Is Business Relationship Manager roles usually taken by Product Owner of Business analyst

[major li]

Hi Community,

According to the SN definition in demand management process, BRM is defined as "

• The Business Relationship Manager is responsible for maintaining a positive relationship with customers, identifying customer needs and ensuring that the service provider can meet these needs with an appropriate catalogue of services
• The Business Relationship Manager works closely with the Demand Manager

"

In your organization, is this role taken by Product Owner of Business analyst? Thank you. 

[kaushal_snow · Accepted solution]

Hi @major li ,

Business Relationship Manager role is not automatically held by the Product Owner or Business Analyst, because a BRM is primarily focused on maintaining strategic relationships with business stakeholders, understanding their needs across services, and bridging demand with IT capability, whereas a PO/BA is more inward facing, owning backlog, defining features, refining requirements, and working with the development team  though in smaller or lean teams sometimes the PO or BA may also take on BRM duties when roles aren’t fully separated....

If you found my response helpful, please mark it as ‘Accept as Solution’ and ‘Helpful’. This helps other community members find the right answer more easily and supports the community.

[Namita Mishra]

Hi @major li ,

Thanks for connecting with community. I agree with @kaushal_snow's response; would also like to add what I have seen in the customer base and the points that would help you in taking the decision.

As per ServiceNow - "The BRM is responsible for maintaining a positive relationship with customers, identifying customer needs, and ensuring that the service provider can meet these needs with an appropriate catalogue of services. The BRM works closely with the Demand Manager."

So, if you read the above statement, it brings out the key responsibilities for this role:

• Maintain customer relationships

• Identify customer/business needs

• Ensure alignment between IT and business

• Liaise with the Demand Manager

So, if you ask who plays the BRM role, it typically depends on the org structure and the maturity.

For example:

Org Type	Role is played By
Agile / product org	Typically the PO, sometimes the PM. This I have seen when PO and PM roles are not distinct and the persona is called as PM
Traditional IT Org	BRM or Business Analyst (BA)
ITIL /Service mgmt org	BRM aligned with service managers
Startups	Hybrid - BA, PO / PM - anyone can wear the BRM hat

As you are trying to map this role in your organization, think about:

• Strategic vs tactical focus

• Ongoing relationship management vs project delivery

• Product ownership vs service alignment

Hope this helps and if it does please mark the response as correct. It would help me and others in the community.

Have a Great Week !

Thank You!

Namita Mishra