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what is the role of the project sponsor

by Abagail Becker Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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The major responsibilities and activities of a project sponsor include:

  • Negotiate funding for the project and be a spokesperson to the senior management
  • Provide direction and guidance for project empowerment, key business strategies and project initiatives
  • Identify and qualify project benefits and manage project benefits realization
  • Participate in initial project planning, including developing the project chart and the project scope

The project sponsor endorses and defends the project as a valued investment of organizational resources, an investment that serves the organization's strategic objectives. Provide approval and funding for the project. Organizations have more opportunities than funds and people to work them.

Full Answer

What are the responsibilities of a project sponsor?

What are the Responsibilities of a Project Sponsor? The responsibility of a project sponsor can be grouped into three categories which are vision, governance, and value. Their responsibilities include but not limited to initiating, ensuring, approving, and establishing a series of key aspects within a project.

How to work effectively with your project sponsor?

Your Project Sponsor may well feel they just don’t achieve much in their daily work. Project Sponsorship is an opportunity to share in the successes and achievements of a project. To really make the best of this motivator, devise a plan that allows your Sponsor to do things, and tick off actions that make a difference.

What is the purpose of the project sponsor?

The project sponsor is an individual (often a manager or executive) with overall accountability for the project. He or she is primarily concerned with ensuring that the project delivers the agreed upon business benefits and acts as the representative of the organization, playing a vital leadership role through a series of areas:

What makes a great project sponsor?

What Makes a Good Project Sponsor?

  • Shares information. As a project manager, you’ll be used to passing information up the chain. ...
  • Communicates widely when asked. ...
  • Makes decisions. ...
  • Attends the Steering Group. ...
  • Able to secure resources. ...
  • Approves changes. ...
  • Owns the benefits. ...

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What is the role of the project sponsor Pmbok?

Sponsorship Defined A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) defines a project sponsor as: A sponsor is the person or group that provides the financial resources, in cash or kind, for the project. When a project is first conceived, the sponsor champions the project.

What is the key role of a sponsor?

Sponsorship means making key investment decisions and providing top-level endorsement of the rationale and objectives of a programme or project. It also means continuing senior level commitment and support for proposed change and championing the implementation of the new capabilities being delivered.

What is the role of project sponsor in agile?

The role of the Project Sponsor is the most senior, and most critical role within Agile project management. Usually a senior member of the organisation, they are responsible for championing the project and delivering the results back to the organisation.

What is the role of the project sponsor quizlet?

The project sponsor is usually an executive in the organization who has the authority to assign money and resources to the project and is the advisor to the project manager. Are the documents, templates, agendas, diagrams, and other work products used in managing the project.

What makes a good project sponsor?

Sponsors need to be active, aware, engaged, available, and willing to help the project manager and project team deliver results to the organization. It's a risk that can be easily mitigated on any project and can absolutely make the difference between success and failure.

Who is a sponsor of a project?

A project sponsor is a person or group who owns the project and provides resources and support for the project, program or portfolio in order to enable its success. Every project has at least one project sponsor. They are the reason for the project.

What is project roles and responsibilities?

A successful project requires the project team to participate (at some level) in the planning process, buy-in to the project plan, and be responsible for completion of assignments. It is important to have a defined formal structure for the project and for the project team.

What is a project sponsor VS project manager?

While the project manager is responsible for the day to day operations of the project, the project sponsor seeks to promote the project to keep it high on the priority list, ensures the resources are in place to perform the project, and approves changes to the project.

Who is the project sponsor and owner?

Project sponsor versus project owner The project sponsor is a role filled by a person, where as the project owner is an organization. In general, the project owner employs the project sponsor.

What are the roles of a project sponsor and the approval committee?

The project sponsor is a key person who identifies business value to be gained from using information technology. The approval committee reviews system requests from groups throughout the organization and selects projects for the benefit of the business.

What are the major roles of a project team?

What are the project team responsibilities?Provide information, estimates and feedback to the PM during project planning.Provide business and/or technical expertise to execute project tasks (work)Liaise with stakeholders to ensure the project meets business needs.More items...

What are the responsibilities of a project champion quizlet?

a project champion is an individual who has the authority to use resources within or outside an organization for completion of a given project. A project champion is chosen by the management so as to ensure supervision of a specific project right from its initiation phase to its execution phase.

What is the role of a sponsor in a clinical trial?

The sponsor is an individual or a company or an institution that takes the responsibility for the initiation, management and/or financing of a clinical trial. An investigator who independently initiates and takes full responsibility for a trial automatically assumes the role of a sponsor.

What are some common goals of sponsorship?

Sponsor companies have their own goals and objectives when offering sponsorship, which can include the following:Lead generation.Improving brand awareness.Embracing a new role.Standing out from the competition.Gaining media exposure.Extending their reach.Driving more sales.

What is the benefit of sponsorship?

Businesses receive the following benefits from a sponsorship: It increases visibility for the company and its brand. It allows businesses to aim for a specific demographic of sales. It improves a company's reputation for success and refinement.

Why should a company sponsor you?

Well, event sponsorships are a way to build credibility and authority around your business. Essentially, you attach your business to worthy causes and high-profile events in order to nurture positive associations. Customers who attend are given strong reasons to believe you are reliable and trustworthy.

What Is a Project Sponsor?

The project sponsor is a person or group who owns the project and provides resources and support for the project, program or portfolio in order to enable its success.

Why are project sponsors important?

They are especially important as they have the power to approve or disapprove changes in order to keep projects aligned with business strategy. Therefore, you want to keep them well-informed.

What is the purpose of the project sponsor in the planning phase?

For the planning phase, the project sponsor is checking to make sure the project plan is realistic and feasible. This accounts for time restrictions and whether or not the team is tasked with expectations they cannot meet.

What does a project sponsor do during the project initiation?

Also, during the project initiation, the project sponsor makes sure the project is appropriate for the organization, offering input on the project charter and participates in the kick-off meeting. The sponsor helps with the decision making during this phase.

Why do sponsors help project managers?

Sponsors also help the project manager and team work more autonomously to solve issues as they arise, while making sure that processes are being followed. They identify underlying factors that might cause problems and celebrate completion of milestones.

What is the difference between a project sponsor and a project owner?

A project sponsor is different from a project owner in that they’re a person, while the owner is an organization. However, in most cases the project sponsor is employed by the project owner. The project stakeholder can be confused with the project sponsor because of the similar titles.

Why do project sponsors need transparency?

Project sponsors need this sort of transparency: they feel a part of the process and can provide the guidance they’re tasked to deliver to keep the project aligned with the organization’s business objectives.

What is the role of a project sponsor?

This is a Board made up of senior project stakeholders that is responsible for overseeing the project. As a project manager, you will be asked to detail the project’s progress and justify some of the decisions you have made to date. It is the sponsor’s job to make sure the group is effective and to keep the conversations on track.

Why is it important to get a project sponsor?

The project sponsor has a number of extremely important parts to play, from authorising the project in the first instance, to holding the budget and making the resources you need 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 your project fly.

What does a project sponsor need to do once the project is underway?

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. 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.

What is the purpose of each stage of a project review?

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.

Why is it important to maintain good communication with your sponsor?

Therefore, it is important to maintain good communication with your sponsor, such as sharing project reporting and updates to keep them informed of progress as this may mean the difference between your projects success or failure.

What is the sign off process for a project?

2. 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.

Who is responsible for allocating resources?

The job of allocating the resources is down to you as the project manager, but making sure the resources are available for you to allocate should be the role of the project sponsor. You will have to specify exactly what it is you’ll need in terms of people, equipment and skills in your 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 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.

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.

Putting the resources in place

The job of allocating the resources is down to you as the project manager, but making sure the resources are available for you to allocate should be the role of the project sponsor.

The project board

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. As a project manager, you will be asked to detail the project’s progress and justify some of the decisions you have made to date.

Risk planning

Mitigating the risks inherent in a project is another task the project sponsor will have oversight of. It is their job to approve or decline the risk mitigation plans you have put together that cost money, take time or have some impact on the project.

How can Hydra Cloud software help?

Hydra PSA software allows you to create personal and shared environments for different levels of teamwork and control. This means you can share information and documents online across multiple teams and locations so you can collaborate in real-time with the project sponsor and other key stakeholders.

How does a project manager and sponsor work together?

The relationship between the project sponsor and the project manager is one of the main keys for project success. Although it takes two to tango, the establishment and development of the relationship starts with the sponsor, mainly because the sponsor is the more senior of the two and, essentially, it is the sponsor who selects the project manager. Situational leadership is an important element in managing the relationship, along with expectations management, to ensure the building of trust, development of rapport, and establishment of strong and collaborative working relations and open communication. With that said, the sponsor's style and approach should depend on the type of project at hand and the challenges it poses. The challenges are a factor of the project's overall complexity, including the project size, reach, value, overall importance, and risks. Other complexity considerations include the ambitiousness of the project objectives, the stakes and pressure associated with the project, and the nature of the product/technical complexity of the project.

What is the expectation of a project sponsor?

The prevailing expectation from project sponsors is that they understand the organization's business and the corporate strategy very well. We also expect them to have good—or rather, workable—relationships with other members of senior management, with the board, with other departments, and with the relevant external stakeholders. In addition, we expect them to have sound knowledge of the business case and an understanding of project management practices. With that said, these expectations are more in the level of assumptions and, in turn, they are often not realistic. There is also very limited literature about project sponsorship and little attention and guidelines as to what good project sponsorship entails.

What should a sponsor do during the project lifecycle?

There are specific things the sponsor should do throughout the lifecycle of the project; from setting up the foundation for the project during initiation, allowing sufficient time for planning, serving as an escalation point, ensuring processes are followed during the project execution, and ensuring completion and hand-off activities are in place during project closing. Exhibit 1 provides a more detailed list of things for the sponsor to do.

How to enhance collaboration between the two roles?

In order to enhance the collaboration between the two roles—and with it, the quality and success of projects—we need to be able to articulate what the project sponsor needs to ask of the project manager in order to get a good sense of how the project is progressing, what to look for as evidence of a well-planned and managed project, and what to do as project sponsor in order to foster a culture of project success. These are tangible items that go beyond the above-mentioned description of the role of the project sponsor. Further, we also need to identify means for the project manager to communicate effectively with the sponsor and clearly define the touchpoints between the two roles.

Why do project sponsors not know who they are?

This is most often due to a misunderstanding by the project manager, and even the sponsors themselves, of what the project sponsorship role is about. Organizations are often reluctant to delegate project sponsorship and may keep it at the steering committee level. Project managers are often appointed to their role with no view of business objectives–—trying to complete the project with success criteria that are focused only on time and money. In addition, many project managers prefer that sponsors remain out of their way and do not interfere, or that the sponsor functions as a senior project manager for some project matters. Many sponsors are too busy to attend to their projects’ details, treating the projects as a hands-off mission that is in the hands of the project manager, and doing so without clarifying business objectives or properly empowering the project manager for the tasks on hand.

How to build a relationship with a project manager?

When considering an approach for building the relationship with the project manager, the sponsor must consider the complexity in context with the skills level and experience of the project manager. With low complexity and a strong project manager, it would be sufficient for the sponsor to apply a delegating style, toward a more hands-off approach. For higher complexity projects, the sponsor should serve a more supporting role for the experienced project manager. When dealing with project managers with less experience or those who demonstrate lower competencies, the sponsor should be more involved; ranging from providing coaching in less complex projects to a directing and hands-on role in high complexity situations.

What are the issues that require a culture shift in project management?

To get the full value of project management tools and methodologies, most organizations have to undergo a culture shift regarding how they deal with issues such as project prioritization, risk, contingency, communication, and stakeholder involvement.

Why should every project have a sponsor?

Every project should have a sponsor, someone who champions the project from a business perspective and helps to remove obstacles that might harm its overall success.

What are project sponsors called?

Project sponsors often are called by different names, such as product sponsor, project director, account manager or business unit manager. Some projects do not have clearly defined project sponsors. Even more common are projects that have sponsors, but the sponsors' duties are not defined and documented. If a project has no apparent sponsor ...

What are the key attributes of a successful project sponsor?

Accessibility, timeliness and closure of issues are key attributes of successful project sponsors.

What is a post project review?

A post-project review identifies what went right, what went wrong and where improvement can be made on future projects. The objective is to learn from project experiences so future projects can benefit.

What happens if a project has no sponsor?

If a project has no apparent sponsor or a weak sponsor, the project will suffer a severe handicap whenever senior management support must be obtained. As a project manager, if your project does not have a project sponsor, you can work to cultivate that role with a likely senior manager. If your project has a designated project sponsor, ...

Do project sponsors micromanage?

The best project sponsors do not micromanage a project. Instead, the project manager enjoys great flexibility to promote best practices in planning and managing the project and making day-to-day decisions. Decisions related to scope, schedule and costs that affect changes to external commitments must include the project sponsor.

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Project Sponsor Duties Throughout The Project Lifecycle

  • The project sponsor is involved in a project from start to finish which means that they have a variety of tasks, responsibilities, and duties through the project lifecycle. Both the project manager and sponsor should be aware of the responsibilities the sponsor holds so everyone stays within …
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Project Sponsor vs. Project Stakeholder

  • While the two terms sound very similar, project sponsors and stakeholders hold two very different roles. A project stakeholdercan be anyone who is affected by the project—from members of the project team to people who aren’t actively involved in the project’s process. Stakeholders can be investors, peers, customers, or superiors. A project sponsor on the other hand is generally not o…
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Project Sponsor vs. Project Manager

  • Both the project sponsor and project manager are highly involved in the project and responsible for the outcome and success. The project sponsor is the point of connection between the organization’s executive team and the project manager; the project manager is the point of connection between the project sponsor and the project team. The role of the project manager i…
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Collaboration Between Project Sponsor and Project Manager

  • The relationship between the project sponsor and the project manager can determine the outcome of the project. Clearly set expectations, frequent communication, and mutual trust are necessary to ensure a successful project. Depending on the complexity of the project and the experience of the project manager, the project sponsor can choose a more hands-off approach …
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Collaborate in Real Time For Project Success

  • Project managers and project sponsors rely on each other to successfully execute projects. To help both parties keep track of their responsibilities, tasks, and goals, reliable collaboration software is key. Asanais a work management tool designed to help teams manage work and hit their goals. With Asana, you can keep each other updated in real time and never let anything slip …
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The Business Case

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 pr…
See more on hydra.cloud

Putting The Resources in Place

  • The job of allocating the resources is down to you as the project manager, but making sure the resources are available for you to allocate should be the role of the project sponsor. You will have to specify exactly what it is you’ll need in terms of people, equipment and skills in your project management plan, and explain why these resources are required. The project sponsor may also …
See more on hydra.cloud

The Project Board

  • 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. As a project manager, you will be asked to detail the project’s progress and justify some of the decisions you have made to date. It is the sponsor’s job to make sure...
See more on hydra.cloud

Risk Planning

  • Mitigating the risks inherent in a project is another task the project sponsor will have oversight of. It is their job to approve or decline the risk mitigation plans you have put together that cost money, take time or have some impact on the project. For this reason, if you identify some significant risks at the outset of the project, it is worth having a conversation with the project sponsor so yo…
See more on hydra.cloud

How Can Hydra Help?

  • Hydrasoftware allows you to create personal and shared environments for different levels of teamwork and control. This means you can share information and documents online across multiple teams and locations so you can collaborate in real-time with the project sponsor and other key stakeholders. FIND OUT MORE
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What Is A Project Sponsor?

  • No matter the size or scale of a business or organization, a project sponsor is always at or near the top of any project management hierarchy. The project sponsor sits at the top of this hierarchy because they’re expert leaders who can align the needs of an organization with internal workflows. To understand the true value of this essential role, it’s important to clearly define the …
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Defining The Project Sponsor Role

  • Project sponsors are known as the drivers and in-house champions of the projects they are involved in. Broadly, project sponsors advocate and shape business-related projects, while also participating in high-level project oversight and execution. Every project needs a project sponsor, but depending on the organization, the title of the individual o...
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Project Sponsors vs. Other Project Management Roles

  • There are many different project management roles within an organization. However, project management functions at its best when roles are clearly defined. Here’s a look at how the project sponsor role differs from two important project-oriented positions.
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Project Sponsor Responsibilities and Skills

  • Project sponsors have a clearly defined set of responsibilities that fall largely within three main areas: strategy, oversight, and delivery/evaluation.
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Prepare For Project Management Roles

  • According to the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) 2021 “Talent Gap” report, employers will need to fill nearly 2.3 million new project-oriented roleseach year through 2030. Not only do companies need workers to fill these new roles; they need skilled workers. PMI’s 2017 Job Growth and Talent Gap reportnoted that the ideal skill set for a project-oriented professional not only fea…
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1.What is a Project Sponsor? Breakdown of Roles and …

Url:https://asana.com/resources/project-sponsor

14 hours ago  · A project sponsor’s role is critical for a project. They represent the organization. Considering the vision, benefits, budget, and key drivers, they ensure that the project aligns with …

2.Videos of What is The Role of The Project Sponsor

Url:/videos/search?q=what+is+the+role+of+the+project+sponsor&qpvt=what+is+the+role+of+the+project+sponsor&FORM=VDRE

17 hours ago The Role of the Project Sponsor: What Should they do? As a project manager, the relationship you have with the project sponsor is one of the most influential factors in the success of the …

3.What is the role of the Project Sponsor? - hydra.cloud

Url:https://www.hydra.cloud/en/resources/blog/what-is-the-role-of-the-project-sponsor

31 hours ago  · Project sponsors perform different roles from the project owner. The role of a project sponsor goes beyond managing the project's activities (the project manager’s work). A …

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

Url:https://www.hydra.cloud/en/resources/blog/the-role-of-the-project-sponsor-what-should-they-do

30 hours ago  · Project sponsors typically are members of senior management who carry a respectable level of influence and authority and serve as proponents of projects. Project …

5.Project sponsorship - Project Management Institute

Url:https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/importance-of-project-sponsorship-9946

11 hours ago To view or add a comment, sign in. Six Sigma Daily. 4mo. FMEA provides a step-by-step approach that first identifies a failure mode and then analyzes the estimated effects of the …

6.Duties of the effective project sponsor | PMI

Url:https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/duties-effective-project-sponsor-responsibilities-4469

11 hours ago

7.Six Sigma Daily on LinkedIn: What Is the Role of a Project …

Url:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/six-sigma-daily_what-is-the-role-of-a-project-sponsor-activity-6932784987532378112-ZPnO

29 hours ago

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