Product Owner Vs Product Manager Vs Program Manager

Picture a company adding a "Virtual Try-On" feature so that customers can see how clothes look on them before they buy them.

Product Owner (PO) – The Person Who Makes Things Happen
The PO works with the development team every day. They say things like, "As a shopper, I want to upload a photo and see how a jacket fits virtually," to describe the items on the backlog.
They tell the dev team exactly what to build by setting acceptance criteria, such as the photo must load in three seconds and the clothes must automatically scale to size.

Product Manager (PM) is the person who comes up with ideas and makes plans.
The PM looks at the big picture. They find out through customer research that a lot of people leave their carts because they aren't sure if the items will fit.
They say, "Reduce returns by 20% and increase conversion by giving customers an interactive try-on experience."
They make the plan by choosing to launch jackets and shoes first and then add full outfits later.

The Orchestrator is the Program Manager (PgM).
The PgM makes sure that this feature works well for all the teams that use it. They work with the engineering, design, marketing, and warehouse operations teams to make sure everything runs smoothly, since returns will still need help with logistics.
The PgM makes sure that marketing and engineering are on the same page when marketing wants to launch the feature by Black Friday but engineering thinks it needs more time.

✨ Pro Tip: If you think of it like building a house:
The PM decides why to build it and what kind of house it should be.
Every week, the PO tells the construction crew exactly what to do.
The PgM makes sure that all of the contractors (plumbing, electrical, and interior) finish their work on time and within the budget.