Process owner: what it is and what it means

The process owner is the single person responsible for updating a procedure: not the team, not management, but a specific person with name and role stated in the document itself. The process owner receives reports of discrepancies from the front line, assesses whether the procedure needs to be changed or rewritten and makes sure the last-review date is always current. Without an explicit owner, inertia means the update never happens: no one feels responsible for correcting a document that belongs to everyone.

Distinctive: specific person with name and role
Distinctive: without an explicit owner, inertia means the update never happens
Essential: single person responsible
Essential: updating
Constant: stated in the document

Glossary

Process owner

The single person responsible for updating a specific procedure and keeping it correct, identified by name and role in the document.