Client Success Owner (CSO)
Purpose: The CSO is the single accountable owner for client success, client narrative, and the plan narrative used at major checkpoints.
1. What this role owns
The CSO owns:
- client success within the agreed scope
- the external narrative on delivery
- the plan narrative presented at key checkpoints
- visible client-facing momentum
- surfacing risk before it becomes a sponsor surprise
The CSO does not own every engineering task. The CSO owns whether the client experience and account health remain under control.
2. Core expectations
- own the client story
- align with the Service Lead before material client-visible commitments
- make weekly progress legible
- raise risk early
- keep the plan, the board, and the client narrative aligned
3. Most important partnership
The CSO’s most important partnership is with the Service Lead.
The point of that partnership is simple:
- the client story and the technical truth must remain one story
4. Start here
| Doc | Purpose |
|---|---|
| linear-day-1-guide.md | Linear: components, CSO view kit, labels (start here for the board) |
| role-definition.md | Mission, RACI, handoffs |
| project-ownership-guide.md | CSO vs SL; plan narrative |
| cso-standards-matrix.md | Standards × evidence × cadence × artifacts |
| standards-good-bad-exemplars.md | Good vs bad examples of standards |
Parent: Roles and responsibilities
Last updated: 2026-04-06