Most important job in an IT Project is that of coordination

These days, people focus a lot on either specific technical skills like front-end, back-end, DevOps, etc. or specific project management methodologies like agile, scrum and TDD.

However, little attention is paid to the hat that binds all the skilled individuals in a project and plays the role of a project manager or supervisor. Whatever name you give to the hat, its essentially playing the role of a coordinator. A dude or dudette who basically communicates or coordinates with the developer, tester, designer, DevOps, etc. and ensures that the milestones are achieved under any circumstances.

Yet, this is the single most important task in a project if you think about it. If a coder goes on leave, there'll be usually another one to cover for her. If not, the HR might arrange for someone skilled who can quickly catch up until others in team cover for her. Same goes for designer, tester, etc. But if the coordinator goes on leave then there is just no hope for the current milestones!

The coordinator typically has an established rapport with rest of the team which can't be replaced on whims. She also know a lot about lots of intricacies and nuances about the project which can't be transitioned without a lengthy process.

But what should a project do if the coordinator goes on unexpected leave or something happens to her? What about backup? Most people don't think about this because they take the coordinator for granted.

However, you can create backup for the coordinator by creating a slightly different organisational structure such as having 2-3 coordinators covering different areas and rotating their functions frequently. This will ensure that if one coordinator is missing in action, others can cover for her. Another strategy could be diversifying the coordination role by giving regular trainings to other members of the team.