The user satisfaction gap, a core concept in product management and value delivery, is the discrepancy between what a user wants to achieve (their desired outcome) and what they actually experience when using a product. This concept is rooted in Expectation-Confirmation Theory, where satisfaction is a function of comparing pre-use expectations against post-use perceived performance. A Product Owner's goal is to minimize this gap by ensuring the product delivers value that meets or exceeds user expectations, thereby maximizing user satisfaction and, consequently, the value of the product.

A. The total market size. This is a business metric representing the entire potential customer base or revenue, not an indicator of individual user satisfaction or experience.

C. The market share of the product. This metric reflects a product's sales performance relative to competitors, not the qualitative gap between a user's expectations and their actual experience.

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1. Parasuraman

A.

Zeithaml

V. A.

& Berry

L. L. (1985). A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing

49(4)

41–50. This seminal paper introduces the "gap model" of service quality

where "Gap 5" is identified as the discrepancy between customer expectations and their perceptions of the service delivered (i.e.

their actual experience). This is the foundational concept of the user satisfaction gap. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1251430)

2. Oliver

R. L. (1980). A Cognitive Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions. Journal of Marketing Research

17(4)

460–469. This paper establishes the Expectation-Confirmation Theory (ECT)

which posits that satisfaction is determined by comparing a user's initial expectations (desired outcome) with the product's perceived performance (actual experience). (DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3150499)

3. Schwaber

K.

& Sutherland

J. (2020). The Scrum Guide. Scrum.org. The guide states

"The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team" (p. 5). Maximizing value is directly achieved by understanding and fulfilling user needs

which involves closing the gap between their desired outcomes and their actual experience with the product.