1. MMU Project Management Community of Practice
6 July 2015
MMU Project Management Community of Practice
6 July 2015
Thursday, November 22, 2018
SSM in student services

2. Agenda Welcome and reminder of the purpose of PMCoP
Update on the Project Investment and Prioritisation (PIP) process
Main topic: Working with senior colleagues in a project board environment
Roles of the project board (Exercise 1)
Creating an effective project board (Case study)
Working with senior managers: challenges, issues and best practice (Exercise 2)

3. Why are senior stakeholders important?
Because they provide the direction for the project by defining the project scope and business requirements.
They also:
control the project budget
control the resources allocated
to the project
govern the project risk
focus on the realisation of benefits
recommend opportunities to
optimise cost/benefits
ensure continuity of sponsorship
provide assurance, feedback and
lessons learned. ? ? ? ? ? ?

4. Why are senior stakeholders important
Without the engagement of the senior stakeholders, the project (and, by proxy, the project manager) is effectively …
Doomed

5. Understanding who these stakeholders are
The project board is a group of people who are accountable for making sure the project is completed and that it remains aligned with strategic objectives and the business case.
Project Board structure
Project sponsor/ executive
Senior user
Senior supplier
The project manager is not a member of the Board, but reports to it.

6. Project Board Project Manager Senior User Project Sponsor
Senior Supplier
Project Manager
Stakeholder advisory
Reference groups(s)
Working groups
Project team member
Project team member
Project team member

7. Project Boards – Table exercise
Please match the provided responsibilities and expectations to the appropriate board role. …
Project sponsor
Project manager
Senior user
Senior supplier

8. Project Boards – Table exercise Sample answer:
Project Sponsor
Creates the Project Brief
Agree Project priority rating in collaboration with PIP Group
Authorise project commencement and closure
Ensure a project budget is secured
Ensure project resources are secured
Final decision making on expenditure and resource allocation
Chair the Board meetings
Recommend actions to PIP Group, Directorate/Executive or other appropriate University management bodies
Ensure Business Case benefits have been realised (via project review)

9. Project Boards – Table exercise Sample answer:
Senior User
Forecasting the benefits of the project
Provide user requirements and expectations of the project deliverables
Ensure user resources for the project are available
Communications with the user base and management

10. Project Boards – Table exercise Sample answer:
Senior Supplier
Confirm how the project will be delivered
Ensure the necessary resources are committed to deliver the project
Focused on making sure deliverables (products) are of the correct quality and meet the requirements

11. Project Boards – Table exercise Sample answer:
Project Manager
Helps to draft the Business Case and other key documents
Maintains the risk log and other key monitoring elements
Produces and monitors plans for how and when the project is to be carried out
Provides direction to project teams (note that project managers are seldom line managers of project teams, but they should have delegated authority to issue jobs to teams and expect teams to report to them on progress and issues that arise)
Ensures that the sponsor and project board are kept up to date with project progress without overburdening them with unnecessary detail
Monitors project budget, and – under delegated authority from the sponsor – purchase resources as required

12. Project Boards – Table exercise Some tricky ones:
Project auditor
Provide an opinion about the quality of the project design and governance.
Legal manager
Assist with the activities focused on contract negotiation, projects that require legal input, general legal advice to the business, and data protection compliance.
Work package manager
Ensure that the work packages issued by the project manager are carried out.

13. Creating an effective project board
Overarching considerations for any appointment to a role are:
Competence
Appropriate authority
Viewpoint/perspective
Credibility
Availability
Other considerations for appointing the right individuals:
The nature of the project
The nature of the environment
The project size (advice on numbers,
minimum/maximum).

14. Creating an effective project board – case study
You have been given a short description of a project and some information about potential board members. Assuming that you are project managers, discuss on your table who you feel fits into each role and why.
Project sponsor
Senior supplier(s)
Senior user(s)

15. Creating an effective project board – case study
Sample answer:
Project sponsor
Head of library
Senior supplier(s)
Head of LRT/LRT Mgr.
IT Solutions Architect
Senior user(s)
Library repository manager
Head of Research Centre

16. Challenges when dealing with senior stakeholders– group exercise
Please identify what challenges you face when working with senior management. Provide and discuss solutions and recommendations.
Challenges/Issues
 Solutions/recommendations …

17. Challenges when dealing with senior stakeholders
Issues
Commitment of senior colleagues
How does this project sit with their own priorities?
Meeting attendance
Resistance to change
Poor-quality inputs
Poor decisions
Delay tactics
Non-acceptance tactics

18. Challenges when dealing with senior stakeholders
Solutions
Develop a communications plan
Cultivate good relationships with the stakeholders (or their PAs)
Seek consensus from other board members to aid decision-making in order to maximise use of time
Use a common information-sharing platform, such as SharePoint, to store project documents and have people contribute to a forum
Show people how the new system or methodology will, in turn, empower them and enhance their effectiveness or give them more control over the quality of their work
Solicit input from team members to create risk-management plans based on past experience
Use this information to reduce resistance by adding elements to the plan such as additional walkthroughs and testing.

19. Thank you for attending!
Close
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be on the planning group
lead a session/workshop.
Fill in a feedback form
Let us know what you would like to see in future
Topic for the next session:
‘Project finance and equality impact assessments‘
Thank you for attending!

20. Thursday, November 22, 2018
SSM in student services