Dazzle Quality Handbook.

Project roles.

Our project management process is based on the Agile methodology. Project roles are distinct sets of responsibilities on a project. An individual on a project may hold one or more of these roles.

Product Owner.

The Product Owner is responsible for representing the stakeholders of the project and defining the product backlog, which is a prioritised list of features and requirements for the product being developed. The Product Owner is accountable for ensuring that the product being developed meets the stakeholders’ needs and delivering maximum value to the customer.

Scrum Master.

The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the Scrum process and ensuring that the development team is following Scrum principles and practices. The Scrum Master is also responsible for removing any obstacles that the development team encounters during the sprint.

Development team.

The development team is responsible for delivering a potentially shippable product increment at the end of each sprint. The development team is cross-functional and self-organising, meaning that they are responsible for determining how best to turn the product backlog into working software.

Project Lead.

The Project Lead acts as oversight on the entire project and is ultimately responsible for its successful delivery.

They ask the hard questions to keep the project team honest and the project on track. They discover the issues that the team struggle to articulate and act as the most senior escalation point on the project team for the client. They have the more senior account level conversations and consultancy with the client.

The Project Lead provides continuity of leadership and direction throughout the project, starting with feasibility and staying with the project through foundations, development and launch.

Positively encouraging a sense of shared ownership in the project and its goals in the whole team.
Holding project team members to account for project slippage.
Identifying weaknesses in the project team’s approach and identifying the root causes of the issues.
Having difficult client conversations if other routes have failed.
Supporting and coaching the project team, in particular the Delivery Lead and Delivery Manager.
Escalating performance issues to the chapter leads.

In addition to these three main roles, there may be other roles involved in a Scrum project, such as a stakeholder or a sponsor, but these three roles are considered the core of a Scrum development team