Process Owner: Person who has the eventual responsibility for the performance of a procedure in realizing its objectives measured by key procedure indicators, and has the authority and capability to make essential changes.
Process owners are a critical part of successful DMAIC (that is, Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) and DFSS (that is, Design for Six Sigma) projects. The process owners are accountable for the management of processes in the organization. In some situation process owners are current leaders or managers, and in other cases procedure owners might be taken from non-leadership positions. These are the people who receive the solutions formed by an enhancement team, and end up being accountable for managing the improved procedure.