Keeping your project roles simple

Status takes a new approach to project roles, making them simple to understand and assign. Software development teams have had various roles that have contributed to developing software since the beginning. Let's look at several job titles found in software development. There is more to this list and variances in the titles.

- Software Engineers
- Software Developers
- Lead Software Developers
- Software Architects
- Software Developer Managers
- Director of Software Engineering
- Vice President of Software Engineering
- Data Engineers
- Data Analysts
- Data Architects
- DevOps Engineers
- Network Engineers
- Network Admins
- Network Architects
- System Architects
- Cloud Engineers
- Cloud Architects
- Director of Infrastructure
- UI/UX Designers
- UI/UX Leads
- Director of User Experience
- Vice President of User Experience
- Quality Assurance Analyst
- Manual Testers
- SDETs
- Quality Assurance Managers
- Director Quality Assurance
- Project Managers
- Scrum Masters
- Director of Project Management Office (PMO)
- Product Owners
- Director of Product
- Vice President of Product
- Marketing Managers
- Marketing Analysts
- Director of Marketing
- Vice President of Marketing
- Business Analysts
- System Analysts
- Chief Technical Officer (CTO)
- Chief Information Office (CIO)
- Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Are you still with us? This list is lengthy; only some job titles may be at your organization, but most could be. There are many possible people involved in the software development process. We know this and have worked with these roles and many more. After many years, we realized these roles can be boiled down to four. You can review the previous list and categorize each into the roles below. Let's evaluate the definition of each role and its purposes.

Analysts - in this role, team members analyze project work and goals to ensure they meet the specified outcome.
Builders - project builders build project items that are related to the project.
Validators - validation confirms that what was built for the project satisfies the project requirements.
Guides - these individuals serve as the leaders or guides who are consulted and provide leadership to project teams and guidance for project work.

Having these roles defined, let's imagine a project team you have worked with that could be described using these roles. When you remove the titles, you start to see the essence of the genuine contribution to a project and have simple expectations of everyone's role despite their title. For example, the role builder could mean a team member builds software, UI designs, product specifications, data pipelines, etc. Validators could be quality assurance, SDETS, developers, managers, directors, or anyone who verifies work. Guides guide a team, like architecture designs, project methodology, product specifications, team dynamics, team goals, team focus, and many other areas. Finally, analysts could analyze specific aspects of a project's requirements, features, sales, and marketing.

This role approach allows flexibility for people to move to different roles and provide different impacts without being boxed into a role tied to their title. When I hear someone is a builder on a work item, I expect they will produce a work product and have something to validate. When I encounter a blocker, I plan to consult a guide to resolve it. When I need more information about a problem or feature analysis, I ask an analyst to provide more details. By finding people with the humility to take on any role on a project, we can start focusing on teamwork and accomplishing goals.