> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.zarms.cloud/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Why cards have four roles and a ball

> Why a ZARMS card has four roles (Creator, Processor, Reviewer, and Receiver) instead of a single assignee. How tying roles to statuses lets you see whose turn it is without asking, with examples of how to assign roles.

A ZARMS card has four assignee fields instead of one: **Creator, Processor, Reviewer, and Receiver**. For each status, ZARMS decides which role acts next (who **has the ball**).

This way, you never need to ask "whose ball is this right now?"

## What "having the ball" means

In Japanese workplaces, people often ask "Who has the ball on this?" or say "The ball is with us now." It means who is handling the work and who needs to act next. ZARMS uses this expression as is.

## What a single assignee leaves out

In typical task management, you set a task name and a main assignee (one person or a team). But these things often go undecided:

* Who started this work (who asked for it)
* Who checks whether it's done
* Who receives the result

When these are unclear, work stalls: "The work is done, but nobody reviewed it," or "It's finished, but I don't know who to give it to."

## Every piece of work has someone who receives it

ZARMS assumes that all work produces some kind of **deliverable**, and the work is finished when someone receives it. That's why there's a Receiver role.

| Card | Deliverable | Receiver |
| - | - | - |
| Produce a training video on checkout at the register | Training video | Store training lead |
| Research candidates for a new attendance system | A doc or slides summarizing the research | The person who asked for the research |
| Put together the Q1 budget plan | Budget plan spreadsheet | Contact at the department it goes to |

In the budget example, a manager checks the plan before it goes out. The manager is the **Reviewer**, and the contact at the receiving department is the **Receiver**. It's common for the person who checks the work and the person who finally receives it to be different people.

## Roles are tied to statuses

The four roles are tied to the card's status. When you move the status forward, the ball passes to the next role.

| Status | Who has the ball | What they do |
| - | - | - |
| Draft | Creator | Finish the details and send the request |
| Not started, In progress | Processor | Do the work |
| In review | Reviewer | Check the result |
| Done | Receiver | Receive the deliverable and wrap up |

The status tells you who acts next. Cards where you have the ball are collected on Home and **My Board**. Clear them every day and hand them to the next person, and work keeps flowing.

For details on moving statuses, see [Status and the ball: whose turn it is](https://help.zarms.cloud/en/cards/status-and-ball.md).

## A responsibility chart you can actually use every day

A well-known way to sort out responsibility is to name who does the work, who is accountable, who is consulted, and who is informed (RACI). It's useful, but too heavy to apply to every daily task.

ZARMS's four roles are a pared-down version you can use every day. They only answer: who starts it, who does it, who checks it, and who receives it. People who just want to keep up with a card **follow** it instead of taking a role.

## You don't have to fill every role

One person can hold all four roles. When you create a card with quick create, all four start as you (admins and board settings can change this default).

* **Your own work**: Keep yourself in all four roles.
* **Work you ask someone else to do**: Change only the Processor to that person. You stay Reviewer and Receiver.
* **Work that needs a check**: Set the person doing the work as Processor, a manager or reviewer as Reviewer, and the requester as Receiver.

If the next role is empty when you move the status forward, ZARMS asks you to choose someone. For how to set roles, see [Set assignees and dates](https://help.zarms.cloud/en/cards/assignees-and-dates.md).

## Related articles

* [How ZARMS thinks about work](https://help.zarms.cloud/en/concepts/philosophy.md)
* [Write cards people understand](https://help.zarms.cloud/en/cards/write-good-cards.md)
* [Glossary](https://help.zarms.cloud/en/concepts/glossary.md)


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