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Module 10 · Lesson 39

Build a delivery team and partner network

Define roles and access so strategy, implementation, QA, support, and specialists can work without broad production permissions.

Last updated August 5, 2026•15–25 minutes•Free AI agent course
What you will learn

Define roles and partner standards

You will be able to structure a small delivery team with clear responsibilities and controlled access instead of giving every contributor broad client authority.

Why this matters

Good agent work is useful before it is impressive.

Scaling does not mean removing accountability. More people, contractors, and partners add handoffs and permissions. A good operating model clarifies who decides, builds, tests, supports, and approves changes.

Core concepts

The language that keeps the work clear.

Responsible ownerThe person accountable for the outcome of a role or client engagement.
Separation of dutiesAvoiding a situation where one person can make, approve, and hide a consequential change.
SpecialistA contributor with a defined expertise or integration responsibility, not a blanket client administrator.
RunbookA concise operating guide for recurring incidents, handoffs, reviews, and client communication.
The practical method

How to define roles and partner standards

Define core roles

Name strategy or client success, implementation, quality review, support, and any domain or integration specialist.

Assign decision rights

State who may approve client policy, production change, access, incident communication, and expansion.

Scope access

Give contributors the least production access needed for their task; use review or staging where possible.

Write the handoffs

Document what each role receives, produces, escalates, and records so client context survives team growth.

Worked example

Worked case: build a delivery team and partner network

A growing implementation partner has a strategist run discovery, a builder configure workflows, a QA reviewer run the evaluation set, and a client-success lead lead weekly reviews.

The builder cannot approve a policy-sensitive outbound message alone. A partner who works on a calendar integration receives scoped technical access, not a client-wide CRM administrator role.

When a support incident arrives, the runbook says who contains it, who tells the client, what evidence is captured, and who approves a fix. The team can grow without turning into an untraceable group chat.

Build it in practice

Complete the working artifact

Role: [role]. Owns: [outcome]. May decide: [list]. Access needed: [scope]. Receives: [handoff]. Escalates to: [role].
Practice

Before you move on

  • Map roles for one client delivery.
  • Find one place where the same person can create and approve a risky change.
  • Write a handoff checklist between build and QA.
  • Each role has a clear outcome.
  • Decision rights are explicit.
  • Access is scoped.
  • Runbooks cover recurring handoffs and incidents.

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