1. TEAM MEMBER ROLE ASSIGNMENTS 1
Team Member Role Assignments
Loren Karl Schwappach
PM 610: Project Planning, Execution, and Closure
Colorado Technical University

2. TEAM MEMBER ROLE ASSIGNMENTS 2
Abstract
This paper introduces the roles and responsibilities of the IRTC billing system upgrade project
and team members assigned under each role.

3. TEAM MEMBER ROLE ASSIGNMENTS 3
Team Member Role Assignments
Selecting team members to a project team is a critical task and can be one of the greatest
factors in a projects success or failure. This project requires several roles and will involve
participation from IRTC employees and the vender. IRTC has a limited the number of human
resources available for this project limited to 2.5 FTE’s. This amounts to 100 hours of labor per
week that needs to be split by the roles of team leader, business analyst, software engineer,
quality assurance lead, and end user/tester. The vender is contracted to add an additional expert
software engineer who will aid the IRTC team. The vender is also contracted to provide a
technical analyst and technical writer to the IRTC project.
The team leader creates an environment of trust, open communication, and creative
thinking between project team members (Crow, 1999). The team lead is responsible for
motivating and inspiring members and providing a vision of project objectives (Crow, 1999).
The team lead is able to coach and resolve non-functional behaviors and facilitate problem
solving within the team (Crow, 1999). The team lead is able to coordinate with the vender,
Customer Service and Billing departments for use of resources and project deliverables. The
team lead is responsible for coordinating team logistics, setting team schedules and organizing
team member meetings. Finally the team lead is able to provide status reports of team progress
and activities that have project on the schedule and is responsible for keeping the project
manager informed of task accomplishments, team dynamics, project issues/concerns and status
reporting. The team lead is also responsible for working with the end user and software
engineers as necessary to ensure a qualitative and fully functional product results at the
conclusion of the system upgrade.
Terry is assigned as the projects team leader because of her background involvement with

4. TEAM MEMBER ROLE ASSIGNMENTS 4
the original IRTC legacy system installation in addition to many of the past system upgrades.
Terry has vast technical capabilities and has played the role of software developer and tester on
many projects. Terry is highly motivated about this project and has shown excellent
management and communication skills in prior projects. Terry has the necessary skills, and
personality need to optimally manage, coach and communicate with project stakeholders and has
expressed several ideas about how to ensure the project could best be utilized. Terry will work
heavily with the software engineer and end user because of her knowledge and past experience in
order to ensure the new web based system and legacy system are fully compatible. It is expected
that Terry will be working the full 24hrs/wk on this project.
The business analyst is responsible for interviewing project team members and ensuring
that the correct proficiencies are placed in the correct areas necessary for the project to succeed
(Babcock, 2007). The business analyst must understand what the business does, determine how
to improve existing practices, determine steps needed, create functional specifications, and
implement the technical design of the new system (Babcock, 2007). The business analyst is
responsible for analyzing business records, operating manuals, and business guides. The
business analyst is responsible for the creation of graphs, charts, and must analyze the changes
that are being implemented and their impact on IRTC organizational goals. The business analyst
is responsible for ensuring the project scope complies with corporate objectives and for ensuring
the project doesn’t stray outside of business objectives. Business analysts must be very
thorough, good conversationalists, have strong attention to detail and be clear and concise in
their teaching and mechanisms.
Robin is assigned as the systems analyst for this project because of her widely expressed
passion and outstanding role as systems analyst in the last two IRTC upgrade projects. Robin

5. TEAM MEMBER ROLE ASSIGNMENTS 5
will support the software engineer/web programmer and possibly the vender programmer on a
limited base as needed to advance this project and her skills in web programming. It is expected
that Robin will be working the full allocated 30hrs/wk on this project.
The software engineer is responsible for programming, designing, testing, checking, and
maintaining the IRTC Billing System Upgrade Project package. The software engineer must
have good communication skills and be able to work well with the business analyst, end user,
and quality assurance team members.
Chris is assigned as the lead software engineer / web programmer for this project. Chris
has an undergraduate degree in computer science and has vast experience in web programming
and software systems testing. Chris will work on this project twenty four hours a week and will
work closely with the vender’s senior primary programmer in order to ensure the software meets
all objectives. Chris worked under the Customer Service Department prior to joining IT and thus
has a unique perspective on how best to design the software. IRTC will enhance Chris’s web
programming knowledge through the use of the vender’s senior programmer who has been
contracted to train and work with Chris a maximum of 10hrs/wk of the project at a cost of
100$/hr. It is expected that Chris will be working the full allocated 24hrs/wk on this project.
The end user/system tester is responsible for ensuring that the desires of the Customer
Service Department and Billing Department are articulated (Dean, 2007). The end user/system
tester is also responsible for verifying that the finished project meets all of the expressed
requirements. The end user is responsible for articulating requirements, thoroughly testing
requirements, ensuring requirements are satisfied, ensuring Customer Service and Billing
Department staff is qualified and able to accept the system, and must promote and teach the
system to users. The end user is required to aid the software designer and vender in resolving

6. TEAM MEMBER ROLE ASSIGNMENTS 6
system issues and project problems. The end user will provide a written contract of requirements
and the qualifying criteria to the project stakeholders for delivery approval and approval of
installation procedures. The end user will review existing business practices, and develop
procedures/policies as required to support the new system. The end user requires strong skills in
technical administration, should have good report writing skills, to include data analysis, entry,
and correction. As a system tester the end user should also be able to troubleshoot problems and
offer continual feedback to the software engineer and project manager.
Jan is assigned as the end user for this project. Jan has prior experience with similar web
based billing system projects and has extensive knowledge of the features, requirements, and
functions the new system requires. Jan also has invaluable experience in process reengineering
and has worked on billing functions in the past. Jan will work with the vender’s instructional
designer and technical writer contracted to assist in the development of documentation and
training materials for the Customer Service and Billing Departments. Jan is available to work a
maximum of 16hrs/wk on the project at a rate of 115$/hr.
When selecting the project manager and project team it is imperative that skills and
experience are placed with the essential project roles at beginning of the project. A case study
concluded by Bourne (n.d) of [WHO] a large utility companies Internet Service Provider domain
name registration and renewal project, [WHERE] completed by the Australian ISP, [WHAT]
demonstrates the importance of matching experience to project roles and responsibilities.
[HOW] In the case study the utility company wanted to automate aspects of domain name
registration and renewal to reduce the likelihood of legal issues and promote social
responsibility. However, seeing the project as easy an inexperienced project manager and team
were selected to complete the project. There turned out to be a large conflict of interest between

7. TEAM MEMBER ROLE ASSIGNMENTS 7
project stakeholders that the inexperience project manager could not recognize or deal with. The
project manager was eventually replaced yet the project was still completed over time and over
budget and never completely met stakeholder expectations. [WHY] This study highlights the
importance of carefully selecting an experienced project manager and project team that are able
to communicate well and quickly/clearly define the project objectives necessary to ensure the
project’s success (Bourne, n.d).

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References
Babcock, J. (2007). Business Analyst Job Description. Retrieved September 9, 2011 from
Practical Analyst Website: http://practicalanalyst.com/2007/02/14/business-analyst-job-
description/
Bourne, L. (n.d). What Does A Project Manager Need to Deliver Successful Projects: Case
Study. Retrieved September 9, 2011 from:
http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/PDF_Papers/P008_What_Does_A_PM_Need.pdf
Crow, K. (1999). Team Leader Responsibilities. Retrieved September 9, 2011 from DRM
Associates Website: http://www.npd-solutions.com/leader.html
Dean, R. (2007). The End Users Role In Integration. Retrieved September 9, 2011 from Security
Solutions Website:
http://securitysolutions.com/corporate/security_endusers_role_integration/