Question

What are the roles of project manager and project sponsor? Explain each separately.

What are the roles of Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Technical Expert (TE) in projects?

What is meant by project tasks being interdependent? Provide an example of two interdependent tasks.

What is progressive elaboration?

What are some challenges that project managers and teams face when managing IT projects today?

Answer 1

What are the roles of project manager and project sponsor? Explain each separately.

Ans)

The role may include:

Assigned to the project no later than project initiating

Helps write the project charter

In charge of the project; not necessarily the resources

Does not have to be a technical expert

Influences the project team and the atmosphere in which the team works by promoting good communication, isolating the team from having to deal with politics, enhancing the positive aspects of cultural differences, and resolving team issues

Ensures professional interaction between the project team members and other stakeholders

Coordinates interactions between the project and key stakeholders

Selects appropriate processes for the project

Identifies and analyses constraints and assumptions

Leads and directs project planning efforts

Identifies dependencies between activities

Must understand how to handle unrealistic schedule requirements to produce a realistic schedule

Understands and enforces professional and social responsibility

Identifies and delivers required levels of quality

Assists the team and other stakeholders during project execution

Defines the project change management plan

Maintains control over the project by measuring performance and determining if there are any variances from the plan

Determines the need for change requests, including recommended corrective and preventive actions and defect repair, and either approves or rejects changes as authorized or submits the change request to the change control board

Uses metrics to see variances and trends in project work

Works with team members to resolve variances from the project management plan

Keeps the team members focused on risk management and possible responses to the risks

Develops time and cost reserves for the project

Must have the authority and accountability necessary to accomplish the project management work

Must say “no” when necessary

The only one who can integrate the project components into a cohesive whole that meets the customer’s needs

Spends more time being proactive than dealing with problems (being reactive)

ROLE OF A SPONSOR

The role of a sponsor prior to (or during) project initiation:

Has requirements that must be met

Is a project stakeholder

Advocates for or champions the project, especially while the project concept is being put together

Serves as a voice for the project or spokesperson to those who do not know about the project, including upper management

Gathers the appropriate support for the project

Ensures buy-in throughout the organization

Provides funding

Provides the project statement of work

Provides information regarding initial scope of the project

May dictate milestones, key events, or the project end date

Determines the priorities between the constraints

Provides information that helps develop the project charter

Gives the project manager authority as outlined in the project charter

Helps organize work into appropriate projects

Sets priorities between projects

Encourages the finalization of high-level requirements and scope by the stakeholders

Guides the process to get the project approved and formalized, assisted by the project manager as necessary

What are the roles of Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Technical Expert (TE) in projects

Subject Matter Expert

Support the definition of processes and policies, supply business rules and procedures, and communicate the contexts in which the rules, processes and polices are applied

Accurately represent their business units’ needs to the project/program team

Validate the requirements and deliverables that describe the product(s) or service(s) that the project/program will produce

Bring information about the project/program back to the customer community

Provide input for the design and construction of test cases and scenarios, and may also validate executed test results

Provide input into and/or create and execute user documentation and training material

Test the product(s) or service(s) towards the end of the project/program (user acceptance testing), using and evaluating it for accuracy and usability, providing feedback to the project/program team

Guide other professionals on the project/program to ensure the content is accurate

Resolve issues relevant to project/program deliverable(s) within their area of expertise

Obtain or provide approval for changes to rules, processes and policies

technical expert

Specific roles depend on the type (witness or compliance) and scope of the assessment, but most often include:

Collecting relevant documents and information (legislation, guidelines, reports, code of practice etc.) prior to or during the assessment.

Consulting with the ASI team during the field visit, and taking notes, including information on people interviewed, places visited, observations made, problems identified by the CAB team, etc.

Interviews during witness assessments:

Conducting external consultation with a selection of relevant stakeholders prior or during to the field assessment.

Participating or following interviews conducted by the CAB audit team on stakeholders during the audit

Interviews during compliance assessments:

Conducting interviews with various stakeholders, including representatives of the certificate holder or their employees following the instruction of the ASI Lead Assessor.

The technical expert may be asked to help with translation or to take over some of the interviews during the assessment depending on the circumstances (e.g. cultural or language aspects).

Other tasks assigned by the Lead assessor within the framework of the assessment, but shall be clearly limited to non-decision making tasks.

What is meant by project tasks being interdependent

Project Interdependency is a term used to denote a situation when two or more projects are related to each other in certain ways (they depend on each other somehow). Project interdependency can be considered as a great risk for all projects that interrelate within a certain schema, because if one of them fails to deliver expected results appropriately, then all other projects in this schema will be affected too (if this interdependency is critical, then collapse of one project will automatically result into collapse of dependent ones).

What is progressive elaboration

Planning is an iterative process. Often times, it’s difficult to do detailed planning of a project in the beginning. As the project evolves, and more specific and accurate details are available, the planning gets more detailed. With each successive iteration of the planning process, the project plan becomes more elaborate and complete

What are some challenges that project managers and teams face when managing IT projects today?

1. Undefined Goals – When goals are not clearly identified, the whole project and team can suffer. When upper management cannot agree to or support undefined goals, the project in question typically has little chance of succeeding. The project manager must ask the right questions to establish and communicate clear goals from the outset.
2. Scope Changes – Also known as scope creep, this occurs when project management allows the project's scope to extend beyond its original objectives. Clients and supervisors may ask for changes to a project, and it takes a strong project manager to evaluate each request and decide how and if to implement it, while communicating the effects on budget and deadlines to all stakeholders.
3. Improper Risk Management – Learning to deal with and plan for risk is another important piece of project management training. Risk tolerance is typically a desirable project manager trait because projects rarely go exactly to plan. Gathering input, developing trust and knowing which parts of a project are most likely to veer off course are aspects of the project manager's job.
4. Ambiguous Contingency Plans – It's important for project managers to know what direction to take in pre-defined "what-if" scenarios. If contingencies are not identified, the entire project can become mired in an unexpected set of problems. Asking others to identify potential problem areas can lead to a smoothe and successful project.

Managing Expectations: An Important Project Manager Attribute

Impossible Deadlines – A successful project manager knows that repeatedly asking a team for the impossible can quickly result in declining morale and productivity. The odds of successfully completing a project under unreasonable deadlines are generally not feasible expectations.

Resource Deprivation – In order for a project to be run efficiently and effectively, management must provide sufficient resources. Project management training shows how to define needs and obtain approval up front, and helps project managers assign and prioritize resources throughout the duration of a project.

Lack of Stakeholder Engagement – A disinterested team member, client, CEO or vendor can destroy a project. A skilled project manager communicates openly and encourages feedback at every step to create greater engagement among participants.