Originally written in French. Translated by AI — the meaning has been preserved, not the prose.
Short definition
A set of identifiable tasks an organization assigns, delegates or redistributes, and whose exercise does not by itself constitute a durable specialty.
Full definition
In general usage, "function" designates the place someone occupies in an organization, often as a synonym for position or responsibility.
In the articles on this blog, the word is used in a precise opposition with "job". A function is defined by what it produces in the flow of work, and its content can be moved from one person to another without anything being lost. A job presupposes a practice that deposits something durable in whoever exercises it: a judgment, a knowledge of the domain, a capacity reusable elsewhere. Keeping a consumable artifact belongs to the first category; product arbitration, grounded in knowledge of a market, belongs to the second.
Usage in the field
The term comes into play in discussions about interface roles, in examining what can be redistributed within a team, and in the critique of job descriptions built around an artifact.
Synonyms and variants
Functional role, remit, assignment. "Transmission belt" designates one particular function, the one that consists in circulating information between two groups.
Not to be confused with
- Job — a body of practice and judgment built over time and which stays attached to the person who acquired it.
- Role — a position defined by a methodological framework, with its rituals and declared responsibilities.
- Position — a line on the org chart, with a title, a budget and an occupant.
Examples
"You can found a function on a consumable artifact. Not a job."
A team that keeps a position but redistributes its content is redistributing functions, not jobs.
Ambiguities / debates
The border depends partly on social convention: a job market, a training path and a professional community can constitute entirely perishable work as a job. This glossary retains the criterion of what the practice deposits, noting that others retain that of social recognition.