In the world of project management, the role of a project sponsor is often underappreciated yet crucial. This article will explore the empowering influence a project sponsor can have on a project's life cycle. We'll also explain how their strategic guidance, support, and advocacy can significantly enhance project outcomes and foster a culture of success within an organization.
Who Is the Project Sponsor?
A project sponsor is typically a senior executive in an organization who acts as the key supporter and advocate for a particular project. They play a crucial role in the successful execution of the project by providing strategic guidance, securing necessary resources, and ensuring alignment with the organization's objectives.
The project sponsor is often responsible for championing the project within the organization, resolving any issues that arise, and making critical decisions that impact the project's direction and success. Their commitment and involvement drive the project toward its intended goals and outcomes.
What Does a Project Sponsor Do?
A project sponsor champions a project within an organization, typically providing financial resources and the necessary infrastructure for its successful implementation. This individual is directly involved in ensuring the project's successful completion.
The duties of a project sponsor are listed below.
- Providing On-Call Support: The project sponsor is always available to assist the project manager, essentially acting as a key stakeholder in planning and executing the project. He often helps develop or review the business case and project plan.
- Securing Project Financing: Apart from providing the necessary resources, the project continues.
- Approving Projects: The project sponsors approve projects and determine their scope and budget. He usually signs off on the project charter and selects the project manager.
- Overseeing Project Execution: Sponsors work closely with the project manager to plan, oversee, and empower the project's completion. They are accountable for the project and are more senior than the project manager.
- Promoting, Advocating, and Shaping the Project: As business leaders, sponsors play a pivotal role in promoting, advocating, and shaping the project. They oversee the project and program management functions and risks.
A project sponsor is a bridge between the project team and the executive leadership, ensuring alignment with the organization's strategic goals. Their active engagement and support can significantly influence the project's success.
Why Is a Project Sponsor Important in Project Management?
A project sponsor is crucial in project management for several reasons:
- Overall Accountability: The project sponsor holds overall responsibility for the project. They ensure the project aligns with the organization's strategy and delivers the intended benefits. The sponsor is often seen as the owner of the project within the organization.
- Approving and Defining Project Scope: Project sponsors approve projects and determine their scope and budget. This includes selecting the project manager and providing the necessary resources.
- Driving the Project: Project sponsors help guide a project from start to finish by providing support, resolving issues, and acting as an additional line of communication among team members, customers, and stakeholders.
- Providing Resources: A project sponsor offers financial resources to initiate a project. They also secure the project financing and provide supportive infrastructure.
- Leading and Communicating: Project sponsors play a critical role in project vision and governance. They are responsible for communication, planning, leadership, and overall accountability. Even if the project manager implements a project, the sponsor has a vital role in its success.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Sponsor
A project sponsor plays a crucial role in leading and guiding a project to successful completion. Their responsibilities span the project's strategic, managerial, and operational aspects. Here are some of their key roles and responsibilities:
- Project Initiation phase: The project sponsor is usually involved from the beginning, helping define the project's goals, scope, and deliverables.
- Resource Provisioning: One of the key responsibilities of a project sponsor is to procure and allocate necessary resources for the project.
- Decision-Making: Project sponsors hold significant decision-making power.
- Risk Management: They play a pivotal role in reviewing risk management plans, which identify potential risks and their mitigation strategies.
- Communication: The project sponsor acts as the liaison between the project team and the senior management.
- Guidance and Support: Often, project sponsors mentor the project manager and the team, providing them with guidance and support throughout the project lifecycle.
- Advocacy: They champion the project within the organization, advocating for its importance and rallying support for its successful execution.
- Project Closure: At the end of the project, the sponsor reviews the project closure report. He is responsible for evaluating the project's performance against its intended goals, acknowledging the team's efforts, and ensuring the learnings from the project are documented for future reference.
Skills and Qualifications of Project Sponsor
All these skills together contribute to the overall ability of the project sponsor to guide the project to its successful conclusion. Here are some key skills and qualifications a project sponsor should possess:
- Leadership Skills
- Strategic Thinking
- Communication Skills
- Decision-Making Ability.
- Problem-Solving Skills
- Financial Control
- Industry Knowledge
- Experience
- Negotiation Skills
- Risk Management
How Project Management Software Can Help Project Sponsors?
Project Management Software, such as ActiveCollab, can be an invaluable tool for a project sponsor in several ways:
- Efficient Monitoring: It allows sponsors to monitor the project's real-time progress. They can track key metrics, deadlines, and milestones, ensuring the project is on track.
- Improved Communication: ActiveCollab includes communication features that streamline interactions between team members, stakeholders, and sponsors. These features include an in-app Chat platform, a comment section on each task, discussions, and notes where teams can communicate between themselves or with the clients.
- Resource Management: With ActiveCollab, sponsors can manage resources effectively. They can track resource allocation, utilization, and availability, helping ensure that resources are used efficiently.
- Risk Management: It can help identify potential risks and track their resolution.
- Decision-Making Support: ActiveCollab supports better decision-making by providing a clear overview of the project status. Sponsors can use this data to make informed decisions about project direction, scope changes, resource allocation, etc.
- Reporting: ActiveCollab includes comprehensive reporting capabilities, allowing sponsors to generate detailed reports on various aspects of the project, from time tracking to budget usage.
- Document Management: ActiveCollab includes document management features, making it easy to store, share, and retrieve important project documents.
- Time Management: You can track the time spent on different tasks, helping to identify bottlenecks and improve productivity.
Project Sponsor vs. Project Manager
A project sponsor and a project manager have distinct roles within a project, each with their own set of responsibilities and focus.
Project Sponsor:
- Provides strategic perspective and direction and aligns the project with business objectives.
- Makes high-level decisions regarding scope, schedule, and budget.
- Secures necessary resources for the project.
- Acts as the liaison between the project team and senior management.
Project Manager:
- Planning activities and resources
- Organizing and motivating a project team
- Controlling time management
- Cost estimating and developing the budget
- Ensuring customer satisfaction
- Analyzing and managing project risk
- Monitoring progress
- Managing reports and necessary documentation
While the sponsor focuses on strategy and resources, the manager handles operational aspects and problem-solving. Both roles are crucial for project success.
Project Sponsor vs. Stakeholder
Both project sponsors and stakeholders are integral to a project's success, but they have different roles and responsibilities:
Project Sponsor:
- A project sponsor is typically a high-ranking organization member with a direct stake in the project's outcome.
- They provide strategic direction, secure resources, make high-level decisions, and ensure the project aligns with the organization's overall strategy.
- They act as the main liaison between the project team and the organization's senior management.
Stakeholder:
- A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in the project's outcome. This can include employees, customers, suppliers, investors, or any other individuals or groups affected by the project.
- Stakeholders may not be directly involved in managing the project, but their input and feedback can influence its direction and goals.
- The project's outcome can also be affected positively or negatively, which is why managing their expectations and involvement is crucial.
While the project sponsor has a leadership role in guiding the project, stakeholders have a more indirect role, providing input, being impacted by the project, and influencing its direction.
