A Word from Our Sponsors

 

Not everyone is the right project sponsor. For both technical and non-technical projects, this is true--not everyone is in the right position to be a project sponsor. Let us remember a project sponsor is someone who:

• Is in a senior or executive management position and can financially and politically back the project
• Removes roadblocks impeding the project team's progress
• Provides the team with the bigger political picture and explains any impacts
• Reviews the team's progress regularly
• Clarifies the project mission organizationally and strategically
• Questions deliverables, timing and costs
• "Kicks off" the project and celebrates with the team at its completion

Even if the potential sponsorship field is limited to one person, as a project manager be sure to still ask yourself, "Is this person at a high enough level to effect other 'matrixed' organizations but still meet with me regularly?" and "Will the person I have in mind emulate all these responsibilities?" The answer is probably "no," so you must find the best approximation and help the person fill these roles throughout the project.

In many cases, the project manager or team leader begins "implementing the project" before a sponsor is identified. So for the typical project, whether it has top-down or grass roots beginnings, when in the project management life cycle is a …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.