Project Roles and Responsibilities
1. Project Organisation
Executive / Corporate
Management
Business
Relationship Manager
Project Board
Senior User
Programme Manager
Project Management
Office
Sponsor
Senior Supplier
Project Manager
Project Team
Work Stream Lead ITS
Work Stream Lead –
E.g. Finance
Work Stream Lead –
E.g. Admissions
2. Project Board
The Project Board is responsible for the direction and management of the project,
ensuring that the project is focused throughout its life cycle on achieving its objectives
and delivering an outcome that will achieve the expected benefits. As a minimum the
Project Board should consist of the Project Sponsor and Senior User and may be
chaired by an Executive of the University of Sussex. The ITS Project Manager is an
officer of the Project Board and reports regularly, keeping them informed of progress
and highlighting any problems he/she can foresee. The project board is responsible for
providing the ITS Project Manager with the necessary decisions and direction for the
project to proceed and to overcome any problems.
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2.1 Project Board Collective Responsibilities
 Approve the start of a project via the Project Definition Document.
 Agree their responsibilities and objectives with the Project Manager.
 Ensure the right people are chosen for the project, and line management
commitment for the resources has been received.
 Ensure Line Manager buy-in and support for the project.
 Monitor the project to ensure it delivers to agreed time, cost and quality parameters.
 Manage with the Project Manager the identified risks to the project.
 Make decisions on the recommendations for follow-on actions.
 Approval of each completed stage and approval of progress to the next.
 Approval of changes to plans.
 Agreement of project tolerances*.
 Ensure project assurance takes place (that the project is run as described).
 Approval of the project closure.
2.2 Project Board Individual Responsibilities
In addition to the collective Project Board responsibilities, each member of the Project
Board has additional responsibilities. These responsibilities should be tailored to suit
the needs of a project by combining or dividing the roles, or transferring responsibilities.
It is important to ensure that all of the responsibilities described here are held by a
nominated person within the Project Board, and that everyone is aware of their own
responsibilities and commitments.
Programme Manager
The Programme Manager is responsible for the overall integrity and coherence of the
programme, and develops and maintains the programme environment to support each
individual project within it.
The Programme Manager is responsible for successful delivery of the programme of
which the project is part. The role requires effective coordination of the projects and
their inter-dependencies, including IS and other resources, and any risks and other
issues that may arise. For projects with no Senior Supplier the Programme Manager
will take on the responsibilities of the Senior Supplier role.
Project Sponsor
The Project Sponsor’s role is to ensure that the project is focused throughout its life
cycle and achieves its objectives by delivering the agreed products in order to achieve
the identified benefits, including after the project has finished.
 The Project Sponsor owns the project’s Business Case.
 Ultimately responsible for the direction and management of the project, supported
by the other members of the Project Board.
 Gives approval for the initial idea to progress into a working project.
 Specifies the benefits of the project.
 Oversees the development of the Project Brief (and incorporated Business Case)
and Project Definition Document.
 Monitors and controls the progress of the project at a strategic level.
 Ensure that any proposed changes of scope, cost or timescale are checked against
their possible effects on the Project Definition Document (and Business Case).
 Approves project documentation as required.
 Ensures that the benefits stated in the Business Case are in fact realised. This
process which will continue after the project has ended.
 Signs off Closure of the project.
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Senior User
Represents the interest of all those who will use the final deliverable(s) or service(s)
from the project, representing the business need, giving specialist knowledge and
requirements, and providing user resource to support the project delivery.
 Specifies the needs of those who will be using the project’s deliverables.
 Liaison with users and stakeholders
 Monitors the solution to ensure that it will meet the stated needs.
 Works with the project Sponsor to check that the benefits stated in the Business
Case are in fact realised. This process which will continue after the project has
ended.
Senior Supplier
Represents the interests of those designing, developing, facilitating, procuring,
implementing and possibly operating and maintaining the project’s deliverables. In this
context these are usually IT products. They are accountable for the quality of
deliverables by all supplier(s). They must have the authority to commit, or acquire, the
required supplier resources. This role can belong to IT Services, or be external to the
University of Sussex, or both.
 Responsible for the technical integrity of the project.
 Advises on design, development and acceptance methods.
 Ensures that sufficient and capable resource is available.
 Resolves conflicts relating to the development of the deliverables.
 Ensures quality of deliverable to ensure they meet requirements.
 Ensures robust User Acceptance and System Testing.
Project Manager
The Project Manager has the authority to run the project on a day-to-day basis on behalf
of the Project Board within the tolerances* laid down in the Business Case/Project
Definition Document.
 Defines the project in terms of scope, objectives, approach etc.
 Plans the project
 Co-ordinates the resources needed to deliver the project
 Monitors and reports progress
 Controls the budget
 Drafts (once assigned to the project) and manages project documentation.
 Manages the relationship with customers and stakeholders
 Identifies exceptions (e.g. to agreed time or cost constraints)
 Manages changes (e.g. to the scope of the project)
 Manages risks (to the success of the project)
 Resolves issues
 Hands over to “business as usual”
 Closes the project in a controlled way
3. Team Member Responsibilities
Each member of the team has a responsibility to complete their part of the project to
time, quality, and within budget. These responsibilities should be tailored to suit the
needs of the project by combining or dividing the roles, or transferring responsibilities.
It is important to ensure that all of the responsibilities described here are held by a
nominated person within the Project Team, and that everyone is aware of, and agrees
their own responsibilities and commitments.
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Project Team Member
Project team members could be brought on to the project from a variety of sources i.e.
the wider business, IT Services, external members/third parties etc.
 The Team Member's prime responsibility is to ensure production of the deliverables
defined by the Project Manager.
 The Team Member reports to and takes direction from the Project Manager.
 Responsible to the Project Manager for producing the agreed deliverables in
accordance with the agreed plan.
 Analyses the task/deliverables to ensure all angles are visited.
 Actively supports the overall objectives of the project to ensure its ultimate success.
 Ensures that their day job activities do not deflect their commitment to the project.
 Identify concerns/issues/risks and recommends actions.
 Advises the Project Manager of any deviations from the plan, recommends
corrective actions and helps prepare any appropriate Exception Plans.
4. Other Stakeholders
Parties with an interest in the execution and outcome of the project and/or affected by
or dependent on the outcome of the project.
* Tolerances
The Project Board delegates day to day management of the project to the Project
Manager as long as it is within agreed “tolerances” for the objectives of time, cost, risk
and scope. However, if the Project Manager cannot deliver within these agreed
tolerances then this is known as an “exception” and this must be escalated to the Project
Board for a decision. This means that the Project Board are only involved in taking
decisions, as and when the need arises.
Tolerances are a key part of being able to work autonomously as a Project Manager.
Having a tolerance means you can be over or under by a pre-agreed amount and not
have to continually go back to your Project Board to get variation approved. It gives
you some slack to manage things in the best possible way and to be a professional
about how you deliver projects, and it allows the Project Board to focus on the big things
rather than the day-to-day.
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