How to Build a Skills Matrix Before Hiring an IT Project Team

Step 1: Define the Project Scope and Outcomes

Start by documenting what the project must achieve. Clarify its major deliverables, timeline, budget, technology environment, dependencies and success criteria.

Ask questions such as:

• What business problem will the project solve?
• What must be delivered during each phase?
• Which systems will be introduced, integrated, upgraded, or retired?
• Are there security or compliance requirements?
• What could delay delivery?
  
  

Step 2: Divide the Project Into Workstreams

Breaking the project into workstreams makes the required expertise easier to identify. Depending on the initiative, these may include:

• Business analysis and requirements gathering
• Architecture and solution design
• Software development
• Cloud infrastructure
• Data engineering and migration
• Cybersecurity and compliance
• Quality assurance and automation
• DevOps and deployment
• Project governance
  
  

Workstreams may overlap, but each should have clear ownership. This exercise can uncover responsibilities that might otherwise receive attention only after the project has started.

Step 3: Identify the Required Roles

Map each workstream to the roles needed to support it. These could include:

• IT Project Manager
• Business Analyst
• Solution Architect
• Software Developer
• Cloud or DevOps Engineer
• Data Engineer
• Cybersecurity Specialist
• QA or Automation Engineer
• UX/UI Designer
  
  

A large transformation may need dedicated specialists. On a smaller project, one experienced professional may cover several related responsibilities. At this stage, focus on the work that needs ownership rather than the final headcount.

Step 4: List the Skills Needed

Create a focused list of capabilities for each role. Include more than programming languages and software tools.

Skills should be specific enough to assess. “Cloud knowledge” is too broad. “Designing secure AWS environments” or “automating Azure infrastructure using Terraform” gives recruiters a much clearer definition of the required capability.

Step 5: Define a Proficiency Scale

Choose a simple scale and clearly explain each rating.

Ratings should reflect demonstrated ability, not years of experience. Someone may have worked in IT for ten years without having advanced experience in the particular platform used by the project.

Where possible, connect ratings to evidence such as technical assessments, certifications, work samples, system designs, completed projects, or measurable results.

Step 6: Set the Required Level for Each Skill

Not every team member needs expert-level knowledge. Requiring the highest proficiency for every capability can make positions expensive and unnecessarily difficult to fill.

For each skill, determine:

• The minimum acceptable level
• Whether it is mandatory or preferred
• How frequently it will be used
• Its effect on project delivery
• Whether backup coverage is necessary
• When it will be needed during the project

For example, a solution architect may require advanced integration design skills, while a developer working under that architect may need only working knowledge of the same area.

Step 7: Assess Existing Internal Capabilities

Before opening new positions, determine which skills are already available. Assessment methods may include:

• Employee self-assessments
• Manager evaluations
• Technical tests
• Certifications
• Previous project performance
• Work samples
• Peer feedback
  
  

Self-assessments can provide useful context but should not be the only source. Some employees may overestimate their abilities, while others may underestimate them. Combining several assessment methods creates a more reliable picture.

This review may also identify employees ready for stretch assignments or who can move into project roles after focused training.

Step 8: Identify and Prioritize the Gaps

Compare the project’s required levels with the capabilities currently available. The difference becomes the skills gap.

Prioritize each gap according to:

• Effect on project delivery
• Urgency
• Required proficiency
• Difficulty of finding the skill
• Duration of the requirement
• Availability of internal backup
• Time required for training
  
  

A missing cloud architect needed during the design phase may be more urgent than a support specialist required after launch. Prioritization helps recruiters focus first on roles that affect the critical path.