Hi everyone! I decided to write a post about which roles, functions, and skill sets are needed to deliver an IT project.
For an internal project:
Client - will explain what they want and why.
Project manager - will prepare the project charter and align resources, timelines, risks, and deliverables.
Business analyst - the bridge between business and IT. Will conduct the right interviews with the right people, identify requirements, and document them properly as user stories or use cases. It’s important to uncover non-obvious requirements and dig deeper, so to speak.
Systems analyst - will choose the right tech stack for implementation, taking into account what already exists, as well as security and performance considerations.
Product manager - will define what the product should look like and what value it should deliver, and how to communicate that value.
Project manager - manages the price/schedule/quality triangle, oversees the solution development process, escalates if the team is missing any of the criteria, and keeps everyone pushed to post status updates.
UI/XU designer - will create mockups of how everything should look.
Frontend developer - will implement the visual layer based on the designer’s mockups
Backend developer - will implement the server-side part that the frontend will communicate with, along with the necessary integrations
DevOps - will set up the infrastructure where the implemented solution will run.
QA engineer - will test the developed solution to make sure there are no bugs.
Technical writer - will write the documentation for the solution.
Tech support - for resolving user issues
Implementation specialist - the person who will roll out the project to users in the company so the project is actually used and the money isn’t just wasted.
Additionally, you may need:
ML developer - if you need to train your own neural network
Data scientist - if the project involves big data work
The number of people in each role will vary depending on the context of each project. One way or another, all functions must be performed by someone, and one person can cover multiple functions. But if any function is missed, there is a very high chance that the project will be done poorly or the planned result will not be achieved.
For an external project, these are added as well:
Business development - the person who figures out where the revenue will come from
Marketer - target audience definition, marketing strategy, marketing materials, advertising
Sales manager - the person who will find clients and sell the product
Account manager - the person responsible for client relationships and collecting payments from clients
Customer success manager - the person responsible for making sure product users achieve the expected outcomes
Lawyers - for their own matters
Accounting - for their own matters
Key takeaway: building IT solutions is far more than just writing code; it is a process made up of many different stages and a set of diverse required competencies. When looking for people to deliver your projects, don’t focus only on industry expertise; sometimes that can even be a disadvantage. Focus on whether all the functions listed above can be performed well.