# maîtrise d'ouvrage / maîtrise d'oeuvre - maître d'ouvrage / d'œuvre - MOA / MOE



## jokerF78

*Moderator note*: multiple threads merged to create this one
These terms are used in many different areas (construction, information systems, etc.). Please read the whole thread to find a translation appropriate to your situation.  If you still are unsure of the translation in your particular context, please reply at the end of the thread to ask for help.

*Note de la modération* : nous avons fusionné plusieurs discussions pour créer ce fil.
Ces termes s'appliquent dans plusieurs domaines différents (bâtiment, systèmes d'information, etc.).  Lisez donc le fil entier pour trouver la traduction qui convient à votre situation.  Si vous avez encore des doutes concernant la traduction du terme dans votre contexte, répondez à la fin du fil pour demander des précisions. 



bonjour, 
comment traduit on les termes "maîtrise d'ouvrage" / "maîtrise d'oeuvre" dans le contexte des systèmes d'information pour désigner les donneurs d'ordres et les responsable de l'exécution de ces ordres.

Merci d'avance de votre aide. 
C'est une demande très spécifique, j'ai fait des recherches sans succès et je n'ai pas la moindre idée de synonymes ou de péri-phrases.

PS: j'ai besoin des deux traductions. 
Cordialement. Joker.


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## Gil

Le contexte n'est pas les systèmes d'information, mais je le soumets au cas où il y aurait des possibilité de "recyclage terminologique"

maîtrise d'œuvre n. f. 
  Équivalent(s) 
English    project management     
  Définition :
Activité du maître d'œuvre qui consiste en la conception, la création et la réalisation d'un projet de construction ou d'aménagement d'un espace. 
  Sous-entrée(s) :         
  abréviation(s)
   MOE n. f.
    [Office québécois de la langue française, 2005]        


maîtrise d'ouvrage n. f. 
  Équivalent(s) 
English    contracting owner     
  Définition :
Activité du maître d'ouvrage qui s'illustre par la direction d'investissement d'une construction et la conduite des opérations. 
  Sous-entrée(s) :         
  abréviation(s)
   MO n. f.


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## jokerF78

merci Gil. pour MOE la traduction me va bien. mais MOA est un peu décalé. C'est un début. merci encore.


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

maître d'œuvre : project manager
maîtrise d'oeuvre : project management

maître d'ouvrage : contractor
maîtrise d'ouvrage : contracting owner


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## superromu

[…]

MOE = project owner
MOA = product owner (business owner)


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## bolem

Comment traduit-on ces termes en anglais avec les nuances qu'elles imposent :
Maître d'ouvrage est la personne qui commande l'ouvrage au maître d'oeuvre qui la réalisera

What is the translation for "maitre d'ouvrage" and "maître d'oeuvre" keeping on mind this difference :
the " maître d'ouvrage" is the person who commands the building to the "maitre d'oeuvre" which will build it.

Merci, thank

Bolem


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## BERENICE S

Hello,

You will be sure to be understood by saying (-by experience :I have been-)
Maître d'ouvrage = "person who orders the construction"
Maître d'oeuvre = builder

These are specific French terms, relating to specific French specifities
Maybe English speakers will have better ideas

Bye -B.


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## shimin

"maitre d'oeuvre" = contractor/architect?

(i'm only going by the english definitions given here)


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## fruey

bolem said:
			
		

> Comment traduit-on ces termes en anglais avec les nuances qu'elles imposent :
> Maître d'ouvrage est la personne qui commande l'ouvrage au maître d'oeuvre qui la réalisera
> Bolem



Hello,

Maître d'ouvrage => Contractor, contracting firm
Maître d'oeuvre => Site foreman, supervisor of works, subcontractor

Something like that. It's not an area of business that I'm particularly familiar with in my own native language, English


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## Amity

Hello, 
I often come across the terms: "Maîtrise d'Ouvrage" and "Maîtrise d'Oeuvre" in my IT company. I think I'm beginning to understand the difference. Can anyone tell me what the translation in English is?
Thanks


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## hibouette

Le maître d'ouvrage est la personne physique ou morale pour qui sont réalisés les travaux. Généralement non-technicien, il n'exécute pas les travaux.
Le maître d’œuvre est la personne qui a vocation, pour le compte du Maître d’Ouvrage de concevoir un ouvrage en respectant les objectifs et les contraintes acceptées par ce dernier, d’en coordonner la réalisation et d’en proposer la réception au maître d’ouvrage. Le maître d’œuvre a une mission définie dans un contrat passé avec le maître d’ouvrage. 
source : http://www.archi.fr/URCAUE-IDF/abcdaire/fiche318.php


Je suis quasi sûre que:maître d'ouvrage  = Project Manager

maître d'oeuvre = Chief, team leader... (je sais pas trop)


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## Francis Nugent Dixon

I'll go for "Project Manager" as a translation for "Maître d'Ouvrage", but Delmas Business Dictionary indicates "Prime Contractor" for "Maître d'Oeuvre".


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## Didjum

> Maître d'ouvrage => Contractor, contracting firm
> Maître d'oeuvre => Site foreman, supervisor of works, subcontractor


 
I'm not sure this is right / Je ne suis pas convaincu que ceci soit correct; voici pourquoi.

Le maître d'ouvrage est celui qui commande les travaux, qu'on désigne aussi comme étant "le client". "Maître d'ouvrage" désigne donc généralement :

un particulier qui fait construire sa maison
un promoteur immobilier
l'administration ou son représentant dans le cas de marchés publics (pour l'Etat)
Le maître d'oeuvre est celui qui étudie le projet, et supervise ensuite sa réalisation. "Maître d'oeuvre" désigne ainsi la personne qui représente et défend les intérêts du maître d'ouvrage; il s'agit donc généralement de l'architecte. 

Enfin, il y a l'entrepreneur (entreprise générale ou association momentanée), qui réalise les travaux après avoir obtenu le marché suite à l'appel d'offres.

Pour illustrer la différence de rôle entre le maître d'oeuvre et l'entrepreneur, on peut dire que le maître d'oeuvre est responsable du projet, en particulier il doit bien *spécifier* les travaux, tandis que l'entrepreneur est responsable du chantier et de la *bonne exécution* des travaux (selon les spécifications du maître d'oeuvre, mais aussi selon les règlementations et autres règles de l'art en vigueur !). 
En pratique, la répartition des rôles est rarement aussi claire... 

Selon ce schéma,
"contractor, contracting firm" désigne l'entreprise de construction (l'entrepreneur), et pas le maître d'ouvrage;
"builder" désigne également plutôt l'entrepreneur.

Je ne pense pas qu'il existe de terme spécifique équivalent en anglais pour désigner le "maître d'ouvrage".

Je pense que la traduction dépend aussi de la situation, et des relations contractuelles entre les 3 intervenants. Je précise que je suis plutôt familier de l'usage qu'on fait de ces termes en Belgique...


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## ESailor

Les anglo-saxons sont beaucoup plus pragmatiques que les français.

Le Maître d'Ouvrage est tout simplement le "client".
Le Maître d'Oeuvre est le "prime contractor" (c'est le sous-traitant qui assume la responsabilité du projet, et qui supervise les autres sous-traitants).

Et l'Assistance à la Maîtrise d'Ouvrage (un autre concept classique) est le "Project Office".

E.


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## crolette

Bonjour à tous,

Je cherche aussi à traduire "maîtrise d'ouvrage", mais il me 
semble que "contracting owner" désigne plutôt une personne,
qui serait alors le "maître d'ouvrage". 

Dans le dictionnaire d'architecture et construction, ils traduisent
maître d'ouvrage par "contracting authority", ce qui est similaire à
"contracting owner" et désigne donc une personne, pas un concept.

D'autres suggestions?


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## LaurentK

Bonjour JokerF78, depending on the domain in which those terms are used, the translation may differ. I know that your context is _Systèmes d'Information_, and from reading the different posts, I realize that in the building industry, things are a bit different:

The following refers to architecture only:

_Maître d'ouvrage_ is called _the client_
It does not translate into _Contractor, _which, still in the building industry, designates a builder, or a building company (bricklayer, electrician, etc...).

_Maître d'oeuvre_ is called _the architect_
French _MOE_ means _Maître/Maîtrise d'Oeuvre d'Exécution_: usually an architect in charge of the construction, but who did not design the building.

>Ouvrage is the material thing, build, paid and owned by the _client_, who is therefore its "master": _maître d'ouvrage.
_
>Oeuvre is the design, the concept, imagined, drawn and executed under the vigilance of the architect/designer, who therefore has the "mastery", _maître d'oeuvre._


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## sand23

Hello,

I have to cite contributors for a website. How would you translate :

Maître d'ouvrage? I cannot translate that by Project Manager as we already have that function in our credits.
Maître d'oeuvre? ? I have checked that meaning too and it also says project manager. I have to distinguish these three functions as their parts in the project were really different.

Can somebody help me out with this?

Thanks,

Sand


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## BMR

Il n'y a pas d'équivalent chez les anglo-saxons.
Maître d'ouvrage pourrait être traduit par _Project sponsor_.

Voir la discussion sur wikipédia.


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## michail

Please tell me what is "maitre d-ouvrage" in English.


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## clairet

It sounds like someone skilled in the particular type of work, e.g. "master mason".  It's not really current English, in that form anyway.  Perhaps "(highly) qualified craftsperson"?


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

The "maître d'ouvrage" is the organization which decides to carry out a project and funds it as well as selects the contractors and signs the contracts in relation to the project.


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## bergil

and the "maître d'ouvrage" is designated, in the contracts, as the "Owner" ;

the "maître d'oeuvre" as the "General Contractor" (or "Main Contractor")


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## choubix

"foreman" ?


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## bergil

bonsoir Choubix 

the "foreman" is a "chef d'équipe" or "contremaître"  and, as such, is not involved in the signature of the agreements


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## choubix

this explain why i had such a bad mark a couple of years ago!!! 

Real estate does bear any approximation...


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## Kokliko

J'ai l'impression au regard des différents éléments, et différents liens qu'on trouve ici... que la traduction n'est pas aussi aisée qu'il n'y paraît.

En fait, je crois que selon les métiers, les terminologies sont un peu différentes.
En informatique, ces termes sont pourtant très employés, et ce qui nous est à mon sens difficile à appréhender, c'est qu'ils n'ont pas d'abréviation !

En résumé je rejoins superromu, à savoir

Maîtrise d'oeuvre / MOE = "project owner" ou "project manager"
Maîtrise d'ouvrage / MOA = "business owner" ou "contractor"

En effet, en français, on n'utilise énormément les termes MOA et MOE... nous aimerions en fait trouver un équivalent anglais qui ne doit probablement pas exister, ou en tout cas n'a pas la même "universalité" (disons ne sera pas compris par "tout le monde").


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## sonny_f2002

> En résumé je rejoins superromu, à savoir
> 
> Maîtrise d'oeuvre / MOE = "project owner" ou "project manager"
> Maîtrise d'ouvrage / MOA = "business owner" ou "contractor"


 
I dont agree.
In the construction world,
the French "maitre d'ouvrage" = project owner - the company that has the authority to build and receives orders from the owner and project developer.
the French "maitre d'oeuvre" = main contractor, or sometimes master-builder. this company receives orders from the project owner and can work with sub-contractors


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## BADE

Bonjour à tous

Je cherche une traduction ou une équivalence aux termes "maîtrise d'oeuvre et maîtrise d'ouvrage" dans le cadre de projets de formation et travaux d'ingénierie .

Cette division du travail/responsabilité n'est peut être pas de culture anglosaxone ?

merci de vos réponse

Hello everybody

I'm looking for a translation or equivalence for the terms "maîtrise d'oeuvre et maîtrise d'ouvrage" into the framework of training projects and ingeniery works

I don't know if that division of works is natural in English ?

Thank you in advance for your responses


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## Avignonais

For construction projects, in the US we have the "general contractor", who is responsible for hiring all the sub-contractors, for making sure the project comes together to be completed. Is this what the "maître d'oeuvre" does?

In engineering (not ingeniery) projects that are contracted out, we sometimes talk about a Statement of Work (SOW) which defines what needs to be done and what the budget would be. At the end of the project, the contracter's work would be compared with the statement of work and judged against the definition of the work.


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## Franglais1969

Hello,

If you could outline the duties of each post you are inquiring about, I probably would then be able to give you the BE equivalents.


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## BADE

Thank you very much !, you gave me the answer I was looking for



Avignonais said:


> For construction projects, in the US we have the "general contractor", who is responsible for hiring all the sub-contractors, for making sure the project comes together to be completed. Is this what the "maître d'oeuvre" does?
> 
> In engineering (not ingeniery) projects that are contracted out, we sometimes talk about a Statement of Work (SOW) which defines what needs to be done and what the budget would be. At the end of the project, the contracter's work would be compared with the statement of work and judged against the definition of the work.


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## charleythefrog

Hello

I'm not native of GB but work in Ireland as an architect and you can say

maitre d'ouvrage: contracting authority (contractor)
maitre d'oeuvre: project manager, master of works, prime contractor (architect...)


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## midlifecrisis

In an IT project context, the  truth is that these terms represent a different approach to organisation and roles in the Francophone world so there is no  exact translation.  I'd suggest maitre d'oeuvre and ouvrage will often correspond respectively to Programme Director and Delivery Manager (which are actual role names in common usage, not literal translations).


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## MaxiTaxi

OK, a slightly differing opinion here. Yes, the translation will vary depending on the application field.
However, in more generic project management terms, "maître d'ouvrage" will be the "project owner' whereas "maître d'œuvre" will be the "project manager".
The project owner, who reports to the "project sponsor" ("commanditaire du projet") if there is one, makes sure that the project meets business objectives and appoints one or a number of project managers. 
The "project manager" is responsible for the actual implementation work. 
I think the same distinction can be made between "maître d'ouvrage" and "maître d'œuvre".


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## Zagga

MaxiTaxi said:


> OK, a slightly differing opinion here. Yes, the translation will vary depending on the application field.
> However, in more generic project management terms, "maître d'ouvrage" will be the "project owner' whereas "maître d'œuvre" will be the "project manager".
> The project owner, who reports to the "project sponsor" ("commanditaire du projet") if there is one, makes sure that the project meets business objectives and appoints one or a number of project managers.
> The "project manager" is responsible for the actual implementation work.
> I think the same distinction can be made between "maître d'ouvrage" and "maître d'œuvre".


 
In which case how do you distinguish MOE and MOA from "chef de projet" and "directeur de projet"  that both are used frequently in French IT environents but are not at all the same?
I tend to think that this is a legal distinction of who commissions a product and who is entrusted with its execution. Project directors and project managers could be present on both sides.

Probably Owner or Client for MOE and Contractor for MOA, but it's still unsatisfactory.


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## MaxiTaxi

Beware of using the word "contractor" for "maître d'œuvre" unless you know the MOE has been contracted out! A MOE may work for the same organisation as the maître d'ouvrage in which case "contractor" would be an inappropriate translation of "maître d'œuvre".


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## Sarahvw

The context is
Consulting engineering and an example of the sentence could be :

Assistance à Maîtrise d'oeuvre et Maîtrise d'ouvrage

I think that it originated in the Construction sector, but it now apparently applies to software engineering etc.

Any ideas anyone?

Many thanks


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## lolalorr

I suggest project sponsor.


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## Recho

Les concepts de MOA/MOE est un héritage du domaine de la construction (BTP). Leur utilisation douteuse dans les projets SI est une "exception à la française". Il n'est donc pas étonnant qu'il n'y ait pas de traduction satisfaisante.


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## Kelimutu

Hi eveyone; 

another tricky one - 
I can find many - opposing - translations for maître d'ouvrage - IATE gives it as variously building owner, client, developer, master building and works supervisor

the term is used several times in the doc I have - which is written by a building developer who is also a property investor. 
it talks about checking *"contrats de maître d'ouvrage" *with legal (for a specific construction project) and then has a headline "le programme de *maître d'ouvrage" 

*The sub headings then go on to talk about: 
'la valorisation de l'investissement'
la flexibilité de l'immeuble
la modularité de l'organisation du poste de travail 
et une vue prospective sur les futurs coûts d'exploitation

I cannot work out which of the possible terms could be applied in this sense - particularly as the first sub heading listed above goes on to talk about the fact that the building can be sold off with a minimum of constraints. 

is it the building's development programme?? 

any thoughts more than welcome!!


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## arundhati

Not sure I really got your question, if it is about "maître d'ouvrage", it's a general term referring to the person (or company, city...) who orders the workings.
Not the same thing as "le maître d'œuvre" who leads the construction.


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## Kelimutu

sorry, I guess I rambled on a bit - my question was to determine the translation of 'le programme de maître d'ouvrage'
until now, I thought, like you that it referred to the clients,  but in this case it doesn't seem to apply - since the sub headings seem to refer to the development and investment prospects of the building - how can you have a client programme for a building?


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## smirnoff75

Bonjour,

Je voudrais savoir comment on traduit en anglais (us)
la distinction entre maitrise d'œuvre et maitrise d'ouvrage appliqué aux système d'information comme c'est souvent le cas dans les offres d'emploi en France.
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maîtrise_d'ouvrage

Savoir finalement comment on appel l'entité qui à les responsabilités de la moa.

Merci pour votre aide 
++


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## Adam Warren

In its glossary, a large international bank's IT department lists "maître d'ouvrage" as "project owner", and "maître d'oeuvre" as "project developer". I hope that helps.


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## Ogustine

Bonjour,

Je voudrais traduire les termes "maitre d'oeuvre" et "maitre d'ouvrage" dans le cadre de la gestion de projet.
(Pour info, le maitre d'oeuvre est celui qui est proprietaire de l'ouvrage, le maitre d'ouvrage est celui qui realise l'ouvrage.)

Quelqu'un a une idee ?

Merci d'avance !


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## Ogustine

Ok, great, thanks !


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## LARSAY

Jeqn Michel Carrere a raison: un maitre d'oeuvre est un *Project Manager* ATTENTION: ce n'est PAS le constructeur, qui se dit _Contractor, _mais la personne, généralement un ingénieur, engagée et payée par le promoteur immobilier pour surveiller que les travaux sont exécutés selon le cahier des charges (_Specifications)_les travaux


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## Frecossais

Just wanted to say (a couple of years after the last post, but it's the thought that counts) that this discussion was very useful to me in a recent translation. So there you go.


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## Keith Bradford

Could I say that this is still a question that bothers me occasionally after 20 years of professional translating. My rule of thumb method is:
I assume that _Maître d'ouvrage_ = *owner* and that _Maître d'oeuvre_ = *contractor*;
I perform a global find-and-replace (= macro) for these terms and move on;
If I find a conflict (e.g. the word _entrepreneur_ appears further on in the text) I revise _maître d'oeuvre_ to mean *project manager* and replace _entrepreneur_ by *contractor*;
If I find a further conflict, I ask the author what on earth he's talking about.
The big advantage is of course that in many cases we're dealing with contracts that define their terms on page 1.  So it lies in our hands to say "The company ABC referred to below as the Owner..." and just get on with it.


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## Frecossais

That seems a pretty sensible and logical method, Keith. And I'm relieved that this bothers extremely experienced translators too!


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## LARSAY

A translator myself, who has translated hundreds of pages of construction documents (including a 85-page construction contract for a superdeluxe condo building in Bangkok), I confirm Keith's translation (*NO *doubt):
-  Le maitre d'ouvrage est celui qui paie la note, donc le *Owner *du terrain ou batiment
-  Le Maitre d'oeuvre est celui qui supervise ts les travaux pour le compte du Owner, donc *Project Manager*
*-  *L'entrepreneur est le* Contractor, *qui peut engager des *Sub-contractors *(plombiers, electricitiens, etc.)

PS. je viens de m'apercevoir que j'ai ecrit ca ds les 2 langues. Je laisse !


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## Piereloi

*IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTRUCTION*
*
Maitre d'ouvrage : DEVELOPPER during the construction
                              OWNER once construction is handed over

Maitre d'oeuvre : PROJECT MANAGER - can be an architect as well, depend of diplomas.

*


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## Emmitska

My two cents are this.
Maitrise d'ouvrage is about the process and keeping up with all the tasks involved in bringing the project to an end. Hence I would say it is Project Management.
Maitrise d'oeuvre is about the oeuvre, right? So the end product. What are the goals, what are the requirements, etc. This is usually the task held by a Business Analyst. This is the person who knows about the product/process and whom you refer to in order to know anything about the product itself.
Usually, when the project is completed, there is still a point in referring to the Business Analyst but the Project Manager moves on to a different project.
Hope that helps.


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## lucylinguist

I'm translating "dont X est le *maître d'oeuvre*" but it is used _in a figurative way _in my text (X is the organiser of a film festival - nothing to do with building or architecture).

I'm going to use: "which was *planned and seen through* by X" or "which was *planned and organised/managed/run/programmed* by X", something like that.

Hope this helps someone.


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## inquisitive1s

Hello!

I need to translate th French acronyms MOA, MOE, RECMV and their definitions in English, and I have never heard of equivalent official acronyms in English. Does someone out there know? This is what I have so far:

MOA: Maîtrise d’ouvrage 
= CA:	Contracting Authority

MOE:	Maîtrise d’œuvre 
= PM:	Project Management

REXMV: Responsable de l'équipe d'Exploitation des messageries vocales
= VMOP: voice mail operations manager ????

I am very confused about the last one. Help please? Thank you in advance!!


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## Didjum

ESailor said:


> Les anglo-saxons sont beaucoup plus pragmatiques que les français.
> 
> Le Maître d'Ouvrage est tout simplement le "client".
> Le Maître d'Oeuvre est le "prime contractor" (c'est le sous-traitant qui assume la responsabilité du projet, et qui supervise les autres sous-traitants).
> 
> Et l'Assistance à la Maîtrise d'Ouvrage (un autre concept classique) est le "Project Office".
> 
> E.



It is possible, however perhaps (?) one good question which not arised meanwhile regarding the translation of these terms is to highlight that the legal frameworks behind are still based on different fundamentals, in particular for the construction sector, what we usually identified as "droit anglo-saxon" and "droit napoléonien" ? (but I'm not a jurist, and engineers like me seem to regularly wonder what is the most appropriate terminology to handle according to the context...).

--  et sur la question du "plus pragmatique" en tant que belge européen je botte en touche diplomatiquement tant qu'il y a encore suffisamment d'europhiles au Royaume-Uni...   ;-)


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## justwondering...

to add fuel to the fire, does anyone know what 'Maître d’Ouvrage Concessionnaire' translates to in english?


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## Adri48

En Amérique du Nord (Canada) Maitre d'œuvre= "On site Architect". Un moyen très pragmatique de te nommer l'architecte responsable de la construction d'un édifice.


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## tibobik

Adri48 said:


> En Amérique du Nord (Canada) Maitre d'œuvre= "On site Architect". Un moyen très pragmatique de te nommer l'architecte responsable de la construction d'un édifice.



My contribution (from IT world): imagine company B (the MOA) has found a business with company A (the customer). They conclude the 'contract' that B will give A what A wants. B is a contractor to A, but B needs more workforce. They therefore engage C (the MOE), as a *sub*-contractor, who is not a contractor, in the sense that C is not under *direct* contract with A, but instead a delegate of B in the execution of this contract.

I hope I'm not adding confusion ;-)

Tibobik.


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## Smorgleu

Adam Warren said:


> In its glossary, a large international bank's IT department lists "maître d'ouvrage" as "project owner", and "maître d'oeuvre" as "project developer". I hope that helps.


In an IT context both roles are in fact Project Managers.
On the « Maitrise d’ouvrage » side, the Project Manager is a non technical person. he is NOT a developer. He is in charge with the general management of the project (cost, time, features). he is the person who writes the functional requirements and specification documents.
On the « Maitrise d’oeuvre » side, the Project Manager is a senior developer. he is in charge with actually coding following the specification documents written on the "Maitrise d’Ouvrage » side.

The exact terminology might differ according to the Project Management method used. For example the term "Product Owner" directly refers to the Agile-Scrum methodology. It roughly corresponds to Chef de Projet MOA (Maitrise d’Ouvrage).
There is no Chef de Projet MOE (Maitrise d’Oeuvre) in Agile Scrum as all developers in the team are supposed to assume this role. There is no manager on the development side, at least with this specific project management methodology.


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## bigfatfrenchie

Hi everyone,

Sorry to add another post to this very long (and confusing!) thread, but I just wanted to be sure that my translation of *maîtrise d'ouvrage *was correct. 

The context is: 

_Certaines données structurantes, comme la capacité volumique des bâtiments souhaités, seront précisées par la *maîtrise d’ouvrage* au moment du lancement des appels d’offres._

I have understood that it's the person or body in charge of carrying out the work, so therefore the contractor? Or is it the developer? 

I'm getting confused because there is the *maître d'ouvrage *and then the *maîtrise d'ouvrage, *so I wanted to make sure I had fully understood the distinction between the two. Hope this is clear enough.

Thanks a lot,
Vik


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## Keith Bradford

No, look, if these details are being specified at the moment the work goes to tender, then it must be the *owner *who specifies them.  Because he hasn't yet chosen his contractor, has he?  That owner may be an individual wanting a new house, a manufacturing company seeking to expand, or a property developer doing it for the money.  But not a building contractor.

There is no difference in this instance between *maître d'ouvrage *and *maîtrise d'ouvrage, *though in principle  *maîtrise d'ouvrage* ought to mean owner*ship.*


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## bigfatfrenchie

Right of course, it seems so simple now that you have explained it to me! I think I thought it couldn't be owner as I had seen you had translated *maître d'ouvrage* as owner and it wasn't quite the same term. I guess it's just not very clear in the French.

Thank you very much Keith for your quick response and very clear explanations!


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## Malcius

Hi. I'm translating a document where a bank is certifying that someone has worked for them in various capacities. One of his job titles is "Responsable de projet en maîtrise d'œuvre". Would it be appropriate to translate this as something like:
Project manager: Outsourcing​Manager of outsourced projects​


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## Adam Warren

jokerF78 said:


> *Moderator note*: multiple threads merged to create this one
> These terms are used in many different areas (construction, information systems, etc.). Please read the whole thread to find a translation appropriate to your situation.  If you still are unsure of the translation in your particular context, please reply at the end of the thread to ask for help.
> 
> *Note de la modération* : nous avons fusionné plusieurs discussions pour créer ce fil.
> Ces termes s'appliquent dans plusieurs domaines différents (bâtiment, systèmes d'information, etc.).  Lisez donc le fil entier pour trouver la traduction qui convient à votre situation.  Si vous avez encore des doutes concernant la traduction du terme dans votre contexte, répondez à la fin du fil pour demander des précisions.
> 
> 
> 
> bonjour,
> comment traduit on les termes "maîtrise d'ouvrage" / "maîtrise d'oeuvre" dans le contexte des systèmes d'information pour désigner les donneurs d'ordres et les responsable de l'exécution de ces ordres.
> 
> Merci d'avance de votre aide.
> C'est une demande très spécifique, j'ai fait des recherches sans succès et je n'ai pas la moindre idée de synonymes ou de péri-phrases.
> 
> PS: j'ai besoin des deux traductions.
> Cordialement. Joker.


*To begin:*

The root terms in this aggregated query set, _Maître de l’Ouvrage_ (usually abbreviated _MOA_) and _Maître d’Œuvre_ (usually abbreviated _MOE_), refer to the broad area of *Project Management*.

The all-important distinction must be drawn between:

“_Maître|Maîtrise *d'Ouvrage*_”

denoting, according to context:

*project ownership
in-house project support*

and

“_Maître| Maîtrise _*d’Œuvre*”

denoting, according to context:

*project supervision
prime contractorship
project development*

*DISCUSSION*
So, the “_Maître de l’Ouvrage_” can be termed the “_Project Owner_”, which can be a person or an entity. Respectfully, the distinction one contributor makes between these two identities strikes me as not substantiated. I also, though rather gingerly, approve “_Project sponsor_” as a possible rendering for this term.

A contributor refers to an architectural dictionary, which cites “_maître d'ouvrage_” rendered as "_contracting authority_". This is a very good rendering, but only in the context of public (or government) procurement. Otherwise, I advise keeping any notion of “contract” out of the _maître d'ouvrage _arena.

For "_Maître d’oeuvre_", another contributor rightly cites "_Prime Contractor_". Correct, although this is not the only rendering. This term can also be rendered “_Project Supervisor,_” “_Project Developer_,” and “_Contract Supervisor_,” among others.

In the IT project field, a large business entity cites the following in-house elements:

BPM _Business Project Manager =>_ MOE _Maître d’Œuvre_
BPO _Business Project Owner_ => MO _Maître de l’Ouvrage_ (MO strikes me as extraneous for our purposes, MOA being more usual, but see the following distinguishing term)
BPOR _Business Project Owner Representative_ => MOA _Maîtrise d’Ouvrage_

Elsewhere in this entity’s massive word-store, we have, also for in-house IT projects:

_Maître d'oeuvre_ ME _Project Developer Representative_ PDR
_Maître d'ouvrage_ MO _Business Project Owner Representative_ BPOR
_maîtrise d'œuvre_ MOE _Project Developer Unit _PDU (perhaps too specialised to be of use here)
_maîtrise d'ouvrage_ MOA _Business Project Owner_ BPO

Again, I would regard the MO and ME abbreviations as extraneous to our purpose, and potentially misleading here.

In other contexts, I have seen AMOA, _Assistance à maîtrise d'ouvrage_ which broadly refers to in-house project support.

Next:

*CAVEATS*

Note that, respectfully, the contributions which got the terms and translations crossed should be disregarded.

One contributor _mistakenly_ suggested for “_Maître d’Œuvre_” something on the lines of “foreman” or “team leader”. Now, a foreman is a “contremaître”, of a class of workers called “agents de maîtrise”. On no account should a translator confuse these terms with the earlier, more relevant terms.

To remind, a "team leader," being an individual, would be “chef d’équipe”. On the same project-related wavelength, “chef de projet” also refers to an individual, termed a “project manager” or, possibly lower down the management hierarchy, a “project team leader”.

*CONCLUSION*

These are all ideas, and in view of the many contexts of use, cannot be hard-and-fast. I hope my contribution doesn’t perplex like an overloaded Ice Cream Parlour 

With kind regards,

Adam Warren.


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