Critical to any projects success is having a good project manager we all know but after that then it is pretty important to have a good project sponsor, in fact it can be argued that the project sponsor is the more critical role; but, like the saying goes, ‘you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your relatives’ and the same is true of project sponsors.

There are many ‘types’ of project sponsor and some are really good at what they do but most can, at best, be described as the ‘accidental project sponsor’ – never having been trained, supported, or advised as to what is expected of them. This was confirmed in some startling figures uncovered during the research for our book ‘Strategies for Project Sponsorship’ (Management Concepts Press) – remember these numbers, 85, 83 and 100. We found that 85 % of people who responded to our survey declared that their organizations had ‘project sponsorship in place’, a good number, not perfect of course, but not bad. But then 83% of the same organizations did absolutely nothing to help, aid, guide, support, train the sponsors in place, they just assumed that they could ‘learn on the job’ or naturally had all the skills necessary. And finally, to cap it all off, 100% of people said that ‘project sponsorship was critical to project success’. Well these are pretty a scary numbers, and we are not alone in focusing on this key issue, The Standish Group in its report Chaos Manifesto 2012: The Year of The Executive Sponsor, stated: ‘We believe improvement in the skills of the executive sponsor is the single most important factor that will increase project success’.

If you are a project manager then ‘Strategies for Project Sponsorship’ offers advice on many types of sponsor with suggestions for ways to work with them, or compensate for their ‘skills’ or ‘interest’ gaps. They also speak of the concept of a ‘balanced sponsor’ – being involved in the project, being objective about the project, being supportive of the project, and being reactive to project needs.

The authors then turn their attention to the project sponsors themselves with a definition of what makes for a good sponsor and how to develop these skills.

And finally a challenge is laid down to the organizations themselves to take project sponsorship seriously and invest in their sponsors (and therefore in their project portfolio).

Remember, 85, 83 and 100 and join us in the Campaign for Real Project Sponsors.

It has been said that ‘A project is one small step for the project sponsor, one giant leap for the project manager’ – but wouldn’t we all be that much happier if that ‘giant leap’ was supported by a really focused and competent project sponsor?

 

 

Vicki James, PMP, CBAP (Seattle, WA, USA) http://www.project-pro.us    Vicki is passionate about learning and sharing best practices in project management and business analysis. Certified in both project management (Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute since 2005) and business analysis (Certified Business Analysis Professional from the International Institute of Business Analysis in since 2010) provides a broad view to support project governance and processes. Vicki spent 11-years in the public sector successfully delivering projects to support governmental operations. Today she provides private consulting to government and private industry clients in addition to writing and presenting on all things project. Vicki is a contributor to The Complete Project Manager (2012) by Randall Englund and Alfonso Bucero as well as a popular blogger and Tweeter.

Peter Taylor, PMP (Coventry UK) http://www.thelazyprojectmanager.com/   Peter Taylor is the author of two best-selling books on ‘Productive Laziness’ – ‘The Lazy Winner’ and ‘The Lazy Project Manager’. In the last 4 years he has focused on writing and lecturing with over 200 presentations around the world in over 20 countries and with new books out including ‘The Lazy Project Manager and the Project from Hell’, ‘Strategies for Project Sponsorship’, ‘Leading Successful PMOs’, and ‘The Project Manager Who Smiled’. He has been described as ‘perhaps the most entertaining and inspiring speaker in the project management world today’ and he also acts as an independent consultant working with some of the major organizations in the world coaching executive sponsors, PMO leaders and project managers.  His mission is to teach as many people as possible that it is achievable to ‘work smarter and not harder’ and to still gain success in the battle of the work/life balance.

Ron Rosenhead (London, UK)

http://www.ronrosenhead.co.uk/  Ron Rosenhead is known for his highly practical approach to life alongside project management. Over 25 years as a trainer and consultant with the last 17 years specializing in helping organisations to increase the probability of project success. He has personally trained, coached over 10,000 people in the project management world; some project managers, others project sponsors. He has worked across sectors: financial services, public sector, engineering, pharmaceuticals, universities, car retailing, It etc. He is a professional speaker and author of Deliver that Project (an e-book), is a regular blogger and tweeter. Ron regularly writes practical project management training materials which are in use all over the world.

 

To order the book and for more information go to http://strategies4sponsors.com/ and also join our LinkedIn group ‘Project Sponsors’.

Do you remember Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill”? I loved this song growing up. In it, the bill starts as an idea and by going through a defined process becomes a real bill and eventually a law! To me, this ties in closely with the job of a PM. As the project manager for some unique and very fun clients, I get to take projects from an idea to a real bill!. Or PPC campaign. Or nonprofit website promoting animal welfare. Or any number of exciting outcomes.

 

I may be completely biased, but I think project managers are amazing. I mean, think about it. Project managers take a thought in someone’s head, plan out all the details, work to make sure there aren’t any major roadblocks in the way, motivate their team to complete the work, and then present a fully finished project at the end to their clients or stakeholders. Just like the bill from Schoolhouse Rock.

 

THAT’s amazing.

 

At a lot of places, though, PMs can be a bit undervalued. On the surface, our job is easy. Some might think that all PMs do is assign deliverables for other team members to complete or nag people about when they’re going to be finished. When you think of it that way, are Project Managers really necessary?

 

The answer is yes… of course! But it’s not because you need someone to define scope, assess potential risks, and manage timelines for deliverables. Good PMs do those things and do them well. However, it’s the PMs that go beyond just getting the project completed and out the door that make themselves indispensable to their teams. To become a Great PM, you have to learn to put the end user first.

 

Building a House versus a Home

 

Project managers can often be seen as the Masters of Calendars. They set timelines and deliverable due dates. They work to understand potential risks for a project and how to minimize those risks. They assign tasks. They work with stakeholders to manage expectations.

 

In doing all of this, the Master of Calendars plans and executes a project from the very beginning stages to completion. Metaphorically and sometimes literally, they take the project from blueprints to completion. The “house” they build has walls, doors, windows, plain white ceramic tile in the bathroom, and unfortunate linoleum in the kitchen (since looking at fancier flooring options wasn’t within the original scope, and in an effort to minimize scope creep and project delay, the floor ended up being the cheapest and easiest to obtain material possible).  

 

It’s easy to fall into this trap. It’s what Good PMs do, and there’s nothing really wrong with it. They build these houses with efficiency — on time and on budget. But Great PMs realize that the end user isn’t looking for a house. They’re looking for a home.

 

 

Amazing Acronyms: Combining UX with PM

 

User Experience is a big buzzword in the digital community. Many designers and online strategists specialize in the “user experience” or “UX” of a site or online project. Essentially, a project with good UX will put the end user and his or her needs and goals first. For example, a website with well-thought-out UX is one that allows the people actually using the site to easily find what they are looking for, and it also affords them the opportunity to easily complete whatever actions will help them achieve their goal. The key here is that the user’s needs are considered first.

 

When I look at any project, I feel like I have a great opportunity to think about things from a different angle than the specialists on the team. I’m not a designer or SEO or PPC specialist. My allegiances don’t lie with one team or the other. I’m able to look at the project from a more holistic and outside perspective, which can give some interesting insights. Yes, I am still a PM, so I want to complete the project on time and make sure risks are mitigated and whatnot, but honestly, if I had the choice between delivering a safe project quickly that was just “good” or a risky project that may be a bit late but was going to make a huge impact for the end user, I would always choose the latter. It seems that PMs rarely stop and think about their client’s customer. Ultimately, isn’t that the person paying my salary? Shouldn’t we be putting their needs first?

 

At Nebo, I work with a certain group of clients on all of their projects, so I know their specific needs, the needs of their customers, and what problems they’re trying to solve. When I’m looking at a project for them, my goal isn’t simply building the house. I understand that having that foundation is important to project success, but I also look at whether or not that project is actually going to make a real impact on my client and solve their customer’s problems because that is how my team and I are going to be judged. If my project does that, then that’s where the real reward comes.

 

I’ve not just built a simple house with walls and windows and doors. I’ve given my client the keys to a place where their users will feel taken care of. I’ve given them the keys to a home.

 

Stepping Up Your Game Is Harder than You Think

 

So, being a Great PM sounds amazing, right?! Let’s do it every time! Wouldn’t you love to be able to make every single project you touch that impactful?

 

Unfortunately, it’s never easy being a Great PM, and sometimes it’s flat out impossible. There are definite challenges and risks that go along with it.

 

• ·         Potential for late delivery on projects
• ·         Potential to go over budget
• ·         Possibility of conflict with your client
• ·         Possibility of being wrong!

 

During every stage of a project, it’s important to stay grounded and think about the end goal. At certain points, you need to stop and re-analyze whether your project is really going to be as powerful as you had planned and if not, adjust. Even if adjusting mid-project means pushing back the timeline, going over budget, or potentially upsetting your boss or client, it is something to seriously consider. If you don’t push the envelope, all you will ever get is mediocre work.

 

It’s not easy or something to take lightly, but to me, if a project is a bit late or over budget but will really make an impact at the end of the day, then I push for it. However, it’s important to tread carefully and use your judgment. Some things just have to get done while other things can be pushed. The tough part is knowing which of those things you’re considering, and the only advice I can give you here is know your client, know the end goal, and follow your gut.

 

The Great PM Checklist

 

To determine if a project is successful, I don’t run through the typical “good” PM checklist. I don’t just ask whether all the necessary paperwork got signed or if the project was on time or if I was able to stay within my allotted hours cap. Instead, I run through this checklist of questions that are much more difficult to answer:

 

• ·         Did this project solve a problem?
• ·         Did it have an impact?
• ·         Did it solve my client’s needs?
• ·         Is my team proud of it?
• ·         Am I proud of it?
• ·         Most importantly, did it meet the end user’s needs?

 

To me, a project is good if it’s completed on time with properly managed risk and a pleased client; however, that project could still be a complete failure. A project is great when you are able to provide something really valuable to the end user that solves his or her problems.

 

The way I see it, you have two choices. You can be the kind of PM who stops at managing budgets, calendars, and deliverables; or you can be the kind of PM who fights for the decisions along the course of a project that will help it make a positive impact.

 

Which do you want to be?

 

This post was created by Abigail McCauley, a Digital Project Manager at Nebo Agency.  Connect with her on Twitter

The Communications plan describes who needs what information, when they will need it, where to deliver it, how to deliver it, who is responsible for delivering it, and the need for it.

Create the Communications plan at the beginning of the project and fully expand its use as the project ramps-up. Update the plan throughout the life of the project.

The Communications plan, created by the project manager, addresses the entire project organization. The planning framework identifies the communication goals, strategy and overall information requirements and distribution structure based on the project organization.

 

The Communications plan is formal or informal, highly detailed or broadly framed.

 

Development Approach

Step 1: Determine meeting and reporting requirements.

Review memos from the sponsor, the Contracts, the Project definition, the Project governance structure, Supplier Agreements, and the Organizational breakdown structure (OBS).

Step 2: Identify reporting and meeting policies and rules.

Review the Project documents to understand the specific project policies and rules for status reporting and status meetings. Policies and rules of the delivery organization often define the format and ways for status meeting and reporting.

Step 3: Establish information needs for all stakeholders.

Document communications aims for the stakeholders in the Communications plan and find the information needs of the stakeholders involved in the project. Analyze stakeholder needs and name the information provided and their sources.

Step 4: Determine if there are external media communication requirements.

Step 5: Determine stakeholder information needs and how to satisfy them.

Review the technical environment to find technology channels available within the project infrastructure. Map available communication technology channels to stakeholder information requirements and document in the Communications plan.

Step 6: Define formal reports to produce.

Define formal reports to produce to satisfy stakeholder requirements. Define the levels for which to produce the reports. Define the types of reports to produce for various levels and project organizational units and document in the Communications management plan.

Step 7: Define the project meetings.

Define the project meetings that will occur to satisfy stakeholder requirements and document them in the Communications plan: meetings are with the entire project team, one-on-one, or group, and face-face or electronic.

Step 8: Define how to share information.

Define the information retrieval and distribution strategy used to share information among team members and with the sponsor, including work products within and across the organization and document them in the Communications plan.

Step 9: Publish the Communications management plan

Review the plan with the sponsor. Ensure that the Communications plan is approved as required.

 

– See more at: http://www.softpmo.com/blog/Steps_to_consider_when_developing_the_Project_communications_plan.html

 

Michael Kaplan is Founder and CEO of SoftPMO™, a New York-based consulting firm that specializes in improving execution and resource management. He is a recognized leader in program management and serves as an advisor and mentor to senior executives. He founded MAK CON LLC, a consulting firm specializing in large-scale program management, in 2002. In 2009, he re-launched the company as SoftPMO, incorporating MAK CON LLC’s tools and methodologies into a larger enterprise program management framework.

 

In more than 20 years of practice, Michael has worked with several of the most successful organizations in the world, including Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, to help them achieve the full intent of their most urgent and critically important initiatives.

 

Michael is a PMI-certified Project Management Professional (PMP). His work is built on a solid foundation of research and extensive consulting experience. He loves to develop products and is quite good at UX/UI design. Michael authored one book—SoftPMO Project Execution Guide—and more than 70 blog posts, and created several popular commercial products. His most recent innovations are the SoftPMO Project Management Toolkit and socialpmo.co—a new kind of social media solution.