Roles

Introduction

Role model

HERMES defines a role model and describes standardized roles in order to create a uniform understanding across the whole organization. A distinction is made between stand-alone projects and projects embedded in a program. All described roles are exclusively HERMES roles.

The role model distinguishes between the role groups of the core organization and the roles and role groups of the project organization. Figure 26 shows the role model of a core organization with the role groups of executive board, project management competence center, and controlling and compliance bodies, along with a project organization (traditional/agile) with the minimum required roles of project sponsor, project management, and user representative (shaded in gray). Other roles may be used as needed.

In agile project organization, the role of user representative functions as an interface to the development team. The role holder assumes specialist responsibility by additionally taking on a corresponding proprietary role in the development team (dashed line). This must be taken into account when setting up the agile project organization, including the development team role group.

Core organization

The core organization is the organization of the sponsor, where the project is located, and of the subsequent user, where the solution will be used. It is a legal entity that defines strategies and requirements for projects. The core organization provides the necessary resources such as infrastructure, finances, and personnel for the project.

The term "core organization" is defined broadly in HERMES. A core organization can be, for example, an administration, a school, an institute, an association, or a company. In the case of state or large communal administrations, corporate groups, complex companies, etc., the role of core organization can be played by individual organizational units or even individual departments.

As Figure 26 shows, three permanent role groups are relevant for all stand-alone projects in the core organization:

• Executive board
  steers the portfolio from a strategic perspective, prioritizes projects, and assigns infrastructure as well as human and financial resources to the specific project.
• Project management competence center
  provides and further develops methods, tools, coaching, and other goods and services for project and program management.
• Controlling and compliance bodies
  define requirements and check compliance from the perspective of the overall organization. Such bodies include financial control, auditing, IT controlling, and the relevant bodies for solution architecture and ISDP, for example.

The roles of the role groups listed vary depending on the core organization.

Project organization

Overview

The project organization is a one-off, temporary, and often interdisciplinary organization that is closely linked to the core organization. It is put into effect with the project initiation order and dissolved with the decision on project closure at the latest.

The project organization is continuously adapted to the needs of the project over the course of project execution, especially with the execution order. Depending on how the project unfolds, additional project participants may join the project organization. For example, an external tenderer of a product is not determined until after procurement and then becomes part of the project organization. The agile project organization applies only during the execution phase. In the initiation and closure phases, the project organization remains traditional, which does not prevent the project team from using agile techniques for appropriate tasks.

The project organization consists of various roles. They regulate the tasks, powers, and responsibilities of those involved in the project. Each role is specified with a role description.

Partner groups

Each role is assigned to one or more partner groups. The HERMES project organization comprises the partner groups of user, developer, and operator:

• User
  The user is the owner of the project and uses the solution to handle business processes. Users are responsible for defining their requirements for the solution, and they test and accept the product/system or solution.
• Developer
  The developer as a service provider either develops or supplies and integrates the solution. The developer is responsible for development or delivery and integration according to the specifications in terms of quality, time, and costs.
• Operator
  The operator as a service provider integrates the technical solution into the operating environment, ensures the operating organization, and operates the system. The operator is responsible for the provision of the operating infrastructure, operational integration, the operating organization, and operation in accordance with the agreements.

In practice, projects are often supported by suppliers or external service providers. In particular, the roles of the developer partner group are often filled by external service providers. If various services of the core organization are outsourced, the operators, for example, and increasingly even the users (e.g. by means of project manager pools), can also be external service providers.

Despite this, the role holders must always and exclusively represent the role view of their partner group in order to rule out any conflicts of interest. This is especially important if, for example, due to a lack of user skills or insufficient project resources, decisive roles of the project are performed by specialists from other partner groups.

Each partner group of users, developers, or operators has its own power and responsibility to decide on representation in the project by service providers from outside the partner group.

Hierarchy levels

Each role is assigned to one of the hierarchy levels of steering, management, or execution:

• Steering roles
  steer the project as a whole across the organization and ensure that the set objectives are achieved.
• Management roles
  draw up project foundations, manage project and employees.
• Execution roles
  develop the solution and implement quality assurance measures.

Figure 27 shows the assignment of roles to the hierarchy levels shown in yellow in a typical traditional and agile project organization.

Project roles in programs

Project view

The extension of project management to include program management is discussed in the appendix to this reference manual. The following explanations look at program management from the project perspective.

Programs

The (three-phase) HERMES phase model for programs is a prerequisite for the integration of projects into the program (see Figure 28). Programs comprise several projects that pursue a common objective and are executed overlapping in time. The program ensures cross-project steering and management of the projects. The phase model for projects facilitates the coordination and steering of the projects within a program.

The program sponsor steers the program. Depending on the form of the program organization (see Figure 29), the program management manages the program and coordinates the cross-project aspects and the dependencies between the projects. Each project is managed by its own project management. The user representative defines the solution.

The steering of the project can be supported by a project committee (under the direction of the project sponsor) and/or at a superordinate level by a program committee (under the direction of the program sponsor). From the perspective of the controlling and compliance bodies, each individual project is an independent controlling object with specifications in terms of costs, time, and outcomes.

The program closure program phase can be released only once all projects are completed.

Forms of organization

If a project becomes part of a program, the project organization must be integrated into the program organization and various project organization roles have to be adjusted or replaced. These primarily concern the roles of the project sponsor and the project management. The adjustments can vary depending on the organization form chosen for the program. The effects are mainly in the areas of steering, management, and control.

The adjusted role descriptions for the program are recorded in the project management plan.

The diagram in Figure 29 schematically shows three conceivable forms of organization: one as a stand-alone project, and two as parts of a program.

The minimum roles to be filled in the project are shown in gray. Program-specific roles are outlined in blue and are not discussed further here.

The following description discusses the three organizational forms shown in Figure 29 from the project perspective. The discussion is rudimentary and for a general understanding only.

Project organization

A certain core organization is responsible for the success of the project:

• The project sponsor is responsible for the success of the project and steers the project;
• The project management manages the project on behalf of the project sponsor;
• The user representative is responsible for the solution.

Program organization 1

Several core organizations are responsible for the success of the projects assigned to them:

• The program management runs and coordinates the project and the project management from the perspective of the overarching program and continuously coordinates with the project sponsor.
• The project sponsor is responsible for the success of the respective project, upholds the interests of its core organization, steers the project on behalf of the program sponsor and works with the program sponsor to address and resolve any conflicts of interest that may arise between the objectives of the program and those of the core organization;
• The project management manages the project on behalf of the project sponsor, executes the program-specific instructions of the program management and coordinates the project management plan with the program managment;
• The user representative is responsible for the solution.

This type of program organization changes the roles of the project sponsor and the project management. Each project sponsor reports to both their own core organization and to the program sponsor and must take both instances into account when making decisions. The project management is coordinated by the program management.

Program organization 2

A certain core organization is responsible for the success of the program and all projects involved in it:

• The program management (from a project perspective at the steering hierarchy level, from a program perspective at the management hierarchy level), steers the project and manages (see role description of project sponsor) the project management, but the responsibility for the project success lies with the program sponsor;
• The project management manages the project on behalf of the program management and coordinates the project management plan with them;
• The user representative is responsible for the solution.

This type of program organization has no sponsor at the project level, replacing the project sponsor with the program management. The program management assumes all tasks and duties of the project sponsor within a project. The project management is thus subordinate to a program management, which is assigned to the steering hierarchy level in the project organization, and to the management level in the program organization.

Overview of roles

Standard roles

The following table lists all standard roles and shows their assignment to the hierarchy level and the partner group.

The minimum roles to be filled, marked with an asterisk (*), are required in order to meet the governance requirements. These three roles are indispensable for the project, regardless of the selected approach (traditional or agile), and must be located in the user partner group. They must be filled in every project:

• The project sponsor has overall responsibility for the project and the achievement of the objectives.
• The project management has sole management responsibility; in agile solution development, however, the project management may not interfere with the self-organization of the development team.
• The user representative is responsible for development of the product/specialist solution.

Other mandatory roles are assigned depending on project requirements.

The execution roles, also referred to in organization charts as specialists (with the exception of the user representative), are numerous and not exhaustive. Depending on the core organization or the type of project, further project-specific execution roles may be added.

Under the agile approach, all execution roles involved in the project are combined in the development team during the execution phase. The development team role is a role group.

Customized roles

Supplementing the standard roles available, it is also possible to integrate own specialist, organization-specific, or project-specific roles into own projects. This is supported by HERMES online and is especially relevant when new modules are developed and provided with new tasks and outcomes. Examples of customized roles are integration manager, logistician, real estate manager, purchaser, and facility manager.

Role assignment

General explanations

The role assignment is defined for each role required in the project.

Role assignment is in accordance with the project requirements. It takes into account the experience required in the project, the capacity needed, and the availability of the role holders. The concrete project organization and role assignment are recorded in the project management plan.

In order to comply with project governance, the following principles must be observed when assigning the roles:

• One person can take on several roles, provided that no conflicts of interest arise as a result.
• One role can be held by several people, provided that the role allows multiple holders. For example, there are usually several testers in a project, but only one project sponsor.

Information on role assignment for selected roles at the hierarchy levels of steering, management, and execution is provided below.

Steering

Project sponsor 

• The project sponsor must be located with the user.
• The project sponsor must be a single natural person from the core organization.
• The project sponsor initializes, finances, and steers the entire project.
• The project sponsor is the project's representative with regard to the executive board of the core organization and the controlling and compliance bodies and must be located at a correspondingly high hierarchy level in the core organization.
• The project sponsor ensures that the stakeholders identified by the project management who are important to the success of the project are represented in the project.
• The roles of project sponsor and project management may not be held by the same person.

Project committee 

• The project sponsor appoints the members of the project committee.
• Organizations relevant to the success of the project are represented in the project committee.
• The project sponsor determines the voting rights of the project committee members.

Quality and risk manager 

• Depending on the size of the project and the risks, the project sponsor appoints a quality and risk management body, which reports directly to the project sponsor.
• The independent organization providing the quality and risk manager does not assume any further roles in the project and must ensure the independence of the mandate.

Management

Project management 

• The project sponsor appoints the project management.
• The project management must be located with the user and solely represent the user's interests in the project. This also applies if the role holder is organizationally subordinated or located elsewhere (e.g. external recruitment or pool organization). Provision by partner groups of developers or operators should be avoided due to potential conflicts of interest and because of the need to ensure governance.
• The project management manages the project and is responsible for the smooth progress of the project including all sub-projects.
• The project management can also be a sub-project manager.
• If the project management additionally takes on an execution role, the project sponsor must ensure that sufficient capacity is available for project management.

Sub-project manager 

• The project management appoints the sub-project manager.
• The sub-project manager must be located with the user and solely represent the user's interests in the project. This also applies if the role holder is organizationally subordinated or located elsewhere. Provision by partner groups of developers or operators may be considered (the project management has overall responsibility).
• The sub-project manager manages the sub-project and is responsible for smooth progress of the project vis-à-vis the project management.
• If the sub-project manager additionally takes on an execution role, the project management must ensure that sufficient capacity is available for sub-project management.

Execution

General

The responsibilities, powers, and skills of all execution roles remain the same regardless of whether the roles are part of a project team or a sub-project team.

User representative 

• The project sponsor appoints the user representative.
• The user representative must be located with the user. The role should not be provided by developers or operators due to potential conflicts of interest.
• The user representative is responsible for the specialist design of the solution.
• If the user representative additionally takes on a further execution role, the project sponsor must ensure that sufficient capacity is available for user representation.
• The user representative is constrained by the assigned resources when developing the solution.

Business analyst 

• The business analyst can, based on their expertise, also take on the role of user representative. However, this requires in-depth knowledge of the specialist area in question for which the solution is being developed.

Tester

• Each partner group represented in the project (user, developer, operator) tests in its area of responsibility.

Test manager 

Each partner group represented in the project (user, developer, operator) can appoint a test manager in its area of responsibility.

Explanation regarding role description

The roles describe the responsibility, powers, and required skills of those involved in the project. They form the basis for a common understanding. The roles are assigned to specific tasks and outcomes.

For each role, a role description is provided that is always structured in the same way:

• Description
  conveys an understanding of the role.
• Responsibility
  describes, where applicable, the responsibility of the role.
• Powers
  describe, where applicable, the powers of the role.
• Skills
  describe what knowledge a person needs in order to perform the role. When describing skills, no distinction is made between knowledge and experience, given that the level of skills required is highly dependent on the project.
• Relationships  (where relevant)
  show for each module the specific tasks for which the role is responsible and which other roles are involved in the creation of the outcome. If the role has no task responsibility, relationships are not listed.
  • The role responsible for the task is also responsible for achieving the outcomes and for the outcomes themselves.
  • The roles involved in achieving the outcomes are not exhaustive and have to be defined according to the specific project.

Description of the roles

Steering roles

• Project committee
• Project sponsor*
• Quality and risk manager

Management roles

• Project management*
• Project support
• Sub-project manager
• Technical committee

Execution roles

• Business analyst
• Developer
• Development team
• ISDP manager
• IT architect
• Operations manager
• Test manager
• Tester
• User representative*