Responsibilities and Roles

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Map existing tasks to specific team roles so the group sees who handles what and where responsibilities overlap.

Use it when: Use during team onboarding, project kickoffs, or agile retrospectives when members report confusion over task ownership.

Skip it when: Skip when team roles are strictly dictated by statutory regulations or when a group lacks basic agreement on its core project scope.

Group arrangement: Whole group working on a shared board, with individual contributions during listing and sorting.

Timing: UWT suggested duration. The source template has no fixed clock; 35 minutes provides realistic time for generating, sorting, and discussing tasks.

Materials and tools

• 1 whiteboard or wall space
• Sticky notes (2 pads)
• Markers (1 per person)
• Digital whiteboard tool if running remotely

Before participants arrive

1. Draw columns on the wall or board: label the first column 'Responsibilities' and create additional columns labeled with the team's agreed roles (for example, Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developer, Designer).

Say this to open

Today we will clarify our team roles. We will list the concrete recurring tasks we handle, place them under the role that owns each task, and discuss any items that overlap or sit unassigned.

How to run it

1. Introduce and label roles 5 minutes

   Explain the board layout. Introduce the column labels representing the distinct roles present in the team. Confirm everyone understands the role definitions. Facilitator states the opening script.

2. Generate recurring responsibilities 7 minutes

   Ask participants to write concrete tasks and responsibilities on sticky notes, one per note. Example: 'Resolve technical impediments' or 'Talk to users'. Post all notes into the 'Responsibilities' column.

3. Sort tasks under roles 8 minutes

   Invite participants to move notes from the 'Responsibilities' column into the appropriate role column. If a responsibility belongs to more than one role, write a duplicate sticky note and place one under each relevant role.

4. Review and reconcile overlaps 10 minutes

   Walk through each role column as a whole group. Check for tasks left unassigned, misplaced tasks, or roles carrying conflicting expectations. Adjust cards as the group agrees.

5. Debrief and conclude 5 minutes

   Lead a brief reflection on team clarity. Take 2 to 3 observations from participants about what surprised them or what agreements need documenting.

Debrief questions

• Which tasks sparked the most discussion about ownership?
• Where did we find shared responsibilities, and how will handoffs work?
• What is one unassigned or ambiguous task we clarified today?

Finished output: A completed board mapping team tasks to agreed roles, identifying shared tasks and primary owners.

Remote

Create a virtual board with a 'Responsibilities' column alongside labeled role columns. Give all participants edit access. Participants add digital cards to the intake column, drag cards to role columns simultaneously, and use video audio to review.

Hybrid

In-person participants post to a physical board mirrored simultaneously on a shared digital board by a designated board scribe, or all participants join the digital board from individual devices while using a central room audio line.

Access and participation choices

• Participants can speak tasks aloud for a peer to write, write on notes directly, or enter them digitally
• Participants may observe without sorting cards or decline to speak during the whole-room review

If the session gets stuck

Participants dispute who owns a critical task.

Duplicate the sticky note across both roles and note the specific conditions or handoffs under which each role acts.

One role column ends up overloaded while another has almost no items.

Pause the review to examine whether tasks are grouped at different granularities or whether role expectations need rebalancing.

Terms used here

• PO: Product Owner; the person responsible for defining project requirements and priorities.
• SM: Scrum Master; the facilitator responsible for supporting the agile process and removing impediments.