The Project Management Workshop Suite

Building the Foundation	Planning and Execution In-Depth	Playing your Special Role
PM1: Foundations of Project Management PM2: Improving Project Outcomes	PM3: Project Planning and Scheduling PM4: Project Execution and Management	PM5: The Strong Project Team Leader PM6: The Vital Project Sponsor

The Vital Project Sponsor
Ensuring projects deliver business value

Duration: 4.5 hours

Audience: This course is an important investment of time for individuals responsible for sponsoring projects - those who are currently sponsoring a project, those who are interested in sponsoring projects, heads of business units / departments, and functional managers whose resources are staffing project work.

Description: Projects transform strategy into results. Research across multiple industries shows that poor leadership at all levels is one of the top ten reasons that projects -- and ultimately the business strategies they support -- fail. This seminar addresses key issues of project sponsorship in ensuring a team plans and manages their project to ultimately deliver the intended business value. It defines the project sponsor role and key tools the sponsor must employ to help the team meet the right scope, schedule, cost and quality goals. It provides the perspective and tools to provide effective sponsorship for a project team - keeping it focused on the business objective, helping it move through decisions, and removing organizational barriers to project success.

Learning Objectives: Upon completion, the participant will understand:

• The key roles of a sponsor through the project life-cycle
• How to execute the sponsors' role in initiating projects and negotiating time, resources, and scope to achieve the desired business outcomes
• How to set expectations and effectively communicate with the project manager/leader and team
• How to help a team mitigate "scope creep" and manage project changes
• Questions to ask to help address project challenges and mitigate risks
• Simple reporting tools to use with the team to keep informed about project status
• How to help the team move quickly and avoid paralysis of decision-making
• How to manage relationships with cross-functional managers in support of project outcomes