Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Tenth Edition

Working with Executives

10.0 INTRODUCTION

PMBOK^® Guide, 4th Edition

Chapter 4 Integration Management

Chapter 9 Human Resources Management Chapter

In any project management environment, project managers must continually interface with executives during both the planning and execution stages. Unless the project manager understands the executive's role and thought process, a poor working relationship will develop. In order to understand the executive–project interface, two topics are discussed:

• The project sponsor
• The in-house representatives

10.1 THE PROJECT SPONSOR

PMBOK^® Guide, 4th Edition

2.3 Key Stakeholders

5.1.2 Stakeholders Analysis

For more than two decades, the traditional role of senior management, as far as projects were concerned, has been to function as project sponsors. The project sponsor usually comes from the executive levels and has the primary responsibility of maintaining executive–client contact. The sponsor ensures that the correct information from the contractor's organization is reaching executives in the customer's organization, that there is no filtering of information from the contractor to the customer, and that someone at the executive levels is making sure that the customer's money is being spent wisely. The project sponsor will normally transmit ...