Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Hello all,
most of you may know this situation:
You where announced as the project manager for a new initiative and already got an appointment with your sponsor the initiation meeting.
Now you want to be as best prepared as you can and conduct a presentation/questionnaire what you want to work through with the sponsor in that meeting.
And while you should acting like a journalist in that meeting to gain as much information as you can, you need also to be prepared that your sponsor will ask you a few questions and maybe there are some critical ones, right?
As an addition to our "MP4PM - Knowing your sponsor" map we want to conduct a list of questions the sponsor probably may ask you as a project manager and we want to ask you for help based on your own experiences.
The questions may sound like:
Can I have the project faster and cheaper?
Thanks in advance!
PS: You can see and of course use our "Knowing your sponsor" map/template in an interactive online version here:
Thilo WackHead of Existing Product and Test Lab| optimedTholey-Hasborn, Germany
Hi Markus,
if the sponsor did not specifically request you as her/his project manager of choice, then probably it makes sense to be prepared like you'd be for any job interview. The main question to be prepared for would therefore probably be:"What's your track record?".
...
1 reply by Markus Kopko
Dec 19, 2016 6:30 AM
Markus Kopko
...
noted! ;)
Saving Changes...
Chanukya RajagopalaDirector - IT Strategy - R & D| iPOCA Private LtdUnited Kingdom
Hi Markus,
The first meeting with Sponsor, after being announced as a Project Manager would have preceeded with a few basic processes/steps, that would have caused the approval for the project or for need to set up a project.
My first port of call would be to retact steps/processes that resulted in the project being set up or me being announced as a Project Manager. Most times, this data helps formulate first meeting with Sponsor.
That apart, at the first meeting with sponsor - its the sponsor's opportunity to talk, set up the project Aims, Objectives, Deliverables, expectations, etc etc. So, my questionnaire would be full of questions seeking answers to all these project elements. The sponsor has to explain the need for this project, which then raises a lot of On-The-Spot-Questions, or which I could formulate away from the meeting and reach back to the Sponsor.
The interaction between Project Manager -Sponsor- Senior User are through series of meetings, communications etc, hence the meeting is not restricted to just the initiation meeting. The initiation meeting if much further than to the preceeding meetings between project manager and sponsor.
The Sponsor -Project Manager conceive a Gap/Problem/Idea/Opportunity into a project and the process is a two way, Question and Answer process, where the sponsor has questions for the project manager and vice-versa.
Preparation for such meetings start with initial elements stated above and expands all the way to what the Change / Transformation/ Transition world looks like after all the deliverables are achieved, i.e when the Project ends. ( in some cases, the project does not end with the delivery of the project. The scope / success criteria could include hand-walking the users until a certain agreed timescale)
Questions of Why, When, What, How, If not, why not, etc are the main focal queries.
...
1 reply by Markus Kopko
Dec 19, 2016 6:41 AM
Markus Kopko
...
Hello Chanu,
thank you very much for your contribution here.
All what you have mentioned is absolutely right and demanded and should be covered already in our map "Knowing your sponsor" , please refer to this blog entry for further information:
It would be great if you could have a look there and tell us if you still missing something there , so we can improve it for the community.
The question i wanted to raise with this posting here was a bit different (but also an addition to this map).
Even the conversation is a two-way one like you have mentioned, so will the project manager especially in the very first meeting try to gain as much information as he can from the sponsor and therefore he will act somewhat like a journalist there.
But of course it will happen exactly what you have raised, the sponsor will ask the project manager also some - maybe critical - questions, right?
Another example therefore by Thilo was:
"Can I have the project faster and cheaper?"
for instance.
What we want to do here is trying to collect some more usual questions like that coming from the sponsor in this specific situation, what would be very helpful especially for new practitioners, right?
Regards,
Markus
Saving Changes...
Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Dec 18, 2016 8:26 AM
Replying to Thilo Wack
...
Hi Markus,
if the sponsor did not specifically request you as her/his project manager of choice, then probably it makes sense to be prepared like you'd be for any job interview. The main question to be prepared for would therefore probably be:"What's your track record?".
noted! ;) Saving Changes...
Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Dec 18, 2016 6:47 PM
Replying to Chanukya Rajagopala
...
Hi Markus,
The first meeting with Sponsor, after being announced as a Project Manager would have preceeded with a few basic processes/steps, that would have caused the approval for the project or for need to set up a project.
My first port of call would be to retact steps/processes that resulted in the project being set up or me being announced as a Project Manager. Most times, this data helps formulate first meeting with Sponsor.
That apart, at the first meeting with sponsor - its the sponsor's opportunity to talk, set up the project Aims, Objectives, Deliverables, expectations, etc etc. So, my questionnaire would be full of questions seeking answers to all these project elements. The sponsor has to explain the need for this project, which then raises a lot of On-The-Spot-Questions, or which I could formulate away from the meeting and reach back to the Sponsor.
The interaction between Project Manager -Sponsor- Senior User are through series of meetings, communications etc, hence the meeting is not restricted to just the initiation meeting. The initiation meeting if much further than to the preceeding meetings between project manager and sponsor.
The Sponsor -Project Manager conceive a Gap/Problem/Idea/Opportunity into a project and the process is a two way, Question and Answer process, where the sponsor has questions for the project manager and vice-versa.
Preparation for such meetings start with initial elements stated above and expands all the way to what the Change / Transformation/ Transition world looks like after all the deliverables are achieved, i.e when the Project ends. ( in some cases, the project does not end with the delivery of the project. The scope / success criteria could include hand-walking the users until a certain agreed timescale)
Questions of Why, When, What, How, If not, why not, etc are the main focal queries.
Hello Chanu,
thank you very much for your contribution here.
All what you have mentioned is absolutely right and demanded and should be covered already in our map "Knowing your sponsor" , please refer to this blog entry for further information:
It would be great if you could have a look there and tell us if you still missing something there , so we can improve it for the community.
The question i wanted to raise with this posting here was a bit different (but also an addition to this map).
Even the conversation is a two-way one like you have mentioned, so will the project manager especially in the very first meeting try to gain as much information as he can from the sponsor and therefore he will act somewhat like a journalist there.
But of course it will happen exactly what you have raised, the sponsor will ask the project manager also some - maybe critical - questions, right?
Another example therefore by Thilo was:
"Can I have the project faster and cheaper?"
for instance.
What we want to do here is trying to collect some more usual questions like that coming from the sponsor in this specific situation, what would be very helpful especially for new practitioners, right?
Regards,
Markus Saving Changes...
Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
What do you think about that questions here:
"
How much is it going to cost?
What are the alternatives?
Do we have the right people to perform the project?
How will we know when the project is going well or when it is in trouble?
What are the major risks and how are they being mitigated?
How can I help?
..." Saving Changes...
Thilo WackHead of Existing Product and Test Lab| optimedTholey-Hasborn, Germany
Hi Markus,
all very good questions, especially #3 and #4. The rest is already captured in your maps...
...
1 reply by Markus Kopko
Dec 20, 2016 4:09 AM
Markus Kopko
...
Hi Thilo,
thanks for your feedback.
The new version 1.1 of this map will going online soon.
Regards,
Markus
Saving Changes...
Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Dec 19, 2016 12:46 PM
Replying to Thilo Wack
...
Hi Markus,
all very good questions, especially #3 and #4. The rest is already captured in your maps...
Hi Thilo,
thanks for your feedback.
The new version 1.1 of this map will going online soon.
Regards,
Markus Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
What are your paint points?
What do you need to report to senior management?
What is the priority between scope, time and cost?
...
1 reply by Markus Kopko
Dec 21, 2016 3:51 AM
Markus Kopko
...
thank you Stephane
Saving Changes...
Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Dec 20, 2016 2:02 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
...
What are your paint points?
What do you need to report to senior management?
What is the priority between scope, time and cost?
