The world contains a consultant named III (pronounced three), who refers to himself as a "jiggler". He jiggles people and projects until they change. And I'm quite sure they usually change for the better.

III defines a project role "GoldOwner" or "GoalDonor". These are the people about whom the famous "GoldenRule" is written.

The GoldOwner is funding the project; the GoalDonor defines what needs to be done. 

These can be the same individual or separate individuals. In most projects, I suspect, the real GoalDonor and GoldOwner aren't the same person. Sometimes we forget that there may be a GoldOwner behind the GoalDonor, another individual who must be satisfied by the project, often in a more tangible way than the GoalDonor.

In ExtremeProgramming's ExtremeRoles, we call the GoalDonor the Customer.

Note that when the GoldOwner and GoalDonor do not have consensus, the project is usually doomed (see CthreeProjectTerminated).  See also OnConsensus.

''Apparently on Cthree the GoalDonor was changed out completely,  and some of the GoldOwner http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/extremeprogramming/message/87070,  so with no docs and no plan it was cancelled (the new set of GoalDonor didn't want to touch it).  Suppose c3 had had docs,  maybe would survive?   Is this why docs is important,  not to devs,  but supposing mgmt is regularly turned over on both sides?''

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Is a lack of consensus between the GoldOwner and GoalDonor the type of thing that is dealt with in
BarryBoehm's MBase: http://sunset.usc.edu/research/MBASE/ -- DmytriKleiner

Let's see what the definition is. 'MBASE focuses on ensuring that a project’s product models (architecture, requirements, code, etc.), process models (tasks, activities, milestones), property models (cost, schedule, performance, dependability), and success models (stakeholder win-win, IKIWISI - I’ll Know It When I See It, business case) are consistent and mutually enforcing.' Well they got the models covered I guess, when does the working software get delivered? --StevenNewton

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Seems to me that if the GoalDonor is not representing the GoldOwner's interests, the GoldOwner needs to find another GoalDonor. --MarcThibault

Or vice versa. --BillSeitz
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'and when they pull in a consultant to try and figure out how to make everyone work faster, that's the GoadLoaner.' 
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[CategoryCustomer]