Roles

A role is simple way of defining the different types of individuals in your organization who are participating in all of the events related to a task plan. From planning the project (a project manager, business analyst, program manager, and so on), doing the actual work defined in the task plan (Web developer, QA tester, technical writer, scrum master, senior architect, and so on), and approving the results (executive sponsor, client, and so on).

Many projects have high-level roles that are similar to the following:

Project Managers The individual (or individuals) responsible for ensuring that a task plan is completed on time, on budget, and with a level quality that meets (or exceeds) the expectations.
Team Members The individuals responsible for completing the tasks that comprise the task plan.
Project Sponsor The individual (often an executive sponsor) who supports the project within the organization.
Clients and Stakeholders The people for whom the tasks in the task plan are being completed and for whom have a stake in the project.

Most organizations use more specific role definitions, often mapping to job titles and especially with regards to the team members that are allocated to a task plan. There are many types of team members: developers, testers, technical writers, and they all have different levels of experience. It is because of this that roles are often broken down by job title and with experience levels. For example, Web Developer and Web Developer, Sr. Or QA Tester I, QA Tester II, and QA Tester III. In general, the larger the organization the greater the need for more refined roles management and tracking. Whatever approach is taken, it is more important that the list of roles (and skills) be meaningful to all of the people involved in managing projects in your organization.