Roles and responsibilities

Abstract

Defining the roles and responsibilities is an important part of a successful collaboration among team members. Roles are the general terms, and responsibilities are the specifics. Management is responsible for defining the roles and responsibilities within the organisation. There are roles more concentrated on office activities, while others are on technology and development. Project manager and the team with structure, processes, models and tools represent the core from which the project grows. Project team members may have varied skill sets, may be assigned full or part-time, and may be added or removed from the team as the project progresses. Although specific roles and responsibilities for the project team members are assigned, the involvement of all team members in project planning and decision making is beneficial. The right and most suitable people for the project can be only hired when the roles are clearly and precisely defined. Planning or control will have no effect if the team consists of wrong people or if the team members are not aware of what is expected of them. Thus, responsibilities and accountabilities must be determined. It results in higher productivity, better results and better communication with fewer misunderstandings and disruptions. Good match between work and a person decreases the number of errors and mistakes. This article describes one project perspective - people, specifically team composition and competencies. Following lines focus on individual roles and responsibilities within a project team and explain their purpose and importance.