Ownership Debt: Who Owns Decisions After Go-Live?

Too many organisations treat decisions like one-off events: specified during a project then left unmanaged after go-live. The result is 'ownership debt' — decisions with no clear owner, dissolving accountability into fragile systems, recurring rework, and hidden costs. In this episode Mirko Peters explains how unclear decision ownership amplifies technical debt and business risk, why it happens (project handovers, incentives, and governance gaps), and how to design for responsibility across the lifecycle. Through a generalized consulting example Mirko shows the typical missteps that leave features orphaned and roadmaps inconsistent, then gives concrete patterns to reassign ownership, create lightweight decision records, and align incentives between product, operations and architecture. Listeners will get practical guidance they can apply in the next week: how to name owners, set review cadences, and make small governance changes that stop ownership debt from compounding. This is for leaders, architects and delivery managers who want decisions to survive beyond the slide deck.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-it-it-business--6867401/support.To continue the conversation, follow Mirko Peters on LinkedIn, where more insights and real-world examples are shared from both business and IT perspectives.