Project skills refer to the competencies, tools, and knowledge that participants require to perform their roles, address project challenges, and contribute to the successful delivery of enterprise IT projects. These skills include technical expertise, discipline-specific standards, and transferable competencies. Each project delivery model requires a distinct combination of skills to meet the responsibilities of specialist roles in enterprise IT projects.

Project Skills Mapping

Table 13 maps core skills to disciplines and roles across Waterfall, Scrum, SAFe, and Hybrid delivery models, indicating where roles are defined and noting model-specific skill variations.

Notes for reading Table 13:

• Waterfall: Skills are applied in structured, comprehensive upfront processes (e.g., holistic design, detailed planning).
• Scrum/SAFe: Where roles are defined, skills are applied iteratively in sprints (Scrum) or program increments (SAFe), contrasting with Waterfall’s structured approach.
• Hybrid: Skills blend structured (Waterfall) and iterative (agile) approaches, combining detailed processes with sprint-based tasks.
• Discipline-specific variations: Listed in the Notes column for model-specific applications (e.g., user story refinement, sprint-based reporting). 

Model-Specific Skill Considerations

While core skills remain consistent where roles are clearly defined, delivery models introduce variations in how those skills are applied. In Scrum and SAFe, competencies emphasise agile practices, such as iterative development, sprint planning, and user story refinement. These approaches prioritise adaptability and collaboration. For example, business analysis in Scrum focuses on user story refinement rather than the requirements engineering typically applied in Waterfall. The Hybrid model combines structured and agile methods, requiring practitioners to perform both detailed requirements engineering and user story refinement.

Project Skills Matrix

The project skills matrix organises and evaluates the competencies required for enterprise IT project roles across delivery models. It provides tools to map skill requirements to specific roles and to assess team capabilities and alignment with project responsibilities.

The matrix can be used in the following ways:

• Project skills requirement matrix: Identifies the skills necessary for each specialist role to support resource planning and recruitment.
• Project skills inventory matrix: Records the team's existing skills to highlight gaps that may impact delivery. It also supports performance evaluation by comparing the skills required for each role with the actual competencies demonstrated by each team member during project execution. 

Project Skills Requirement Matrix

Table 14 provides an example of a project skills requirement matrix, mapping selected key roles to the skills required for successful project delivery.

Notes for reading Table 14: Y = Skill required for the role, N = Skill not required for the role.

Project Skills Inventory Matrix

Table 15 presents an example of a project skills inventory matrix, recording individual team member competencies against the required skills. Skills gaps are shaded grey for clarity.

Notes for reading Table 15: Y = Skill required and present, N = Skill not required or not present (matches expectations), Gap = Skill required but not demonstrated by the team member.

The following case study demonstrates how the project skills matrix align roles with the core skills required for enterprise IT projects delivery.

Background

SkyReach Airways, a global airline, initiates the SkyCRM project to implement a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. The system integrates communication and data-sharing platforms across Marketing, Customer Service, Operations, and IT departments to improve collaboration, streamline operations, and enhance customer experience.

As an enterprise IT project, SkyCRM adopts a Hybrid delivery model. This model combines structured Waterfall processes for detailed planning with iterative agile practices to support continuous development. It addresses complex requirements such as global data integration and multi-channel customer engagement, and it requires a project team with specialist skills suited to both delivery methods.

Challenges

Previous SkyReach projects have encountered challenges due to participants lacking the required skills for their specialist roles. Examples include:

• Program management: Graham Jagger, a Business Operations Manager appointed as Program Manager, excels in departmental operations but lacks credentials such as the Program Management Professional (PgMP). Graham misaligns projects with strategic objectives, causing a one-month delay, and overlooks interdependencies, resulting in $500,000 in cost overruns.
• Business analysis: Anna Lees, a tech-savvy subject matter expert in a Business Analyst role, is knowledgeable in CRM tool usage but lacks credentials such as Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP). Anna documents requirements as narrative—descriptive paragraphs and sentence-style descriptions, rather than using a structured format with functional requirements and user stories. This approach causes ambiguity and delays feature rollouts by two months.
• Data architecture: Debbie Crafter, a production support specialist assigned as Data Architect, experienced in system maintenance but lacks credentials such as Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP). Debbie produces basic data schemas rather than robust, integrated models. This causes delays in the integration of core CRM modules by one month. 

The Project Skills Mat

To address these challenges, SkyReach uses a project skills matrix to determine the competencies required for each SkyCRM role within the Hybrid delivery model:

1. Identify specialist skills.

The project requires a wide range of specialist roles, including business analysts, data architects, cloud engineers, and customer insights specialists. The matrix defines the essential technical and soft skills for each role for delivery effectiveness across the complex CRM implementation.

2. Recruit team members who closely match project needs.

SkyReach’s recruitment approach uses the matrix to identify candidates with suitable core competencies, technical knowledge, and collaboration skills. For example, the Data Architect must hold certifications such as CDMP and demonstrate experience in data integration, multi-region modelling, and cross-functional communication.

3. Evaluate each team member's performance.

The matrix supports recruitment and provides a baseline to assess whether team members meet role expectations. This avoids performance issues, such as individuals overstating their expertise, which leads to delivery shortfalls.

Outcomes

SkyReach applies the project skills matrix and observes measurable improvements across roles previously affected by skill mismatches:

• Program management: A qualified Program Manager replaces the former Business Operations Manager. The new manager coordinates milestone reviews and sprint planning activities across departments, eliminating previous delays and avoiding further cost overruns.
• • Business analysis: A qualified Business Analyst applies best practices from business analysis standards to produce structured documentation, including well-formed functional requirements and user stories. This clarity supports rapid iteration, reducing ambiguity and preventing the delays previously caused by unstructured, narrative-style documentation.
• Data architecture: A skilled Data Architect with CDMP certification and multi-region integration experience replaces the former support specialist. The architect designs scalable data models that support the integration of customer data from 20 countries without delays.

Conclusion

This case study demonstrates how the project skills matrix improves the assignment of resources in enterprise IT delivery. By mandating that each role is filled by a professional with the appropriate capabilities, SkyReach strengthens delivery performance, mitigates risk, and enhances the overall effectiveness of the SkyCRM implementation.