People working together effectively are the foundation of any successful project. DSDM recognises this and assigns clear roles and responsibilities to each person in a project,representing the business interests, the solution/technical interests, the management interests and the process interests. Everyone involved in a DSDM project works very closely together in order to break down potential communication barriers.

The best solutions emerge from self-organising, empowered teams. However, these teams, and the people within them, must actively take on the responsibility for their empowerment within the boundaries that have been agreed. At the same time, it is important they:

Typically taken by business personnel, e.g. Business Ambassador providing day-to-day business direction, Business Visionary providing high-level direction and a view of the future.

Contributing to the technical development of the solution, e.g. Solution Developers creating the solution, Technical Coordinator providing technical leadership and direction.

Facilitating the management/leadership aspects of the project, e.g. Project Manager and Team Leader following the DSDM process and managing/leading a DSDM project (using Agile leadership competencies).

In figure 7a, the project-level roles (Business Sponsor, Business Visionary, Technical Coordinator, Project Manager and Business Analyst) are the directors, managers and coordinators of the work for the project, where necessary. They may�be part of a project board or steering committee for the project and, collectively, have authority to direct the project. They are responsible for the governance of the project, liaising with governance authorities outside of the project. The Business Sponsor provides the overall strategic direction and controls the funding/budget for the project. The Business Visionary and the Technical Coordinator hold the business and technical visions, respectively, for the project. The Project Manager ensures that project funds are used effectively to create the envisaged solution within the agreed timescale.

The Business Analyst is intentionally positioned as part of the project level as well as part of the Solution Development Team. This allows the Business Analyst to, for example, help the business to formulate the Business Case, and also to be involved in assisting the business in defining their requirements during feasibility and foundations, sometimes before the full Solution Development Team. is assigned. The role then continues in supporting the Solution Development Team alongside the project-level roles, as the more detailed requirements emerge.

All roles at the project level need to adopt the facilitative, empowering leadership style which allows Agile teams to learn as they go and reflect, adapt and enhance process. They need to ensure the freedom of the Solution Development Team.�to do the job, getting to an end point by its own means, within an empowerment framework for the team.

The Solution Development Team roles are Business Ambassador, Solution Developer, Solution Tester, Business Analyst and Team Leader. These roles form the �engine room� of the project. They shape and build the solution and are collectively responsible for its day-to-day development and for assuring its fitness for business purpose. There may be one or more Solution Development Teams within a project. Each team will include all Solution Development Team roles and cover all their responsibilities.

The membership of each Solution Development Team should be stable throughout a project, however, in the worst case, each Solution Development Team should remain stable for a Project Increment. Each member of the Solution Development Team is an empowered individual who takes personal ownership for their area of responsibility and represents the interests of their peers.

The supporting roles (Business Advisors, Technical Advisors, Workshop Facilitator and DSDM Coach) provide assistance and guidance to the project on an ad hoc basis throughout the lifecycle. The Advisor roles may be filled by one or more subject matter experts, as necessary. The Advisor roles are not the empowered decision-makers � that is the responsibility of the roles within the Solution Development Team � but they advise the Solution Development Team in areas where specialist expertise is needed (e.g. legal and compliance matters, technical knowledge, business-specific rules and regulations). The supporting roles engage with the project as and when necessary. For example, a Business or Technical Advisor will be actively involved during Foundations and then for the particular Timeboxes where their expertise is needed to properly shape the Evolving Solution.

All DSDM roles need to be appropriately engaged in the project sufficiently to fulfil the responsibilities of their role. Project-level roles need to be engaged sufficiently to ensure that the ongoing work of the project remains aligned to the business need, is generating a solution to the agreed quality and continues to be viable in terms of the Business Case. Project-level roles therefore need to be engaged in high-level reviews and planning sessions, and perhaps in more detailed sessions where key issues and strategic decisions need their input. Their involvement is not normally needed or expected day to day but is more likely to be focussed around the beginning and end of Timeboxes and perhaps at key review points within them. Solution Development Team roles need to be actively engaged in the project on a day-to-day basis working at the detailed level; shaping, building, reviewing and testing the Solution Increment delivered at the end of each Timebox. All roles must attend the Daily Stand-up in order to maintain a common understanding of progress and any issues and, as a self-organising team, agree detailed plans and actions needed to meet their delivery commitments. Continuous, open, honest communication and day-to-day collaboration are the key to making good progress�with transparency of progress and work being important in demonstrating control. Where project-level roles do engage at a lower level of detail, it is important that they do so as observers and leaders and the owners of issues rather than as managers of the team or the work being undertaken.

On a large IT project, the Technical Coordinator�s responsibilities may be allocated to more than one person, e.g. the System Designer/Architect, the Networks Manager, the Infrastructure Manager etc.

On a branding project, Solution Developer responsibilities may be split, with one Solution Developer focusing on logo design, another on key marketing messages.

However,�some roles are typically only fulfilled by one person, whatever the size of the project, e.g. there should only be one Business Visionary (rather than a group of visionaries) and one Business Sponsor. (Although it is also often true that one person fulfils both the Business Sponsor and the Business Visionary roles).

Issues such as geographical constraints or staff availability can affect the creation of the ideal project team, but it is strongly recommended that all the roles are considered and that their individual responsibilities are all understood and accepted as appropriate. The role definitions can be used as the basis for personal terms of reference for a project.