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What is the difference between product owner, customer, and end user in an agile?

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Anonymous
1. Is the product owner the same as the customer?
OR
2. Is the customer referring to the end user?
3. Plus, in agile teams, does the team consist of the product owner?

While studying for the PMI-ACP, I slowly begin to overthink these questions. Now I am down a spiraling rabbit hole trying to find a definitive answer. The terms customer or end user are not defined in PMI Lexicon or Agile Practice Guide.

I am having difficulty understanding the relationship. For example, if the agile team is collaborating with the Product Owner to refine the backlog. Is the product owner the customer, or could I stay that they are a part of the team since we are working in a team-like manner, or should I always see the product owner as the customer?

When reviewing the principles:
"Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software."
Does "Customer" mean end user or product owner?

"Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage."
In this case, I understand "customer" is referring to the product owner or business representative.

Thank you for helping me on this journey of enlightenment. ??
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Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada
1. The PO is the "voice of the customer" but is intended to represent all the stakeholders who have input into the product's requirements

2. End user is a generic term. A customer might be one instance of an end user, but might not be the only type of end user. For example, if we have a hosted e-mail service then our customers will be the paying clients using the service (end users) but we will have internal staff who will be running reports from the application. They are also end users, but might not be considered "customers".

3. The PO is a key role in an overall agile team, but if you consider a framework like Scrum, it distinguishes the "development team" from the PO. So it really comes down to which team you are referring to. The PO is likely to participate in most if not all ceremonies.

Kiron
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Wade Harshman Scrum Master| GDIT Indianapolis, In, United States
A customer is someone who's paying for your product/service. This person may or may not be an end user.

An end user is someone who will use your product/service. This person may or may not be a customer. It could be someone in your organization, for example, or it could be a person your customer wants to do business with.

The PO is the person who gets fired if she can't make the customer or end users happy. The PO responsibilities could vary depending on the framework you're using, and could be greatly diminished (or even absent) if the development team is working directly with the customer.

I'm curious if the ACP requires a different perspective on these roles.
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1 reply by Bob Thomas
Jul 18, 2019 5:46 PM
Bob Thomas
...
This is exactly what I was going to write.

The PO works for the company developing the solution and is the customer's representative.
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Drew Craig Sr. Agile & Product Coach| Vanguard Philadelphia, Pa, United States
1. Product Owner carries the vision of the product
2. There are various actors; business/user/customer/system
3. Product Owner is part of the team
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Stéphane Parent Self Employed / Semi-retired| Leader Maker Prince Edward Island, Canada
The product owner is an intrical part of the project team while the customer and end-users are stakeholders external to the team. The customer and end-users would be invited to the sprint review event.
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Bob Thomas Retired Brentwood, Tn, United States
Jul 10, 2019 8:34 AM
Replying to Wade Harshman
...
A customer is someone who's paying for your product/service. This person may or may not be an end user.

An end user is someone who will use your product/service. This person may or may not be a customer. It could be someone in your organization, for example, or it could be a person your customer wants to do business with.

The PO is the person who gets fired if she can't make the customer or end users happy. The PO responsibilities could vary depending on the framework you're using, and could be greatly diminished (or even absent) if the development team is working directly with the customer.

I'm curious if the ACP requires a different perspective on these roles.
This is exactly what I was going to write.

The PO works for the company developing the solution and is the customer's representative.

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