What are the pros and cons of developing for a customer driven vs a product driven team?
I have only had experience with a customer driven team, and although the grass always looks greener, it is probably just as hard to mow. So I would like to know from some experienced people what the difference really is.
For clarification I am asking about the experience, like schedules, should I generally get more exposure to new technology because of longer schedules, etc.
I think it all depends on the level of interaction with the decision makers and not who the decision makers are.
Product driven teams still have a decision maker, its just not the customer.
If you want my opinion of the best development team structure, look at SCRUM.
Generally, the issue is one of "expert judgement"
A product owner can be a technical expert as well as a product expert who knows what customers need.
If you only have what a customer says (not what they really need,) you can lose that important bit of judgement.
Customers may have little or no technical expertise. They may ask for things which seem interesting but have huge technical risks, huge cost and little practical value. But, since "the customer's always right", stupid things get built for stupid reasons. Or -- worse -- someone attempts to build a stupid thing and fails, so the project is cancelled.
A product owner can temper the customer's opinions with more rational decision-making and create a product which will meet the customers true need and bypass the customer's whims.
Ultimately, all development is for a customer. Period.
However, the question is wether the developers interact directly with customers or via a product owner.