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What a twist of language all this "product owner" stuff is. You own something if people can't legally take it away from you and you reap its fruits. The owner i

What a twist of language all this "product owner" stuff is. You own something if people can't legally take it away from you and you reap its fruits. The owner is the one who gets the profits.

bruce511 3y ago
The Owner in this article isn't talking about the copyright holder, but rather the person who drives the project forward. What he's saying is that to be a true owner (to best be able to drive the project forward) you need a mandate (the copyright owner gives you authority), knowledge (of the product, the domain space, the user needs and the business needs), and the responsibility (the buck stops here). The "owner" balances all the needs, allocates resources, designs, follows up, takes the heat when things go wrong. In a business sense this is different to the copyright holder (who puts up the resources, takes the risk, and gets the profit if there is any)
- bonoboTP 3y ago
  The butler is no "Castle Owner". It is a cheap way to give people a strong and prestigious word to describe themselves, thereby smuggling in connotations. If you own something, you will treat it with lots of attention of course. People who tell you that you own something that isn't actually yours want to make you feel you own it and hence give it your 110%, while actually not owning anything. There is no ownership here and project lead or project manager would be much more appropriate. I know that it's jargon, but it's pure connotation smuggling. Titles are very cheap, and people are gullible to be satisfied with the pride that comes from feeling like they own something. Remember when people used to talk about "rockstar devs", ninjas and gurus. Or Apple customer service people being called "geniuses". Or "Scrum Masters". Or various wizards, magicians, and so on. Also I never mentioned copyright at all. Copyright may or may not be relevant regarding ownership. For example when producing physical widgets without software, copyright is a non-starter in the first place.
  - bruce511 3y ago
    "Owner" is not a title (I've ever seen). And the article is not about owner dispensed as z title. Ownership is the -result- of the 3 attributes. Mandate is bestowed by management. Ownership is a state. This article is neither about legal Ownership (which you referred to in your first post, and i simplified to copyright holder.) It's not about a job title. It's about a state of mind when mandate, knowledge and responsibility collide. I'm guessing you've never been an owner in this sense, not yet. But look forward to it; it offers a unique satisfaction for a developer, especially when done well.
sanderjd 3y ago
Words often have multiple different meanings :) I have a strong memory of being very confused in a classroom in high school once when our teacher was trying to get us to understand this meaning of "ownership" over our own education. I get it now though!

What a twist of language all this "product owner" stuff is. You own something if people can't legally take it away from you and you reap its fruits. The owner is the one who gets the profits.

bruce511 3y ago

The Owner in this article isn't talking about the copyright holder, but rather the person who drives the project forward. What he's saying is that to be a true owner (to best be able to drive the project forward) you need a mandate (the copyright owner gives you authority), knowledge (of the product, the domain space, the user needs and the business needs), and the responsibility (the buck stops here). The "owner" balances all the needs, allocates resources, designs, follows up, takes the heat when things go wrong. In a business sense this is different to the copyright holder (who puts up the resources, takes the risk, and gets the profit if there is any)

bonoboTP 3y ago
The butler is no "Castle Owner". It is a cheap way to give people a strong and prestigious word to describe themselves, thereby smuggling in connotations. If you own something, you will treat it with lots of attention of course. People who tell you that you own something that isn't actually yours want to make you feel you own it and hence give it your 110%, while actually not owning anything. There is no ownership here and project lead or project manager would be much more appropriate. I know that it's jargon, but it's pure connotation smuggling. Titles are very cheap, and people are gullible to be satisfied with the pride that comes from feeling like they own something. Remember when people used to talk about "rockstar devs", ninjas and gurus. Or Apple customer service people being called "geniuses". Or "Scrum Masters". Or various wizards, magicians, and so on. Also I never mentioned copyright at all. Copyright may or may not be relevant regarding ownership. For example when producing physical widgets without software, copyright is a non-starter in the first place.
- bruce511 3y ago
  "Owner" is not a title (I've ever seen). And the article is not about owner dispensed as z title. Ownership is the -result- of the 3 attributes. Mandate is bestowed by management. Ownership is a state. This article is neither about legal Ownership (which you referred to in your first post, and i simplified to copyright holder.) It's not about a job title. It's about a state of mind when mandate, knowledge and responsibility collide. I'm guessing you've never been an owner in this sense, not yet. But look forward to it; it offers a unique satisfaction for a developer, especially when done well.

sanderjd 3y ago

Words often have multiple different meanings :) I have a strong memory of being very confused in a classroom in high school once when our teacher was trying to get us to understand this meaning of "ownership" over our own education. I get it now though!