Practitioners is a general term for those project members who participate in the life-cycle activities including requirements gathering, architecture definition, detailed design, coding or construction, unit testing, integration and systems testing, and acceptance testing and delivery. They also include members of groups such as quality assurance, Configuration Management, engineering process group, measurement, database, and so forth. Practitioners do not normally serve as project managers, although they may serve as a lead engineer for their project.

Practitioners are not only expected to do, but they are also expected to participate in a variety of project activities including:

• Requirements analysis;

• Estimation;

• Making commitments;

• Development;

• Tracking daily work progress;

• Developing status reports;

• Participating in project meetings and milestone meetings as required;

• Identifying risks;

• Carrying out risk mitigation activities;

• Participating in objective evaluations for process compliance;

• Participating in training, mentoring, and coaching;

• Providing training, mentoring, and coaching for other project members in their areas of expertise;

• Conducting peer reviews;

• Conducting unit tests;

• Following Configuration Management guidelines, especially at the developmental control level;

• Providing inputs for process improvement;

• Understanding and implementing the senior manager's vision;

• Understanding and supporting the organization's business objectives;

• Embracing changes in technical processes and organizational development and helping colleagues to deal with the changes as well;

• Aligning personal career development goals with those of the project and organization;

• Studying and acquiring knowledge and skills that will increase individual competence levels that support the organization's business objectives.