Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Hello all,
i want to ask for your expertise and your support.
I want to conduct some tool/template/guidance for the community here (it is not finally decided what it will become exactly ;) ) and this should cover the whole project management process flow right from the start till the very end.
It will be closely aligned to the PMBoK Guide (Processes) but if we want to start at the beginning, PMBoK Guide is somewhat ... let's say "unclear".
If we look process group wise than of course "initiation" will be the start and within "Initiation" the first process is "Develop project charter" and yes, we will discuss that also ... but ...as most of us maybe know "Develop Project Charter" is of course not really the very first step while Initiating a new project, right.
From my my perspective maybe also not the first but for sure one of the first steps should be to discuss the purpose and all the project related topics with your project sponsor, right?
The questions to your sponsor should be organized around these topics:
- business objective, project deliverable and the expected business benefit
- project context, including political considerations
- Who the project intended to impact
- Schedule and budget expectations
- Tradeoffs that will have to be made
In addition as part of the Sponsor meeting, as a project manager you will also want to:
- Gain an understanding of your working relationship
- Set expectations for next steps
Well, some of you may ask, why is that necessary?
Have you ever heard the following words in project management when the project is closed: "We can't use that. It's not what we need/asked for!" Ugly, isn't it?
As the saying goes, "Projects don't fail at the end. They fail at the beginning."
That's why it's important to get the venture off to a solid start by interviewing the project sponsor, the individual who will ultimately declare victory (or failure). Never, ever accept someone else's interpretation of what the sponsor might be looking for.
And to take it a step further, the chances are very high that the sponsor doesn't even know what he or she really wants, even when they think they do. This is typical on most projects where the definition of success and what is wanted and needed will evolve throughout most of the project's life cycle, driven by internal and external change.
And even though the project deliverable will likely look much different at the end than it did at the beginning, it's the sponsor that sets the base line and is the one with whom the project manager needs to establish a rapport.
So, like said before, the results of that Meeting(s) set the baseline for the project and are the inputs into the following steps/processes like developing a "project statement of work", a "project charter", a "project scope statement" and so on.
And since the project sponsor is for sure one of the key stakeholders we could also define that step as the beginning of stakeholder management and the questionnaire we will use to interview the project sponsor will be used to interview other stakeholders also.
So what do you ask for now?
Well, what i want to know from you is, what are your questions for this very first project initiation meeting with your project sponsor?
Your questions should reflect the topics mentioned before.
I do have already a bunch of questions but i won't provide them yet to leave this request unaffected.
In the end i will provide you as a result the complete list of questions here and of course the question catalog will be implemented in the above mentioned tool/template/guideline.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this and in advance of course also for your help you may have provided.
This is a really great tool! One thing that I like to ask my sponsor is: when/how will I be a success for you? And when will the project be a success for you? Then get some key (SMART) deliverables that you can show them and relate back to them.
Talking to them in 'their' language so that you're all clear on what needs to be delivered is also critical. Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Markus, let us know when you have the tool ready Saving Changes...
"Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious and immature."
