Project team roles and responsibilities in software development

The Project Sponsor is the person or group that provides direction and resources , including financial resources for the software project. The Project Sponsor works with the project management team, aiding with wider project matters such as scope clarification, progress, monitoring, and influencing others in order to benefit the software project. The Project Sponsor leads the project through the software supplier selection process until it is formally authorised. For issues that are beyond the control of the Product Owner, the Project Sponsor serves as an escalation path.

A Subject Matter Expert has superior expert knowledge of a discipline, technology, product, business process or entire business area. The SME role and responsibilities in software development could be summarised as follows: they are normally the people from whom technical requirements are captured. Subject Matter Experts are the accountants, finance controllers, salespeople, production managers and so on who roll up their sleeves each day.

They know their roles inside and out and are rarely technical. However, their lack of technical knowledge is their strength, as they are not bogged down in technicalities and instead are purely focused on business outcomes. Feedback from this group of experts can save a lot of back and forth down the line.

However, given that Subject Matter Experts tend not to be technical the right amount and type of engagement are necessary so as not to overwhelm them. One of the ways to get them involved is to have them contribute to the creation of early-stage wireframes and prototypes.

Product Owner is a software development role for a person who represents the business or end-users and is responsible for working with the user group to determine what features will be in the product release. The Product Owner is also responsible for the prioritised backlog and maximising the return on investment ROI of the software project.

They act as the main point of contact for all decisions concerning the project and as such, need to be empowered to perform their responsibilities without the need to seek too much prior authorisation from the Project Sponsors. Also, they have to work with developers and build an incident response plan to minimize the impact of security threats.

What approach did you use to build your software development team? Share your suggestions in the comments section below. Disclosure: Some of our articles may contain affiliate links; this means each time you make a purchase, we get a small commission. However, the input we produce is reliable; we always handpick and review all information before publishing it on our website. We can ensure you will always get genuine as well as valuable knowledge and resources.

He is also the moderator of this blog "RS Web Solutions". Categories Programming. Last updated on March 11, March 11, by Souvik. Table of Contents show. Why Build a Team for Software Development? Product Owner 2. Business Analyst 3. Project Manager 4. Technical Lead 5.

The number of people who will work on your software project may vary depending on your technical partner. Most likely, your project will include some or all of the following software development roles :. Some people think business analysts are just about making money for the company. A skilled BA plays a big role in moving a business toward productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

BAs help businesses analyze their existing processes; define steps and tasks to improve those processes; design new features, products, or services; and evaluate the impact of new implementations. In the software development domain, BAs serve as a liaison between a business model and the product being developed. They analyze business requirements and translate them into understandable development tasks.

Do you need a BA for your project? Your chances for success are much higher when all stakeholders are involved in the project. The UI is the visual part of the product, while the UX defines how users interact with the product.

Further reading — Software development methodologies which one is better suited to your project? In this article we will reveal the basic set of project team roles and responsibilities necessary for the Lean and Agile projects.

We applied this team structure on a number of projects and it showed itself in the best light. Product Owner PO is the one who has a vision of the final product and can convey it to the project team.

Oftentimes, PO is introduced by C-level executives who are more than passionate about the final result and know exactly why the product should exist. In short, the Product Owner is a bridge between the project team and stakeholders.

The responsibilities of the Product Owner on an Agile project includes forming a list of the required functionality as well as prioritizing and re-prioritizing the required features in line with the business strategy and objectives. The main goal of the Product Owner is delivering the best value possible. The right person with a required authority and engagement in the process is the basic of the project success. The lack of the PO may cause far-reaching effects like workflow issues, unclear requirements, missed deadlines, and team frustration.

Typically, Project Sponsor is a person from the senior management who has the ability and trust to take on financial decisions. He has the right to approve all the additional expenses that may appear during project development. The Sponsor should be aware of the emerging issues or requests and help resolve financial conflicts, as well as remove financial obstacles.

In case the Sponsor has no or limited authority to approve expenses, it will be difficult for a team to run the project efficiently. The engagement of the Sponsor is also mission-critical, as a poorly engaged Project Sponsor can become a barrier to success.

Unlike other roles in the team, stakeholders include a broad scope of people, internal or external to the project or organization, who have an interest in the project, its goals, impact, and outcomes. In a broad sense, a stakeholder is anyone who takes part in a project or is influenced by its outcomes. Otherwise you risk to drown in suggestions from dozens of people, and the project may never launch. They also should be involved in the process as early as possible and stay involved throughout the whole project lifecycle.