Sponsor

INTRODUCTION

Research shows that an active project sponsor is a critical success factor in achieving positive outcomes from projects. This appendix describes the actions and impacts of sponsors and how these factors contribute to the overall success of the project. 

THE SPONSOR ROLE

Depending on the organization, a project typically has a sponsor. The project sponsor provides decision leadership that is outside of the authority and position power of the project manager and project team. Active engagement and oversight by a project sponsor supports the project manager, the project team, and ultimately drives project outcomes. The sponsor also links the project team with the strategy and big picture view at the executive level of the organization.

Sponsors perform the following functions, among others : 

▶ 

Communicate the vision, goals, and expectations to the team. 

▶ 

Advocate for the project and the team. 

▶ 

Facilitate executive level decisions. 

▶ 

Help secure resources. 

▶ 

Keep projects aligned to business objectives. 

▶ 

Remove obstacles. 

▶ 

Address issues outside the project team’s authority. 

▶ 

Bring opportunities that arise within the project to senior management. 

▶ 

Monitor project outcomes after closure to ensure intended business benefits are realized.

The sponsor’s position within the organization and the perspective from that level enable the sponsor to provide key support to the team in the following areas :

▶ 

Vision. 

Establish and/or communicate the vision and direction for the project. 

▶ 

Business value. 

Work with the team consistently to maintain alignment with the  strategic and business objectives. When the market, competition, and strategy are volatile and evolving, this may require frequent interactions to adjust project work to meet the evolving direction. 

▶ 

Customer focus. 

Balance various stakeholder needs and priorities. When there are multiple stakeholders, especially stakeholders with conflicting needs, it may be necessary  to prioritize stakeholder needs and make trade offs. 

▶ 

Decisions. 

Make decisions or direct decisions to the appropriate individual or group when there are decisions to be made that are outside of the project team’s authority. If the team cannot come to a decision or if the team is in conflict, sponsors can mediate conflict and facilitate the decision making process. 

▶ 

Motivation. 

Sponsors serve as a source of motivation for the project team by actively engaging with and supporting them. 

▶ 

Accountability. 

Depending on the authority level of the role, sponsors are often accountable for the project outcomes. In this role, they may accept or reject the deliverables for the project.

LACK OF ENGAGEMENT 

When the sponsor is not engaged or when that role is vacant, many of the benefits associated with the activities are missing. This may have a negative impact on project effectiveness. Project performance suffers because there are often longer decision time frames and conflicting priorities. If the sponsor is not helping to secure resources, that gap can impact access to necessary team members or acquisition of physical resources. When there is no direct sponsor support, team members may be removed or switched out. These changes can cause negative impacts to scope, quality, schedule, and budget and diminish the probability of achieving intended outcomes and stakeholder satisfaction.

SPONSOR BEHAVIORS 

There are certain behaviors that sponsors display that can help teams perform effectively and thus improve project outcomes : 

▶ 

Resource. 

Liaise with the organization to ensure the team has the necessary skill sets  and the physical resources needed to deliver the project. 

▶ 

Guide. 

Provide a motivating vision around which the team can rally. 

▶ 

Align. 

Maintain alignment between the organization’s strategic goals and the project outcomes. If the market changes or the organization’s goals shift, work with the project team to pivot the direction of the project to meet the current needs. 

▶ 

Tailor. 

Work alongside the team to tailor the structure, culture, processes, roles, and work to optimize outcomes. 

▶ 

Influence. 

Enable the needed changes for adoption to the post-project operations.  This includes leadership, engagement, and collaboration with stakeholders throughout  the organization. 

▶ 

Communicate. 

Provide an ongoing exchange of information from the organization  to the team and from the team to the organization. 

▶ 

Partner. 

Partner with the team in achieving success. This can include coaching, mentoring, and demonstrating a personal commitment to the project goal. 

▶ 

Check. 

Engage with the team to stimulate critical thinking by asking questions, challenging assumptions, and fostering innovation. 

▶ 

Unblock. 

Remove impediments and barriers and resolve issues that are outside the team’s authority or ability to address.

CONCLUSION 

The strategic link that the sponsor provides both empowers and enables the project team  to optimize its performance by maintaining alignment with the organization’s strategy. The sponsor facilitates engagement and decision making and ensures that the skills and resources needed  are available. These activities and behaviors increase the likelihood of achieving the desired  project outcomes.

Contributors and Reviewers of The Standard for Project Management and A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge

CONTRIBUTORS

The following list of contributors had input into shaping the content of the standard and/or the guide. Individuals listed in bold served

Models, Methods, and Artifacts

OVERVIEW 

This section provides a high level description of some commonly used models, methods, and artifacts that are useful in managing projects. The items listed in this section are not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive, but rather to help project teams think about the options available to them.

In the context of this guide, terms are defined as follows : 

▶ 

Model. 

A model is a thinking strategy to explain a process, framework, or phenomenon. 

▶ 

Method. 

A method is the means for achieving an outcome, output, result, or project deliverable. 

▶ 

Artifact. 

An artifact can be a template, document, output, or project deliverable.

As project teams consider the tailoring questions in and decide on specific responses to those questions, they will start to build a framework for structuring their efforts to deliver the project outcomes. For example, project teams select specific methods to enable capturing and sharing the applicable information so they can track progress, improve project team performance in real time, and engage stakeholders.

Figure shows how tailoring includes the models and methods used to perform work in the project performance domains. The deliverables and the artifacts are also tailored to the project, internal environment, and external environment.

Tailoring to Fit the Project Context and Environment

As with any process, the use of models, methods, and artifacts has associated costs related to time, level of expertise/proficiency in use, impact on productivity, etc. Project teams should consider these implications when deciding which elements to use. As much as possible, project teams should avoid using anything that :

▶ 

Duplicates or adds unnecessary effort, 

▶ 

Is not useful to the project team and its stakeholders, 

▶ 

Produces incorrect or misleading information, or 

▶ 

Caters to individual needs versus those of the project team.

COMMONLY USED MODELS 

Models reflect small scale, simplified views of reality and present scenarios, strategies, or approaches for optimizing work processes and efforts. A model helps to explain how something works in the real world. Models can shape behavior and point to approaches for solving problems or meeting needs. Some models were developed with projects and project teams in mind, others are more general in nature. Where feasible, models in this section are presented as they apply to projects. The content in this section does not describe how to develop or create new models.

The model descriptions presented provide a high-level view. Project team members and other stakeholders can refer to many sources (e.g., PMI’s library of standards products and PMIstandards+™) for more complete descriptions and explanations of the models.

SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP MODELS 

Situational leadership models are a subset of a vast array of leadership models. Just as project teams tailor the processes, methods, life cycles, and development approaches, leadership styles are also tailored. Situational leadership models describe ways to tailor one’s leadership style to meet the needs of the individual and the project team. The following are examples of two situational leadership models.

Situational Leadership II 

Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership II measures project team member development using competence and commitment as the two main variables. Competence is the combination of ability, knowledge, and skill. Commitment speaks to the confidence and motivation an individual has. As an individual’s competence and commitment evolve, leadership styles evolve from directing to coaching to supporting to delegating in order to meet the individual’s needs.

OSCAR Model 

The OSCAR coaching and mentoring model was developed by Karen Whittleworth and Andrew Gilbert. It helps individuals adapt their coaching or leadership styles to support individuals who have an action plan for personal development. The model refers to five contributing factors :

▶ 

Outcome. 

An outcome identifies the long term goals of an individual and the desired  result from each conversation session. 

▶ 

Situation. 

A situation enables conversation about the current skills, abilities, and knowledge level of the project team member ; why the person is at that level ; and how that level impacts the individual’s performance and peer relationships. 

▶ 

Choices/consequences. 

Choice and/or consequences identify all the potential avenues for attaining the desired outcome and the consequences of each choice so an individual can choose viable avenues for reaching their long term goals. 

▶ 

Actions. 

An action commits to specific improvements by focusing on immediate and attainable targets that an individual can work toward within a specified time frame. 

▶ 

Review. 

Holding regular meetings offers support and helps to ensure that individuals remain motivated and on track.

COMMUNICATION MODELS

Project success is dependent on effective communication. Communication models demonstrate concepts associated with how sender and receiver frames of reference impact the effectiveness of communication, how the communication medium influences the effectiveness of communication, and the types of disconnects between end user expectations and reality. With the prevalence of multicultural project teams and dispersed stakeholders, these models provide a way of viewing communication styles and methods to enhance communication efficiency and effectiveness. There are many communication models that demonstrate different aspects of communication. 

Cross Cultural Communication 

A communication model developed by Browaeys and Price incorporates the idea that the message itself and how it is transmitted is influenced by the sender’s current knowledge, experience, language, thinking, and communication styles, as well as stereotypes and relationship to the receiver. Similarly, the receiver’s knowledge, experience, language, thinking, and communication styles, as well as stereotypes and relationship to the sender will influence how the message is interpreted.

Effectiveness of Communication Channels 

Alistair Cockburn developed a model that describes the communication channels along the axes of effectiveness and richness. As defined by Richard Daft and Robert Lengel, richness relates to the amount of learning that can be transmitted through a medium. Media richness is a function of characteristics, including the ability to : 

▶ 

Handle multiple information cues simultaneously, 

▶ 

Facilitate rapid feedback, 

▶ 

Establish a personal focus, and 

▶ 

Utilize natural language.

Richness in communication allows a broad spectrum of information to be conveyed rapidly.  Situations that entail complex, complicated, and personal information benefit from richer communication channels, such as face to face communication. Situations that impart simple,  factual information can use less rich communication channels such as a note or a text message.

Gulf of Execution and Evaluation 

Donald Norman described the gulf of execution as the degree to which an item corresponds with what a person expects it to do. Said another way, it is the difference between the intention of a user and what the item allows them to do or supports them in doing. A car that has the ability to parallel park itself would have a gulf of execution if the driver expected to push a button labeled “park” and have the car park itself, and the car did not park itself

The gulf of evaluation is the degree to which an item supports the user in discovering how to interpret the item and interact with it effectively. The same parking example would show a gulf of evaluation if the controls were not designed in such a way that the driver could easily determine how to initiate the self parking function.

MOTIVATION MODELS 

People perform better when they are motivated, and people are motivated by different things. Understanding what motivates project team members and other stakeholders helps to tailor rewards to the individual, thereby eliciting more effective engagement. There are a significant number of models that illustrate how people are motivated. 

Hygiene and Motivational Factors 

Frederick Herzberg conducted a study of motivational factors in working life. He believed that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction stem from conditions called motivational factors. Motivational factors include matters that relate to the content of the work, such as achievement, growth, and advancement. Insufficient motivational factors lead to dissatisfaction. Sufficient motivational factors lead to satisfaction.

Herzberg also identified hygiene factors related to the work, such as company policies, salary, and the physical environment. If hygiene factors are insufficient, they cause dissatisfaction. However, even if they are sufficient, they do not lead to satisfaction.