Archive for the 'project sponsor' Category

Why so few project courses for such a key group?

Published
by
Ron
on July 18, 2010
in project managers, project sponsor, project sponsorship and sponsor
. 6 Comments

Last week I ran a workshop specifically for project sponsors. Every person in the room was a senior manager, they sponsored projects and yes, managed them as well. 

On my travels to the training venue, I sent a Tweet that read: 

Running project sponsor workshop today. Why are so few courses run for such a key group? Any suggestions? 

Not surprisingly, I had no takers. 

So, why so few development opportunities (courses and workshops) for this important group? 

In February this year, Arras People published a report called Arras People Project Management Report 2010.   In their report, they found that senior managers lack of support contributed to project failure. 

Scouring the internet as I frequently do and looking at back copies of magazines shows there are articles about  this topic - not enough - but sufficient to give you a feeling that the training and development of senior managers is an untapped area. 

In my 16 years as Director of Project Agency we have run  courses for sponsors (see http://bit.ly/dcOXjX ) but, very few compared to courses for project managers. This is not for the want of trying. Much energy and effort has been put into convincing and influencing senior managers of the need for this type of training. 

So, what can be done to try and develop such an important group? I clearly do not have all of the answers however here are a few suggestions: 

  1. Pressure from project managers - on a couple of occasions a few project managers have returned from a training course and debated the topic with senior managers with a workshop for them resulting 
  2. There are many competency frameworks in use and maybe there is a link to one for sponsors. Clearly the performance appraisal process will need to identify development needs based on the framework 
  3. Critical incidence - projects do go wrong! However, how many companies really examine what went right and what went wrong? If the Arras survey is to be believed then some of the errors will be down to a lack of senior managers’ engagement. This would need to be rectified by some training and development activity 
  4. Conferences - I speak at a variety of conferences and this is one way of attracting attention of senior managers to the need for training in this area 

I believe the project management industry has not made the progress that it should have done. So, what suggestions do you have for engaging and influencing and ultimately developing this group of staff?

 

 

So, as my project sponsor….

Published
by
Ron
on January 18, 2010
in project management, project sponsor and sponsor
. 0 Comments

Project Manager (PM): Can I just check, are you the project sponsor for this project?

Project Sponsor (PS): Yes, I thought you knew that

PM: Well, I thought it was the case however, no one has formally told me. I am putting together various documents for this project and it is obvious that this will take me quite a while. I want to talk with you, the sponsor about the overall project governance process.

PS: Project governance. What do you mean exactly by this?

PM: Sorry, it’s project management jargon that gets in the way. Well, we need to define the boundaries. What decisions can I make, not make? Budget issues; what is my spend limit and who can amend the project on such issues as budget? I guess you could sum up governance as:

“defining accountabilities and responsibilities for decision-making at a strategic level or project level.”

PS: But you are experienced and have a lot of knowledge and skill. You do not need me to sort this type of thing out.

PM: I understand that, however you have said this is a high risk project. Without some overall project governance - you being involved then the risk profile gets worse! How are you going to assess that the project is going in the right direction? How will I ensure that I get the right resources? What sort of reporting is appropriate for this project; to you, to other senior managers? All of this needs to be sorted out now so I can build your requirements into my schedule.

I do have a suggestion.

PS: What’s that?

PM: Why don’t we grab a couple of hours say early next week when we can go through the requirements from both sides? We can develop our own check sheet. I am sure it will not take us too long. How does that sound?

PS: Like I’m fixed up! Must admit, I did not think we would need to do this.

PM: You can see why we do need to sort out governance arrangements can’t you?

PS: I guess so. It’s just I have never done it before if I’m honest.

PM: That is why we are having this conversation! Shall we say Monday at 10 am? I’ll get the coffees!

—–
Tag: project governance
categories; project management, sponsor, project governance

A project management register - where’s yours?

Published
by
Ron
on November 27, 2009
in project management training, project register and project sponsor
. 0 Comments

I ran a really good 2 day project management training course for a group of staff all from the same department.

The Director came in near the end and we spent some time looking at the number of projects as well as project management issues. He was clear that the time was well spent but would be even better if the work was carried forward.

After a gap of two weeks I called him to check on progress and they had:

• created a definitive list of all departmental projects
• identified who is the sponsor, project manager and who the team members are (something which was not at all clear from an activity we did on the course)
• started to check each business case is still approaprite before developing project plans

The next stage is to confirm the priorities for the project list and confirm delivery dates.

He was feeling happier about ensuring they deliver their projects on time, to budget with the right results and speaking to the staff they felt the same

So, where is your project register, are you clear who is managing which project and the timescales? Have you ensured everyone has attended a project management training course or has the right skills? Have you ensured you have identified the priorities for the projects?

If you have not done any of the above then you will as this Director said randomly deliver projects against loose timetables in no priority order and with little accountability.

 

Project management course proves its worth!

Published
by
Ron
on August 6, 2009
in project, project management learning, project management training and project sponsor
. 3 Comments

I run many project management training events over a year and I have heard many comments from many people. One recent comment however stood out. It was said with such intensity, such feeling that the whole group seemed to stop; listen and reflect on the implications.

So, what was said?

“I have just discovered I have 3 more projects!”

Those were her words. She went on to say that she now understands why the work had not progressed very well; there was no structure, no process. She described her attempt to deliver each of these new projects as haphazard and lacking clear direction. She felt the course provided her with a structure for delivering her new projects as well as existing projects.

Interestingly, she mentioned that each of these projects lacked an owner; a project sponsor. She suggested that this maybe one of the reasons why each one was not seen by her (and her managers) as a project.

This was a key learning point for her however one person suggested another issue was important to him and his staff. He suggested that many of the tools from the course were very useful. He went on to say that these tools can be used on business as usual activities and left the course buzzing and keen to talk with his staff about the use of some of the tools.

Training has many objectives however getting a person to identify they have 3 new projects and using the tools on business as usual are real bonuses. As one person said on their post course evaluation form; ‘this course has really proved its worth!’

My project is clear, yes it is…oh no, its not!

Published
by
Ron
on July 9, 2009
in project managers, project objectives, project scope and project sponsor
. 0 Comments

So, are you really clear what the objectives are for your project? Research by Project Agency  suggests that many people are still unclear about their project objectives.

When asked whether the scope and purpose of their projects is clearly defined some 48% of people suggested this is not the case. Now, it is easy to forget that 52% said scope and purpose were clear, but 48% is a high figure; far too high.

Project Agency operates like many Consultancies in a world where people are often new to project management. They do not have the processes in place which is why we come into contact with them. It concerns me though that people set out on a journey (a project) without knowing where they will be finishing up. It seems only common sense to seek some sort of clarification but yet many do not.

In case you think this is just common to those new to project management then think again. I have worked with several project teams where we needed to spend quite a bit of time clearly defining objectives. These have been experienced project people. It makes me wonder just how effective initial briefings are from the project sponsor!

So, if you are a sponsor reading this simply ask yourself just how good your briefings are and whether you are happy that project managers and team members are all pulling in the same direction based on solid objectives. When was the last time you checked the objectives were being adhered to?

If you are a project managers or team member reading this then are you really clear what your objectives are. If yes, are you all sure? If not…..ask and ask and ask again until you are! Common sense I know, but all too often forgotten.