The Role of the Project Sponsor: What Should they do?

The project sponsor or executive sponsor needs a range of skill sets, or at least access to skill sets which include appreciation of the corporate strategy; ability to prepare a business case and profound knowledge of the organization’s operations. The project sponsor also needs to know his or her way around the organization and command respect within it., they are the Projects number one champion.

 

The project sponsor and project manager should form an effective partnership with the project manager orchestrating all players involved in delivering the project e.g. designers, suppliers and contractors, whilst the project sponsor coordinates all departments within the organization and associated stakeholders to integrate the delivered project into the organization and ensure the full benefits from it such that the business case are gained.

Because the project sponsor is the ‘owner’ of the project from conception to commissioning and into operation it is particularly important to achieve continuity of sponsor throughout the Project yet it an be correspondingly difficult to achieve because of the extended duration of sponsorship compared to project management.

For a project manager, the relationship he has with the project sponsor is one of the most influential factors in the success of the project. The project sponsor has several extremely important parts to play, from authorising the project in the first instance, to holding the budget and making the resources needed available. For this reason, it is essential to get the project sponsor on side, as knowing how to get the best out of them can really make the make project fly.

So, clearly the project sponsor is an invaluable part of the process, but what exactly should they do?

The business Case:

The project sponsor’s official role begins right at the start of the process, during the project initiation phase. At this point they need to put the business case together to authorise the project. To do this they will carry out an analysis of the likely success or failure rates of the project and justify the reason for undertaking the project. This should include factors such as the benefits, the costs, the risks and the alternative options that could be undertaken.

Once the project is underway, the project sponsor will need to check that the project is on track and that the business case is still valid. The Project Sponsor will protect the project from scope creep and help keep it on track. The project sponsor or executive sponsor needs a range of skill sets, or at least access to skill sets which include appreciation of corporate strategy; ability to prepare a business case and profound knowledge of the organization’s operations. The project sponsor also needs to know his or her way around the organization and command respect within it. The project sponsor and project manager should form an effective partnership with the project manager orchestrating all players involved in delivering the project e.g. designers, manufacturers and contractors, whilst the project sponsor coordinates all departments of the client organization and associated stakeholders to integrate the delivered project into the client organization and take full benefits from it such that the business case is fulfilled.

Because the project sponsor is the ‘owner’ of the project from conception to commissioning and operation it is particularly important to achieve continuity of sponsor throughout the project.

Ultimately, it is their responsibility to achieve the outcomes that have been documented and agreed, so this is undoubtedly a key part of their role.

Project sign off:

Every project is split into different stages that need to be completed before others can begin. To progress the project smoothly through the various stages, it is usually down to the project sponsor to perform a formal sign off at the end of each phase.

These ‘stage reviews’ will usually involve a meeting that the project sponsor will likely chair where they look more closely at the project performance over the last phase and discuss plans for the next part of the work.

At each stage review, the purpose is to ensure the project is still viable. Using the information provided during the review, the sponsor will then be able to decide whether the project should progress.

Getting the resources in place:

The job of allocating the resources is down to the project manager, but making sure the resources are available for the Project manager to allocate should be the role of the project sponsor. The Project Manager will have to specify exactly what it is needed in terms of people, equipment and skills in the project management plan, and explain why these resources are required. The project sponsor may also get involved in issues such as resource conflicts, prioritising resources and any other issues that arise.

The Project Board / Steering Committee:

Another role the project sponsor should undertake is chairing the project board. This is a board made up of senior project stakeholders that is responsible for overseeing the project. Stakeholders and the Project Sponsor Not devoting sufficient time to the project is a common failing.

The project manager, will be asked to detail the project’s progress and justify some of the decisions that have been made to date.

It is the sponsor’s job to make sure the group is effective and to keep the conversations on track Board.

Campion the delivery of the benefits:

The Project Sponsor has invested resources into the project, labor and money. It is the responsibility of the project sponsor to ensure the benefits are delivered from the project in full.

Key documents used throughout the project lifecycle which are aligned to PMP and Prince 2 methodologies.

Each document pack contains Hot Tips, Guidelines, a Template and a Checklist.

These are bundled together as a pack that you can buy and download separately. Most document bundles are priced at $9.99 each and the whole document set is offered at a heavily discounted price https://pmp-practitioners.com/documents/