5

Working with the Executive Sponsor to Understand the Project

Collaborating on the Charter

The first way to engage your sponsor is to begin by drafting the Charter for the project. The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines the Charter as a formal document that approves the start of the project. I do not actually share that view. I believe the Charter serves as a great communication tool between the project manager and the sponsor. Review the Business Case, the proposal (if one was developed), and the contract if there is one. From all these documents, write a draft Charter including:

Background on the project, including the business problem the project should resolve.

Business benefits expected to be delivered.

Scope of the project.

Deliverables to be produced.

Timeline and budget.

Working with the Sponsor on Scope

However, there are key items where collaboration with your sponsor can be really valuable. First, and most importantly, determine what is:

In scope

Out of scope

In my experience over the years, there is usually general agreement on what is in scope. However, where things get dicey for the project manager is in determining what is out of scope. For example, many of my projects are the delivery of new systems for use in the business. Often the contract, or the Statement of Work, will include training. That is fine as far as it goes. However, I usually interpret that as the typical out-of-the-box training included with any implementation. However, many times when I highlight that customized training is out of scope, I get a pushback from the sponsor. He was expecting the training to be tied to exactly the way we installed and calibrated the system for users. Now reflect for a moment on the implications of that.

As you can imagine, training usually comes near the end of the project as we are preparing to go live. What if the last phase of the project is when I found out that customized training was expected? It would be a disaster. If I had included customized training as out of scope in the Charter, there are two possible outcomes that are much better.

1.My sponsor corrects my expectation right at the beginning, and I adjust my scope accordingly and include the customized training in my plan.

2.The sponsor does not correct me, and a key stakeholder expresses disappointment in the training offered because it was too general. At that point I can correctly assert that the sponsor agreed that customized training was out of scope. The focus of the issue has changed. In that scenario, the key stakeholder has an issue with the sponsor, not with me as the project manager!

Measures of Success

Another key element is getting the measures of success according to my sponsor. For example, recall that in one of my early projects, the requirement was to all users to create reports faster. We worked hard and delivered what we thought was a successful project. The problem was that I had failed to ask my sponsor how he defined “faster.” We had cut the time required to produce the reports by 20%. However, my sponsor had expected that we would cut the time in half! My lesson learned was always to make sure I understood how “success” was being measured from the beginning. It is the same concept we all used when we were in college; we wanted to know from the beginning, “How do I get an A in this class?”

Clarifying the Assumptions

In the Charter, I also want to include any assumptions and/or constraints that I perceive as part of the project. For example, in some of the systems projects, the installation of the system is on large, oceangoing ships. A constraint we have on the project is that the vessels must be in port in order to install the system. The assumption is that we have an accurate schedule of when various ships will be in port so that we can build the project schedule and deploy our project resources accordingly. By working with our sponsor on the Charter, which includes these constraints and assumptions, if a ship is not in port as scheduled, the impact on the project schedule is obvious, and the sponsor is far more likely to be sympathetic and protective since that was discussed right up front.

In most projects, the deliverables created will usually produce changes in the way people work. A key role for senior management is to help you explain to affected stakeholders when they ask, “Why are we doing this project anyway?”

Working on the Case for Change

In a standard format, some general questions require answers if you are to build a robust communication plan. Those questions are:

From a business perspective, why are we doing this project?

Why are we doing it now?

What are the benefits of successfully completing this project?

What are the consequences of not completing this project successfully?

Feel free to edit these questions as is appropriate for your project and your situation. These are all common questions that the vast majority of people impacted by a project are asking themselves and others each time a new initiative is proposed by management.

In creating a Case for Change, you are trying to shape a perception that builds awareness, knowledge and appreciation for the solutions you are delivering as part of the project (see Figure 5.1).

In the beginning, I always create a draft document, and I would recommend you do the same, so that your sponsor can correct and/or apply it. In most cases, it is far better to come in with a draft document that the sponsor can react to. Some project managers I have talked to have tried to start with a blank sheet of paper, and the exercise ended in a real disaster. Sponsors do not want to spend the time required to start from scratch. Even when you start with a well drafted document, you will still learn significant and valuable information just trying to edit it with the sponsor!

Figure 5.1: Classic Process of Perception

Of course, the purpose for the Case for Change is not to document all the gory details like cost/benefit analysis, return on investment, net present value, and so on. However, if you have a well drafted Business Case, you can usually glean many of the answers to the questions posed earlier—at least enough to provide the draft for the sponsor. As project manager, you need to engage your sponsor and then other key stakeholders to determine their answers to these questions. Please realize that some people may not be able to answer them in everyday language. They may tend to give you language that is typical of the standard Business Case, so you will have to interpret and paraphrase to test your understanding. Determining whether key leaders have significantly different answers from your sponsor’s is useful to both of you. The sponsor will need to confer with her colleagues to make sure of alignment and expectations.

Get Inside the Head of the Sponsor

There is another key purpose in working with the sponsor to address these questions: The answers you receive help you “get inside the head” of the sponsor or other key executives. Remember in Chapter 1 when I addressed the environment where projects are sanctioned? I mentioned that the leadership team has considered many options and decided on your project for execution. Working with your sponsor to answer these questions should give you some context for the answers. You were not privy to the discussions, and your sponsor might fail to give you that background unless prompted. Hopefully, working with you on the Case for Change will jog her memory and help you tremendously.

Figure 5.2: Working with the Project Sponsor

Presenting Information to the Sponsor

As you can see, I am suggesting an entire series of steps to establish your relationship with the sponsor in Figure 5.2. Each step will help you understand how the sponsor views the project and what is really important to them. That allows you to choose which strategy to use later on when you must present information to the sponsor.

In presenting material on the project to the sponsor, I have used a variety of strategies for organizing the information. I will first take you through the strategies, and then I will explain how I choose the one that might be appropriate.

Big Picture/Small Picture: I have found that this strategy is very persuasive to senior management because it explains how the project is progressing against the business goals that the project is trying to achieve. I work very hard to tie the data and information directly to those goals. I have found that if you cannot make a clear correlation to one of the goals, then do not use that information. I am not saying it might not be useful. You may have it as backup in case the data could be used to answer a question.

Problem/Solution: When I am reporting on problems or issues related to the project, this strategy can be very effective. In this approach, I may cycle back and forth between problems that the project is encountering and the solutions that the project team is working on. To be most effective, I attempt to think about exactly the questions that the sponsor would want answered and make sure to have the information to answer them and to illustrate how the information supports the recommended solution. Another variation of this strategy is the question/answer technique. You take the questions you believe the sponsor will have regarding your project and work your way through the questions and answers. Either way, the goal is to assure your sponsor that you have the problems clearly identified and that you are working on solutions. Remember, from a political perspective, appearing to have the project under control is very important!

Most Critical to Least Critical: I have found this approach is very useful if I find that my time with the sponsor always seems to be shorter than originally scheduled. Under those circumstances, I always start with the most critical information for the sponsor and work my way through to the material that could be left out without compromising the sponsor’s understanding of the progress and status of the project. That way, if I am cut short of time, I can be confident that I have covered all of the most important items.

Contrast/Compare: This strategy is quite useful if a recent project had problems and my sponsor is concerned about ending up in the same situation, remembering the political costs from the previous project. In this approach, I want to update the sponsor and explain how this project is different (contrast) and how this project is being handled more effectively. Then I point out how the current project may look somewhat the same as the earlier project (compare) but that the project team is handling the issues much better. At times, I have reversed the order and covered the “compare” section first and then followed with the “contrast” information.

So now let’s look at how I choose which strategy I might employ.

The first consideration is to understand the purpose of my update.

What do you want your sponsor to:

Know

Do

Feel

When presenting information to your sponsor, you should be able to complete this sentence:

“The purpose of providing this information is …”

I decide what the purpose is and work from there. I have always believed that people who think that the information will speak for itself are completely wrong. Please recognize that using the strategies I have just described is certainly providing information to the sponsor. However, a good friend of mine called the same old schedule/cost/issues briefing as the weather report. In labeling it that way, he meant that there is information but very little that would engage the sponsor. No doubt the information in a weather report might be useful, but do not get into that rut. I want my sponsor to understand the information the way I do.

So after I decide the purpose, I decide which strategy will help me achieve my purpose. In that respect, I often change the strategy from time to time. In fact, I may lay out a couple of options and determine which one works best. For example, if my project needs a decision that requires input from the sponsor, I will try out the problem/solution strategy and then the question/answer strategy to decide which approach will be more effective in eliciting the sponsor’s help.

If my purpose requires the sponsor to engage with or get consensus from other executive stakeholders, then I might frame the information using big picture/little picture because it will probably be far more helpful. The rationale is to discuss business outcomes and not technical details, which may or may not be of interest to the other stakeholders.

The second consideration in presenting information to my sponsor is based on the person and how she utilizes information. At the highest level, I have found there are two key considerations for sponsors:

1.What is their approach to information? I have found that some people are fact oriented and therefore I must use data. However, others will be concept oriented. For those people, I use ideas. I recognize that I may be perceived as stereotyping people, but here are some examples related to sponsors I have worked with.

a. Many of my projects have been for engineers or IT people. For those sponsors, I focus heavily on the data because they will challenge me if I do not produce it.

b. Other projects have been for people in human resources or training/talent management. For those sponsors, I must be more idea oriented.

2.What is their approach to outcomes? Some sponsors are results oriented and therefore I focus on the “what” so that they can process the information. Others are more people oriented, and so I must focus on how things will happen.

a. For sponsors who are results oriented, I have to focus on the specific steps to achieve the results and what the risks are to the outcome.

b. As for other sponsors who focus on people, I will never forget one of my sponsors and the first question he always asked me: “Who will be mad at me if we do this?” Every time! That may be an extreme example, but these people are genuinely concerned about how people will react to information.

So as you prepare to work with your sponsor, remember:

Collaborate on the Charter to find alignment.

Work to understand the scope of the project, particularly what is out of scope.

Recognize the measures of success so you know how you will be judged.

Get inside the head of the sponsor so you understand how to work with her.

Use a strategy for presenting information to your sponsor that matches your purpose and how she utilizes that information.

Points to Remember

Collaborate with the sponsor on the Charter as a communication document.

Work with the sponsor to define the scope.

Identify measures of success before the project starts.

Clarify all assumptions at the beginning.

Collaborate with the sponsor on the Case for Change.

Understand how your sponsor thinks.

Plan carefully when presenting information to the sponsor.