embodied by different roles throughout a project—PM, superintendent, or executive—depending on who interacts most with the client or end-user at each phase.
    • "On some projects it's the superintendent who actually brings the voice of the customer to the team. On other projects it could be a project executive…sometimes it is actually the PM." — Felipe (04:02)
• Active Coaching by Scrum Master:
  • If no one is actively bringing customer perspective, Felipe takes on that responsibility until he can "groom somebody to take that." He views supporting and coaching emergent POs as a critical, often overlooked, facet of the Scrum Master role.
    • "If nobody on the team is doing that, I will take that role on myself until I can groom somebody to take that." — Felipe (04:34)
    • "In the scrum training…there's one bullet point that says Scrum Master helps the PO act in their role." — Felipe (04:43)

2. Navigating Hierarchies and Culture

• Battling Organizational Inertia:
  • Construction’s steep hierarchies make it difficult for genuine customer voices to reach teams, a point highlighted by referencing military leadership principles from "Extreme Ownership" and "Team of Teams."
    • "Construction is like stupid hierarchy...it's org charts to kill you with. Like, I don't think a lot of people realize like that comes from the military." — Felipe (05:00)
    • "As you get down to the cell level of where you have a team, somebody has to bring the voice of the customer to the team." — Felipe (05:11)

3. Prioritization & Selection of Work

• Legalism in Requirements vs. Product Development:
  • Construction often enjoys more defined requirements, dictated by design documents and contracts.
    • "In construction, we're lucky because...we can only build what we actually have designs to do." — Felipe (05:48)
• Translating Customer Needs:
  • The PO (whoever that is) must think like the owner/client, articulating their priorities and trade-offs to the team, especially since the client can’t be present at every meeting.
    • "I want you to think like the owner and bring that to the team meetings...the PO is the person that can embody the ultimate client or the group receiving the work." — Felipe (06:23)
• Example — Superintendents as POs:
  • In projects like hospital renovations, the superintendent often has the closest interaction with hospital staff and thus becomes the de facto PO.

4. Making Value Tangible Across Phases

• Teaching the Language of Value:
  • Value is often misunderstood—Felipe uses an industrial engineering definition:
    • "Value is a beneficial transformation of materials, information, or a combination of both." — Felipe (09:19)
• Avoiding Waste:
  • Teams are coached to focus on activities that transform information/materials, avoiding unnecessary work and non-value-add tasks.
    • "Giving a status of where things are is waste. You want things to radiate information so that people change their behavior." — Felipe (11:12)
• Illustrative Example:
  • Teams prematurely wanted to mark up floors, but Felipe intervened, explaining work timing—marking on a surface that would soon be covered was wasted effort.
    • "Yes, it's true that you can physically be on the floor...but there's no concrete yet. Where are you going to put the layout?...any kind of markings you did on metal decking 5 inches down vanish." — Felipe (12:41)
• POs Must Visualize and Prioritize:
  • Felipe advocates for visible backlogs and collaborative prioritization, showing the impact of each request and helping owners decide where new inputs fit best.

5. The Power of Speaking Aloud and Shared Understanding

• Clarity Through Communication:
  • Both agree that openly voicing and aligning on priorities is key to team effectiveness and customer satisfaction.
    • "It's so intuitive. Once you say it out loud." — Felipe (14:00)
    • "That's the key. When you say it out loud." — Vasco (14:06)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Adapting Agile to Construction:

  • "Every day in construction is like a brand new day...the changes are so dramatic because the building is physically taking shape in reality." — Felipe (04:49)

• On Organizational Hierarchy and Voice of Customer:

  • "People over rely on the hierarchy to do the things right...As you get down to the cell level...somebody has to bring the voice of the customer to the team." — Felipe (04:52)

• On Defining Value:

  • "Value is a beneficial transformation of materials, information, or a combination of both." — Felipe (09:19)

• On Avoiding Premature Action:

  • "Now is not the right time...I love that you want to start doing this now, but now is not the right time." — Felipe (13:05)

• On Building Customer Empathy:

  • "The PO is the person that can embody the ultimate client or the group receiving the work." — Felipe (06:23)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:24] — Introduction of the Product Owner concept for construction
• [03:10] — Role confusion and finding the true voice of the customer
• [04:34] — Scrum Master's role in supporting weak PO functions
• [05:00] — Organizational hierarchies and culture in construction
• [05:48] — Applying prioritization and PO role in context
• [06:23] — Bringing owner’s voice into team meetings
• [09:19] — Teaching what “value” means in construction
• [11:12] — Distinction between valuable information and status reports
• [12:41] — Case study: correct timing for construction activities
• [14:00] — Importance of saying priorities out loud and team alignment

Additional Resources & Where to Find Felipe

• Felipe directs listeners to his website: [TheFelipe Bio Link] (provides social, podcast, and contact info)
• Noteworthy community: EBFC Scrum Community of Practice (approaching 1,000 members, focused on Lean and Agile in construction)
• Felipe is highly accessible and responsive to community outreach.

In Summary

This episode delivers practical wisdom on reshaping the Product Owner role for construction, showing how flexible thinking, active coaching, and a relentless focus on real value help bridge Agile principles across industries. Felipe’s real-world stories empower Scrum Masters and Agile coaches to challenge hierarchies, clarify value, and ensure the customer’s perspective is alive in every decision.