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Roles and responsibilities

Purpose: Explain how the delivery roles fit together inside one shared operating system. The standard is shared. Accountability is role-specific.

Use this chapter to answer:

  • how the delivery structure works
  • how Head of Delivery, CSO, SL, and ICs relate to one another
  • where partnership is required
  • where accountability is different by role

1. Shared model

All roles operate inside the same system:

  • Standards define the floor
  • Checkpoints enforce the floor
  • Roles define who is accountable for what inside the system

The delivery model is not four separate philosophies. It is one operating system with four role lenses.

2. Role-system diagram

           Head of Delivery
             /         \
           CSO <-----> SL
             \         /
                ICs

How to read this

  • Head of Delivery sets the bar, reviews plans, governs escalations, and sees the portfolio
  • CSO and SL are a required working partnership, not two disconnected lanes
  • ICs execute through the delivery structure and are supported and governed through CSO / SL leadership

This is not a perfect org chart. It is the clearest operating model for how the work should actually run.

3. Why the structure works this way

Delivery breaks when:

  • the client story lives in one lane and technical truth lives in another
  • nobody owns the cross-role seam
  • accountability gets confused with task assignment
  • leadership only hears about problems after the client does

This structure exists to avoid those failures.

4. Literal role summary

Linear (all roles): Day 1 guide — components, flows, labels, view kits

4.1 Head of Delivery

Sets standards, approves major plans, governs escalations, and holds the portfolio-level bar.

Start here:

4.2 CSO

Single accountable owner for client success, client communication, and the plan narrative presented at key checkpoints.

Start here:

4.3 Service Lead

Owner of technical truth, technical quality, estimates, IC accountability, and technical feasibility.

Start here:

4.4 Individual contributors

Execute scoped work, surface blockers, keep execution state honest, and finish work to quality.

Start here:

5. How the roles participate in the system

Standards

All roles are held to the same floor:

  • own the outcome
  • no surprises
  • show up prepared
  • distill complexity into clear action
  • deliver tangible value
  • close the loop

Shared standards doc:

Checkpoints

Roles participate differently in the checkpoint system:

  • Head of Delivery governs quality and intervention
  • CSO leads client and plan narrative
  • SL validates technical truth and execution integrity
  • ICs contribute truth from the work itself

Checkpoint chapter:

Lifecycle

Roles also participate differently across the SOW → plan → execution → re-gate lifecycle.

Lifecycle chapter:

6. Required partnerships

CSO <> SL

This is the most important partnership in the model.

Why it exists: The client story and the technical truth must remain one story.

What good looks like:

  • CSO and SL align before material client-visible commitments
  • the board, the plan, and the client narrative do not drift apart
  • disagreement surfaces early instead of leaking through delay or contradiction

Head of Delivery <> account leaders

This partnership exists to keep the portfolio standard higher than any one account’s local habits.

What good looks like:

  • risks are surfaced early
  • standards misses are coachable and visible
  • escalation happens before a crisis

ICs <> CSO/SL system

ICs should not be disconnected from the delivery model. They are expected to escalate clearly, keep execution truth honest, and operate within the approved structure.

7. Good role design

Good role design does not require every action to be scripted. It does require:

  • clear accountability
  • clear seams between roles
  • shared checkpoints
  • shared language for risk and ownership

That is why this repo should prefer:

  • one shared standard
  • one checkpoint system
  • role-specific expectations written downstream from those

8. Where to go next

Last updated: 2026-03-24

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