Project team

What is a project team?

The project team is the group of people responsible for executing the tasks and
producing deliverables outlined in the project plan and schedule, as directed by the
project manager, at whatever level of effort or participation defined for them. Project
team members may or may not be involved during the entire life cycle of the project and
may or may not be full time to the project. Project teams are comprised of many
different roles such as project manager, subject matter experts, business analysts, and
other stakeholders.

How do I define who should be on the project team?

Individuals responsible for doing the work associated with a project will be members of
the project team. The project team will include a number of defined roles such as project
manager (PM), subject matter expert (SME), and business analyst (BA). A project team
for an IT project will likely include technical representation, functional/business
representation, and vendor representation (if applicable).

In partnership with the sponsor, the PM will negotiate with functional managers for
their resources’ time on the project, targeting the resources who are most qualified
(skills and ability) for the specific project needs.  The PM will want to acquire
commitment and time from resources who are knowledgeable about the work that needs
to be done, are able to represent the stakeholders, and will work both independently on
their tasks as well as in partnership with the project team towards the final
deliverable(s). As a group, the project team should represent the diversity of skills and
knowledge necessary, in the proportion required, to successfully complete the project
and represent stakeholders.

Project team members should support the project objectives and be willing to work
together towards that common goal.

What are the project team responsibilities?

Project team members may have a specific role on the project (such as PM, SME, BA). If
so, the responsibilities of that member include those identified for their particular role. 

The project team is responsible for contributing to the overall project objectives and
specific team deliverables, by contributing towards the planning of project activities and
executing assigned tasks/work within the expected quality standards, to ensure the
project is a success. The project team will:

 Provide information, estimates and feedback to the PM during project planning

 Provide business and/or technical expertise to execute project tasks (work)
 Liaise with stakeholders to ensure the project meets business needs
 Analyze and document current and future processes and systems (functional and
technical)
 Identify and map information needs
 Define and document requirements
 Support and provide end user training
 Report issues and status to PM
 Work collaboratively with other team members towards achieving common
project goals/objectives