Roles and responsibilities

When staffing projects, start by identifying the competencies, time and effort required, rather than from people’s positions in the line organization. This provides greater flexibility when formulating the individual project’s organization. Often the same person can have several roles, so it is important to be clear on the roles each person has in various situations. A project organization is dynamic, its makeup changes often over time.

The reason for having role descriptions is to clarify the primary responsibilities of each individual in the project. However, just as in a sports team, these are not static and must overlap for good results. For a project to be successful, the people involved must fulfill their roles and work naturally together.