Role Responsibility Snapshot – Dual-Sided Accountability¶
“Every 3SF role exists in pairs — one defines the value, the other delivers it.”
Purpose¶
The Role Responsibility Snapshot helps both Client and Vendor teams understand their joint accountabilities within the 3SF system.
It serves as a single reference point for all functional roles and a bridge between the 3SF Principles and Practice Tools, showing what each role contributes and owns at every stage of delivery.
Use this guide when forming teams, preparing for workshops, or validating who brings what into a 3SF tool.
How to Use¶
- Find your role (Client or Vendor side).
- Review your primary accountability — your “WHY.”
- See which artifact you provide input to and which one you are expected to own or co-sign.
- Use these as checkpoints when applying the Engagement Context Canvas, Outcome Map, or Boundary Charter.
Applicability Across Organizational Boundaries
The 3SF role system defines Client and Vendor as systemic positions, not organizational entities.
- In multi-organization engagements, they represent separate companies or partners.
- In single-organization environments, they represent internal accountability systems — for example, Business (Client) and Engineering (Vendor).
This framing allows the same dual-accountability model to apply to both external and internal relationships.
Co-Dependent SDLC System Roles¶
(Applicable to both multi-organization and single-organization environments)
These are the core joint execution functions that drive the SDLC and manage the relationships between Client ↔ Vendor ↔ Product.
| Functional Core | Primary Accountability (The WHY) | Typical Titles (Multi-Org) | Typical Titles (Single-Org) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Leader | Owns What (Value) and How (Solution Strategy). | Client Product Owner / Vendor Product Manager | Business Product Owner / Technical Product Manager |
| Delivery Facilitator | Owns Flow, removes impediments, and manages systemic friction. | Client Project Manager / Vendor Delivery Lead | Agile Coach or Program Manager (Biz side) / Engineering Manager or Scrum Master (Eng side) |
| Solution Architect | Owns Coherence, structural integrity, and architectural trade-offs. | Client Solution Architect / Vendor Solution Architect | Enterprise Architect (Biz side, sets constraints) / Principal Engineer or Solution Architect (Eng side, designs solution) |
| Technical Integrator | Owns Technical Execution, operational readiness, and integration quality. | Client Technical Integrator / Vendor Technical Integrator | Platform Lead or IT Operations Manager (Biz side, owns the platform) / Tech Lead or DevOps Lead (Eng side, owns the pipeline) |
| Requirements Analyst | Owns Clarity, domain expertise, and the translation of business needs. | Client Requirements Analyst / Vendor Requirements Analyst | Business Analyst / System Analyst or Technical BA |
| Experience Designer | Owns Usability, user needs, and experience-driven value translation. | Client Experience Lead / Vendor Experience Lead | UX Researcher or Service Designer (Biz side, discovers need) / Product Designer or UI/UX Designer (Eng side, designs solution) |
In single-organization setups, the “Client” and “Vendor” perspectives map to internal Business and Engineering systems respectively — maintaining the same dual-accountability logic used in 3SF.
These roles are systemic mirrors — each has a counterpart across the Client/Vendor line to ensure joint accountability.
Core Role Interactions and Artifacts¶
| Functional Role | Primary Accountability | Key Tool Input (What I Bring) | Key Tool Output (What I Own) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client Product Owner | Define and prioritize business outcomes and user value. | Context and business needs → Engagement Context Canvas | Outcome-to-Accountability Map |
| Vendor Product Manager | Translate outcomes into coherent solution strategy and backlog. | Outcome-to-Accountability Map | Validated product backlog and release plan |
| Client Project Manager | Manage flow, dependencies, and approvals on the client side. | Client-side constraints → Engagement Context Canvas | Flow Constraint Identification |
| Vendor Delivery Lead | Manage delivery flow, maturity, and systemic friction. | Engagement Context Canvas (ECC), Boundary Charter | Delivery System Diagnostic |
| Client Solution Architect | Ensure architectural coherence and risk awareness. | Technical constraints and policies | Architectural Trade-Off Contract |
| Vendor Solution Architect | Design system trade-offs balancing cost, risk, and feasibility. | Outcome Map | Architectural Trade-Off Contract |
| Client Technical Integrator | Validate operational readiness and integration quality. | Environment setup details, deployment dependencies | Shared Definition of Done (DoD) Matrix |
| Vendor Technical Integrator | Execute integration and ensure system operates end-to-end. | DoD Matrix | Verified delivery pipeline readiness |
| Client Requirements Analyst | Clarify business intent and domain logic. | Business inputs for ECC and OAM | Refined acceptance criteria for Shared Definition of Done |
| Vendor Requirements Analyst | Translate business context into development-ready scope. | ECC | Finalized scope specification for backlog execution |
| Experience Designer (Client/Vendor) | Ensure product usability and experience alignment. | User research insights | Prototype or design specification linked to Outcome Map |
In single-organization environments, these pairs represent internal cross-functional roles — typically between Business, Product, and Engineering groups.
Client-Only Governance Roles¶
| Functional Core | Primary Accountability | Key Engagement | Equivalent (Single-Org) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Sponsor | Own strategic intent, funding, and highest-level trust decisions. | Approves Autonomy & Control Boundary Charter | Head of Product / C-Level (CPO/CTO) / VP of Business Unit |
| Vendor Manager | Manage commercial relationship, contracts, and maturity evaluation. | Uses Maturity Dashboard | Head of Portfolio Management (PMO) / BizOps Lead / Finance Business Partner |
| Governance Officer | Ensure regulatory, security, and compliance adherence. | Reviews Architectural Trade-Off Contract and DoD Matrix | Head of Compliance / Data Privacy Officer / Security Architect |
Vendor-Only Governance Roles¶
| Functional Core | Primary Accountability | Key Engagement | Equivalent (Single-Org) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Lead | Own overall commercial health and relationship maturity. | Consolidates Maturity Dashboard and Quarterly Assessment | Director of Engineering / Group Engineering Manager |
| Engineering Director | Manage delivery capacity and systemic maturity across teams. | Oversees Delivery System Diagnostic | Head of Engineering / Tech Department Director |
| Practice Lead | Uphold standards and continuous improvement across disciplines. | Reviews outputs of Architectural Trade-Off Contract and DoD Matrix | Chapter Lead / Staff Engineer |
| Engineering Specialist | Execute technical implementation and quality verification. | Contributes to DoD Matrix | Developer, Software Engineer, SRE, QA Engineer, DevOps, DevSecOps |
Principle Alignment Map¶
Each pairing of Client ↔ Vendor roles supports a core 3SF Principle, defining how accountability manifests across collaboration lines.
| 3SF Principle | Typical Role Pair | Supporting Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Context before Method | Client Product Owner ↔ Vendor Delivery Lead | Engagement Context Canvas |
| Trust before Control | Executive Sponsor ↔ Vendor Account Lead | Autonomy & Control Boundary Charter |
| Outcome before Output | Client Product Owner ↔ Vendor Product Manager | Outcome-to-Accountability Map |
| Learning before Blame | Client Project Manager ↔ Vendor Delivery Lead | Learning Before Blame Protocol |
| Shared Accountability | Client & Vendor Solution Architects | Architectural Trade-Off Contract |
These alignments make joint accountability visible and inspectable — every tool has an owner pair, and every decision has a shared signature.
Summary¶
Dual-Sided Accountability = Joint Clarity × Shared Learning
The Role Responsibility Snapshot and Functional Role Model together form the people layer of 3SF.
They define who owns what — making all 3SF tools actionable through clear accountability pairs.
Each 3SF artifact has:
- A Client counterpart,
- A Vendor counterpart, and
- A Shared purpose.
Together, they transform organizational boundaries into a system of cooperation, not control.