Software Engineering Institute

This technical note is a brief examination of the concept of ownership and the ways in which it might apply to systems of systems. It first analyzes ownership itself from a number of perspectives and then describes how ownership is generally understood in the context of computer systems. Next, the note outlines some implications that different notions of ownership will pose for large-scale, complex systems of systems, particularly such systems as those envisioned in network-centric warfare. The note describes several real-world examples of ownership issues that exist in existing systems of systems and posits some areas in which research is necessary.