Chaos report 2012

C H A O S M A N I F E S T O 2 0 1 2
T h e Ye a r o f t h e E x e c u t i v e S p o n s o r

CHAOS MANIFESTO 2012 2
Copyright © 2012. The CHAOS Manifesto is protected by copyright and is the sole property of The Standish Group International, Incorporated. It may not under any circumstances be
retransmitted in any form, repackaged in any way, or resold through any media. All rights reserved.
PREFACE
The CHAOS Manifesto 2012: The Year of the Executive Sponsor is based on
four Standish services: CHAOS Knowledge Center (CKC), DARTS (Demand
Assessment Requirements Tracking Survey), executive sponsor workshops,
and executive interviews. The online CHAOS Chronicles contains 100 Best
Practice Points. CHAOS Chronicles is a work in progress;; new research is
added and updated every month along with other supporting features.
Currently, there are more than 800 charts in the CKC. DARTS is an online
research instrument. Each month The Standish Group asks 300 CIOs their
opinion on a variety of topics, including quality, project management, and
service delivery. The monthly survey is 20 to 25 multipart questions. Currently
in the Standish DARTS database there are tens of thousands of data points.
We ran a number of DARTS surveys focusing on executive sponsorship,
assistance.
Throughout the last 20 years we have recognized the importance of the
executive sponsor in the health and well-being of project success and have
published many article and stories on the subject. It has only been in the last
executive sponsorship. CHAOS University alone had three events that focused
on executive sponsorship. These events helped us develop the framework for
what makes a good executive sponsor. Our focus now is to interview well-
known executives on being a good executive sponsor. Our goal is to complete
50 executive sponsor interviews, and as of this report we have completed
about half of them. Each of the completed interviews can be found in the
classic report section of our website.
This focused research on how to be a good executive sponsor is in addition to
the normal CHAOS research examining why projects fail. This research led us
to the belief that the number one reason for project failure is poor executive
leadership and an unhealthy project environment, which is the responsibility
of the executive team. CHAOS research is based on the collection of project
case information on real-life IT environments and software projects. Eight
different instruments were used in the collection of this information, which
interviews, general surveys, project post-mortems, and other instruments.
CHAOS research encompasses 18 years of data on why projects succeed or
fail, representing more than 80,000 completed IT projects. Through Standish
Group’s CHAOS University, we have hosted more than 500 workshops, as
well as many focus groups, project “group therapy” sessions, and executive
retreats that focus on particular issues of project management.
CHAOS DEMOGRAPHICS:
CHAOS results provide
a global view of project
statistics but do tend to have
a heavier concentration on
the United States and Europe.
For each study period, about
60% of projects are U.S.
based, 25% are European,
and the remaining 15%
represent the rest of the
world. Half of the companies
are considered Fortune 1000-
type companies;; another 30%
are midrange;; and 20% are
in the small-range category.
They span a diverse number
of vertical industries and
organizations. Participants
are made up of a variety of
CIOs, VPs, directors, and PMO
project managers.

Introduction
The latest CHAOS results show a major increase in
project success rates, with 37% of all projects succeeding
(delivered on time, on budget, with required features and
functions);; 42% were challenged (late, over budget, and/
or with less than the required features and functions);;
and 21% failed (cancelled prior to completion or delivered
and never used). These numbers represent an uptick in
the success rates from the previous study. Looking at the
differences between successful projects and unsuccessful
projects we observed that the successful projects either had
a skilled executive sponsor or did not need a strong executive sponsor since they were more mechanical projects.
It is this observation that led us to create this special CHAOS Manifesto. However, if you are looking for the traditional
CHAOS Manifesto with the 100 best practices, please see CHAOS Manifesto 2011. We believe improvement in the
skills of the executive sponsor is the single most important factor that will increase project success. Sixty-six percent
of executive sponsors do a poor job and shirk their responsibilities. However, it is not their fault, because no one has
good executive sponsor and has the ability to test executive sponsors on these skills.
owner of the project. As owner of the project, the full weight and responsibilities of its success or failure fall squarely
on his or her shoulders. As Harry Truman adeptly stated, “The buck stops here.” This has never been truer for the
executive sponsor of a project. It is unfortunate the word “sponsor” denotes a rather hands-off approach or being
distanced from the actual hand-to-hand combat needed to bring a project to a successful resolution. There can be
no distance between the project resolution and the sponsor.
In many of the Agile methodologies the word “owner” or “product owner” is used in place of or in conjunction
with executive sponsor. The words “owner,” “customer,” or “captain” might be more appropriate. In the Project
Management Institute’s book Situational Sponsorship of Projects and Programs: An Empirical Review, the authors
suggest dropping “executive” and just using “sponsor.” The rationale is that the sponsor does not need to be an
executive. While this is true, it makes the problem worse. The sponsor may not be an executive of the organization,
but he or she is the chief executive of the project. The word “executive” symbolizes a higher level of responsibility
than just “sponsor.” The executive sponsor, for better or worse, owns the outcome.
RESOLUTION
Project resolution
results from CHAOS
research for years
2002 to 2010.
Project resolution
from 2010 CHAOS
research.
CHAOS RESOLUTION
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
Successful 34% 29% 35% 32% 37%
Challenged 51% 53% 46% 44% 42%
Failed 15% 18% 19% 24% 21%
Successful
Challenged
Failed
37%
42%
21%

FACTORS OF SUCCESS
The 2012 Factors of Success show executive sponsorship as the number one factor.
Executive Management Support: The most important person in the project is the executive sponsor. The
executive sponsor is ultimately responsible for the success and failure of the project. We give executive sponsorship
19 success points.
User Involvement: CHAOS research clearly shows that projects that lack user involvement perform poorly. User
participation has a major effect on project resolution;; in fact, we give it 18 of our success points.
Clear Business Objectives: The most important ingredient in the project is the business objectives. The project
must align the organization’s goals and strategy, which is why business objectives get 15 of the success points.
Emotional Maturity: This refers to the emotional state of the project environment. Projects get resolved within the
ecosystem;; a healthy ecosystem produces more successful projects. Emotional maturity accounts for 12 success
points.
Optimization:
project optimal. This includes scope, team size, sponsorship, and process. Optimization gets 11 success points.
Agile Process:
and executive support success factors. We give it 9 success points.
Project Management Expertise: This is essential to controlling
the progression of the project and the collaboration of the
stakeholders and team members. Project management expertise
accounts for 6 success points out of 100.
Skilled Resources: In the eighth position and with only 5 success
points, it may seem that skilled resources gets no respect, but that
is not true. A project is made up of people, and success is on their
shoulders.
Execution: This encompasses process and governance controls. If
done right they can help with success, but all too often organizations
put too much reliance on them and lose sight of the goal. We give
execution 4 points.
Tools and Infrastructure: They can help a project succeed, but
like any tool they can also hurt. Organizations must be extremely
careful not to rely too much on tools for a project’s success. We give
this factor only 1 point.
FACTORS OF SUCCESS POINTS
Executive Management Support 19
User Involvement 18
Clear Business Objectives 15
Emotional Maturity 12
Optimization 11
Agile Process 9
Project Management Expertise 6
Skilled Resources 5
Execution 4
Tools and Infrastructure 1

MATCHING THE EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
Using Standish Group’s Executive Sponsor Assessment
(http://esa.standishgroup.com/) and the Size-Complexity Matrix
(SCM) you can match the executive sponsor’s skill level with the
project’s characteristics. The Executive Sponsor Assessment will
provide you with a total score for the executive sponsor, from 100 to
1,000. The SCM also provides a score from 100 to 1,000. Using this,
the executive should avoid sponsoring projects with a higher score
than his or her individual score.
The Size-Complexity Matrix provides a guideline for categorizing a
project in order to assess if an executive sponsor can take on the
project or an additional project. The SCM uses a 5-point scale for both
size and complexity. The lowest-point project is a simple, small project
and would be represented as a C1S1 and have 100 points. The largest
and most complex project would be a C5S5 and have 1,000 points.
The size component is a item selection that has two tables. The top
table uses labor cost. Standish only uses labor content to measure
size, therefore when selecting the project size in the table use normal
U.S. labor rates. The bottom table uses team size. The user can
take the average of both tables or select the highest or lowest table.
Remember these are guidelines, not rules.
The complexity component is an addition function. The user adds
attributes in each table. The user can use the average of both tables
or select the highest or lowest table. Complexity can add up to more
than 5 points, but it defaults back to 5 as the maximum complexity.
Once you have calculated the size and complexity, the Size-Complexity Matrix can be used to assign work, risk, or
even to move forward with the project.
SIZE-COMPLEXITY MATRIX (SCM) FOR EXECUTIVE SPONSORS
This matrix provides a general guideline as to how much
burden the senior executive sponsor can manage. An
average senior executive sponsor can only manage a total
of 325 (SCM) points at any one time, or the green zone. For
the yellow zone, a good and effective executive sponsor is
required. The red zone should be avoided and broken into
manageable projects over multiple executive sponsors.
COMPLEXITY
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
SIZE
S1 100 250 400 550 700
S2 175 325 475 625 775
S3 250 400 550 700 850
S4 325 475 625 775 925
S5 400 550 700 850 1000
Size
Select
Points
Under $1 million labor 1
$1 million to $3 million 2
Over $10 million 5
6 or fewer team members/
months
1
6 to 12 team members/months 2
Over 50 team members/months 5
Complexity Add Points
Base 1
Breaking new ground 1
1
Multiple team locations 1
Multiple stakeholder locations 1
Base 1
Breaking new ground 1
Diverse user objectives 1
Uncooperative peers 2
Uncooperative stakeholders 3

GENERAL EXECUTIVE SPONSOR PERSONALITIES
“There are different types of executive sponsors. There are
those who really want to get the project done for the good
of the organization. And ultimately, it should help him or her
in their career. The other type, while not outwardly trying to
avoid the project, inwardly—for a variety of reasons—wishes
the project did not happen,” said Robert Kelley, CIO and FDA
compliance consultant. “In most of these cases we see the
project has been delegated down from a higher level to this
person;; for example, from a senior vice president to a vice president or director. This person may feel the project has
no value or does not see the value in the project but is stuck with it.”
Scale. A good-quality to excellent executive sponsor sits squarely in the middle of the personality spectrum, and
is like a ship’s captain who keeps the ship going in the right direction. The captain is active in the project, but
course corrections and decides on major issues. The captain delegates most decisions and responsibilities to crew
members who have the roles of performing the activities needed to sail the ship.
There are two types of poor-quality executive sponsor at the extreme ends of the personality spectrum, characterized
as either a deadbeat dad or a mother hen. The deadbeat dad type has little involvement;; he shows up at the kick-
off meeting and at the end of the project when it fails. The person makes no decisions, ignores e-mails, and never
She is in constant contact, questions every detail, comes to every meeting invited or not, and hovers over the project
team. This person makes all the decisions whether or not it is in his or her area of expertise. Often, the mother hen
is very indecisive and decisions are painful and protracted.
drifter. That person comes in and out of the project, but is rarely there during crucial events. The drifter attends
some meetings and misses others, but rarely mentally or verbally participates when in attendance. Sometimes the
person answers e-mail;; other times not. If answered, it is with few words with no meaning.
and the captain is characterized as the nitpicker. The
nitpicker is always watching, so the team is sensitive
to his or her presence but the nitpicker does not add a
both cases of mediocre executive sponsor, the drifter and
POOR
Deadbeat
Dad
GOOD
Captain
POOR
Mother Hen
MODERATE
Drifter
MODERATE
Nitpicker
IT executives were asked to
rate their organization’s speed
in making critical decisions
during the development and
implementation of projects.
DECISION TIME
63 %
9%
28%
Swift
Calculated
Protracted

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR ASSESSMENT
“The organization really needs to understand which type of executive sponsor is running the project. All project
sponsors project an image and style of positive or negative. The professionalism and attitude of the executive
sponsor will be transferred to other members of the team, resulting in either a motivated-for-success team or an
infected group doomed for failure,” said CIO and FDA compliance consultant Kelley. That is why we created the
Executive Sponsor Assessment. The Executive Sponsor Assessment is a self-administered examination and is
distinct areas: personality, experience, and skills.
using the Captain Scale. “I think the difference between a good executive sponsor and a poor executive sponsor
comes down to the degree of enthusiasm. The successful projects that I have seen all had an enthusiastic executive
sponsor. Those sponsors wanted the project, wanted to see it succeed, and worked to have it succeed. Executive
at Fidelity Investments.
The second part of the test looks at your experiences. This includes projects you worked on as an executive sponsor
and other attributes around your experiences. “I have been on many project teams. I have seen a range of executive
sponsor competency levels, from the very bad to the very good,” said Larry Fleming, IT senior manager. “On the
extreme bad side senior management has a vague idea of what they want. They approach IT with their idea and say
‘We need this solution, so see what you can do and let us know.’ Then they walk away and you never hear from them
again, but they give you six months or some unreasonable time frame to complete the project.”
The third area of the assessment provides the 50 secrets to being a good executive sponsor. “I found that most
effects on the projects, whether it be political, organizational, or simply from a project perspective,” said Jim
Kneeland, CIO, PMO director, and deputy registrar of Motor Vehicles for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The following 50 secrets were developed from the 20 years of CHAOS research, but the order of importance was
developed from the DARTS survey. The following are the 50 secrets to being an executive sponsor in rank order of
importance.
GOOD EXECUTIVE SPONSORS
IT executives were asked what percentage of
their projects’ executive sponsors know how
to be good executive sponsors. Their answers
indicate that only 33% of executive sponsors
are considered good;; therefore, 67% are not
good executive sponsors.
None
About one-quarter
About three-quarters
About one-half
All
19%
38%
36%
6%
1%

50 Secrets To Being A Good Executive Sponsor
SECRET 1: INSPIRE
You, as executive sponsor, need to provide inspiration to the project team and stakeholders. You are in a position to
motivate them and go beyond just putting in the time. You need to tap into their creative minds and get them to think
positively about the project and the goals of the project. So, the question is simple. How skilled are you at gaining an
understanding of what inspires your project team?
stakeholders?’ That is exactly backward. The question should be, ‘How do you understand what motivates
stakeholders?’ That one took me a long time to learn. I am sure you have seen the studies that show money does
and team members. Then you gear the project to take advantage of those motivations,” said Richard Mark Soley,
chairman and CEO of the Object Management Group.
The executive sponsor has to have a deep belief in and conviction for the goals of the project. “Passion is key for
being a successful executive sponsor. The way the executive sponsor is perceived will carry over to the team and
translates directly to the team and stakeholders. The executive sponsor needs to constantly motivate the team.
People look to him or her to get the programming and funding going and run interference when there are problems,”
said Mike Sledge, CEO of Robbins-Gioia.
Soley points out that motivation can often be orthogonal and suggests making sure that the stakeholders get out
of it what they need to get out of it. “You know some teams in the software industry just want to have a product that
works. Other teams want to get the software shipped by a ship date. The quality difference between those two teams
is exceptionally different,” said Soley. On the other hand, Sledge said if the team senses that the executive sponsor
is just going through the motions, it has a major negative impact on the project. If the executive sponsor is not seen
as really caring about the project, the team and stakeholders will conclude that they don’t really need to care either.
IMPORTANCE OF INSPIRING THE TEAM
IT executives were asked to rate how important
it is for their project executive sponsors to
master an understanding of what inspires the
project team.
Highly Important
Important
Not Important
Somewhat Important
58%
31%
9%
2%

SECRET 2: KNOW HOW THE SOLUTION WILL BE USED
You, the executive sponsor, need to focus on the real user needs. This is one of the most important factors in the
overall success of a project. As the executive sponsor, you have to ensure the project team does not lose sight of
why they are developing the application and/or system. The team is developing the system to be used by users. If
you are tuned into the real users’ needs, you are aware of them, you understand them, and you make sure the team
concentrates on them. How skilled are you at knowing and gaining an understanding of how the users will use the
project’s solution?
Empathy, the ability to understand stakeholders’ emotions and feelings, is key to understanding how users will use
the solution. Project teams that not only can walk in the users’ shoes, but also feel the ground beneath their feet will
be tuned in. Project teams that have empathetic maturity arrange for cognitive structural development to address
users, gaining consensus, and performing primary research. However, this is just the beginning, not the end. Since
you are building a new system, the empathy is on how the users will adapt and accept a new system that they have
not seen.
license and vehicle registration. I decided we needed to improve service and, hopefully, reduce costs at the same
time. Although I had many years as a customer, I had very little understanding of what the clerks did behind the
what it took to do their job. I spent a couple of weeks behind the counter learning the ropes on new registrations,
renewals, licensing, and suspensions,” said the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Kneeland.
In their book Tuned In, authors Craig Stull, Phil Myers, and David Meerman Scott suggest you create a “buyer
persona,” which you could translate into a “user persona.” Having a user persona would help you understand the
true needs of the different stakeholders in order to address their requirements more effectively. Kneeland said he
learned how to deal with learner permits and tickets. Looking from the counter outward you get an entirely different
perspective trying to deal with the frustrations of the customer. An executive sponsor needs to understand the
process of how things really get done in order to make viable changes.
SOLUTION USE SKILL LEVEL
IT executives were asked to rate the skill
level of their project executive sponsors in
understanding how the user will use the
solution.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
23%
35%
35%
7%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS
SECRET 3: UNDERSTAND THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS
You, as the executive sponsor, do not need to have a deep understanding of the project management methodologies,
but you should have basic familiarity with your organization’s project management process. For example, you should
know if the project or projects you are sponsoring will be developed and executed under the waterfall method or the
Agile process. If your organization is using the Scrum technique you might want to understand lean methods. You
might want to probe why projects are being done using these methods and what the success rates are for similar
projects. How skilled are you at knowing and gaining an understanding of your project management process?
up with all six software divisions. The Solaris project was to involve 800 people and take two and a half years. That
project was a hallmark for me in what we actually had to do. Before then, software had reported to hardware and we
had six versions of the SunOS, one for every hardware type. Every engineer in the company thought they could make
changes to the operating system without formal testing. Sun, like Google today, equated process with bureaucracy
and wanted no part of it,” said Bill Coleman, founder and president of BEA Systems and a venture angel.
as owner of the new software division was to create the software development framework [SDF], which was really
a group of processes, but we kept that a secret. SDF was used until Oracle took over the company. It allowed us
established in 2001 to improve procurement and project success within the British central government.
A keystone program within the OGC is the Gateway Process. A key part of the gateway process is peer reviews. The
OGC’s Gateway Review Process has six gates. This was later developed and evolved into Prince2. Many organizations
Agile process methodologies by their style are: Extreme Programming, which is socially centric;; Scrum, which is
engineering centric;; and RUP, which is tool and management centric. While a basic understanding of the project
management process is important for executive sponsors, it is more important that you do not take on the role and
responsibilities of the project manager.
is for their project executive sponsors to master
skills of understanding the project management
process. Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
46%
17%
26%
11%

SECRET 4: SET GOALS
You, as the executive sponsor, set the goals. You also need to be goal-focused, which means having a central point
of attention on a clear objective. A project should be an endeavor that has a concrete objective or objectives. The
executive sponsor, the project team, and all the stakeholders should have a central point of attention on a clear
and understandable goal. You should also make sure that the project goals are aligned with the corporate goals.
Executive sponsors who have supported projects that were not aligned have found themselves in precarious
situations. How skilled are you at setting goals?
“As project mentor, the worst thing you can do is tell the team how to solve their problems. The best thing to do is
help them identify that they have problems and issues. You can help develop solutions for these issues, but it really
has to be their resolution, because they have to own it and make it work. If they think it is your solution they can
blame you if it does not work. As the executive sponsor, you want the team to own the solution. You cannot manage
these people;; you have to coach and guide them. These people are professionals. You need to put together a team
and delegate responsibility and authority. The only thing I can manage is my time;; otherwise I am micromanaging,”
said venture angel Coleman.
It is imperative that an executive sponsor get everyone to have the same understanding of the project’s business
objectives and goals. Each stakeholder will have his or her own thoughts and new ideas about the project. However,
it is imperative that everyone be on the same page. Divergent goals can cause the project to overrun its budget and
schedule or even prevent completion.
One of the ways to get everyone on the same page and have a shared business understanding is to envision the
should have a joint buy-in of this business plan. Each of the stakeholders needs to have a shared business
understanding, and that business understanding must support the organization’s corporate vision.
IT INFLUENCE IN SETTING GOALS
IT executives were asked to rate their IT
educating the project executive sponsors in
setting goals.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
53%
12%
28%
7%

SECRET 5: GET THE RIGHT PROJECT RESOURCES
As the executive sponsor, you have the ultimate responsibility for assembling the right people, for the right work,
at the right time. Skills planning is an approach in which tasks are broken down into the activities that must be
done at a particular resource skill level, but often the project manager cannot get the required resources. The
problem is there is often a mismatch between the available skills and the skills needed to complete a project. The
be very helpful in decision-making regarding resource allocation. How skilled are you at getting the needed project
resources?
Successful projects need smart, trained people. The human resources component of “Management 101”
competency. First, identify the required competencies and alternative skills. Second, provide a good, continuous
training program to enhance the staff skills. Third, recruit both internally and externally to provide a balance of
experiences. Fourth, provide the right incentive to motivate the staff. Finally, ensure the staff is project-focused.
“The executive sponsor has great leverage. For example, if IT is implementing a CRM and tries to tell the sales group
they need to book the order through the new CRM, the salesperson will come back and say, ‘Hey, what do you want
me to do, sell or play computer operator?’ The VP of sales, as executive sponsor, can tell the salesperson he or she
needs to do both. The VP of sales can tell the salesperson that if he or she does not book the sale through the new
CRM system it will not be recognized for commission. That is something an IT person or project manager cannot do.
Such an example is a common event in the cycle of a project,” said B. Lee Jones, an experienced and seasoned CIO.
The executive sponsor should help ensure the skills of the team match the needs of the project. To ensure a
competent staff, the project manager must understand the project, with guidance from the executive sponsor. The
project manager should know the range of activities to be undertaken in the project and be able to match skills with
those activities. Certainly the project will need a variety of resources, possibly a project executive, an administrator,
technical resources, and testers. The challenge consists of properly identifying the required competencies, the
IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE PROJECT RESOURCES
master skills of understanding the needed
project resources.
Highly Important
Important
Somewhat Important
51%42%
7%

PROMOTING EXCELLENCE SKILL LEVEL
IT executives were asked to rate the skill level
of their project executive sponsors in promoting
excellence.
SECRET 6: PROMOTE EXCELLENCE
You, as the executive sponsor, are responsible for driving to a high-quality outcome. It is up to you to demand the
most positive qualities and performance. It is up to you to instill a strong desire to execute the tasks and work within
a project, program, or ecosystem to produce an excellent product or service. You must never settle for mediocrity.
You must continually reinforce your commitment to quality and excellence. You must remove the phrase “It’s good
enough” from the team and community vocabulary. It is never just good enough! In each and every meeting you need
to stress a common message of excellence throughout the project community. How skilled are you at promoting
excellence?
A superior executive sponsor is someone who has a great attitude with a strong desire to succeed, a profound
sense of accomplishment, and the ability to produce a high-quality product for the organization. A superior executive
sponsor exhibits the traits of self-pride, cares about the team, is concerned about the quality and value of the
project, and is driven to produce a superior product that the community will readily accept. An additional element
that promotes a superior outcome is the serious pursuit of perfection for the features, functions, programs, and
timing of the ecosystem goals or objectives. It is recommended that you surround yourself with stakeholders and
team members who are serious, concerned, and have a sense of accomplishment for the project or ecosystem.
People who do not care will produce failure.
line between an executive sponsor who is focused on driving the value of the project and those who are focused
the team, he or she could lose the team. You really need to do both. You should always focus on the team in a
helpful way. For example, an executive sponsor could help keep the project in bite-size chucks. I think this is super-
important. The executive sponsor should help the team by unblocking barriers, prioritizing issues, and making their
life simpler,” said Bill Heil, chief bottle washer (CBW) at VMware.
One of the best ways to promote excellence is to clearly communicate the mission and objective. Reinforce your
commitment to achieving a successful project outcome and adhering to excellence. Periodically, celebrate the
management needs to have and broadcast commitment to excellence as part of its culture. Focus on areas of
excellence and track improvements.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled35%
24%
36%
5%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS EVENTS
SECRET 7: UNDERSTAND BUSINESS EVENTS
As the executive sponsor, you need to know that the longer a project is in development, the greater the likelihood
that the business requirements will change. In most cases features and functions will not be used because the
business environment has changed. For many years the IT industry has categorized requirements into three buckets:
mandatory, must have, and nice to have. As the executive sponsor, you must have the team focus on the things you
need now and deliver those as quickly as possible. It is also very possible that those features that were just built will
be obsolete and will need to be reworked or discarded. So the question is, how skilled are you at understanding what
business events affect the value of a project you are sponsoring?
“Sometimes you are in the middle of a project and the corporate strategy changes. This happened to me because of
a merger, and the direction of the company changed overnight. So, we had to quit the project at a logical point and
restart it in a different direction. There was some rework and additional cost, but we would have been worse off if we
continued the project in the then-current direction. It takes a few beers and a couple of pizzas to get over the shock
All requirements should be assigned a value, a yield number from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest value. Things
that cause variation in value are items such as new sales, lower operational cost, and increase in customer
satisfaction. Implementing requirements that support the current business case as rapidly as possible is a key to
maximizing return on investment (ROI) and gaining feedback on feature relevance. Always remember the quicker the
implementation, the greater the yield. So, you should keep this in mind when rating value.
“It is important to reset the perspective and get everyone back on the same page. This was a very hard conversation
with the executive sponsor, and in this case the executive sponsor had to present it to the board. Sometimes you just
need to fall on your sword,” said Jones.
The Standish Group’s OptiMix product helps with the rating of your requirements by their value. OptiMix will select
lower risk as another item OptiMix will recommend the lower-risk item.
skills of understanding what business events
affect the value. Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
33%
42%
20%
5%

COMMUNICATING THE FACTS SKILL LEVEL
SECRET 8: COMMUNICATE THE FACTS
In order to do your job as executive sponsor you need to obtain and communicate the facts of the project. “A
successful executive sponsor needs to be accessible, communicative up and down the organization, supporting
the project manager in breaking down barriers, and getting the resources he or she needs,” said Eugene Bounds,
senior vice president, Booz Allen Hamilton. “If the users, stakeholders, and peers have an easy and straightforward
method of communication, the more apt they will be to use it. For example, Theodore Roosevelt had his bully pulpit
to communicate his vision. How skilled are you in obtaining and communicating the facts?
There are several ways to set up a user communication platform, and it has never been easier, cheaper, and
quicker to do so. We have e-mail, instant messages, texting, cell phones, conference calls, beepers, WebEx,
videoconferences, and the old-fashioned way—in person. Yet with all these communications channels available,
projects still fail because of poor communication or no collaboration. In the spring of 2004, a major British
government project failed because the project team decided not to involve the users since they were too diverse
and geographically scattered. “The one most important investment an executive sponsor can make is to carry the
message on the importance and the impact the project has on the organization’s strategic objectives,” said Bounds.
A bully pulpit is an advantageous position from which to express one’s views. President Theodore Roosevelt called
the White House his bully pulpit. He used this bully pulpit to bring the Panama Canal issue to the forefront. Roosevelt
parts of the world. Digging the canal shortened the distance and vastly improved the movement of goods throughout
Using his bully pulpit, he was able to get the Panama Canal project funded and passed through the U.S. Congress.
Getting the project passed and funded through Congress was just the start of Roosevelt’s use of the bully pulpit. The
Panama Canal was one of the greatest project management triumphs of all time. Construction on the canal began
in 1904. The decade-long project was a massive undertaking. First, a railroad had to be built to haul equipment
and material to the construction site. Second, terminals, wharves, coaling stations, dry docks, machine shops, and
warehouses had to be built to support the construction. Third was the digging and construction of the canal itself.
support the project through many of the most critical issues and events.
17%
46%
37%
of their project executive sponsors of obtaining
and communicating the facts.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Moderately Skilled

SECRET 9: REWARD OUTSTANDING EFFORT
As the executive sponsor, you need to both recognize and reward outstanding efforts made by your project team.
You need to celebrate and praise widely. You also need to present a widespread and favorable public notice, as
through intercompany communications, of outstanding efforts. You need to observe a time of thanks for the efforts
and commitments of the project participants. It is your time to honor and glorify goals and accomplishments of the
project, no matter how small. How skilled are you at rewarding someone for outstanding effort?
Rewards can come in many forms: a special lunch, a bonus, an extra day off, or pizza and beer on Friday afternoons,
to name a few. Rewards can be for an individual or group. You may submit an individual or a group to a company
reward system. It is critical that the reward be special. In this game not everyone gets a trophy. The spoils go to
the winners, and winners are the people who earn their reward through talent and accomplishments, not for just
showing up. Rewards should be handed out on special occasions, such as when a number of steppingstones have
been crossed. If rewards become routine and commonplace they will lose their effectiveness. Rewards are also a
time when team members who are not doing a good job get ignored.
Tom Kelley’s book, The Ten Faces of Innovation, is a celebration of creative workers, team building, and an
imaginative work environment. The 10 faces of innovation are presented as personas. We learn that it is through
these combined personas, in-depth research, and the iterative process that great ideas emerge. Successful projects
involve the application of the methodologies, work practices, human resource cultures, and physical infrastructures.
anthropologist, who observes human behavior and develops a deep understanding of how people interact physically
and emotionally with their surroundings;; and 2) the experimenter, who prototypes new ideas continually.
Personas three through 10 are: 3) the cross-pollinator, who explores other industries and cultures and connects
seemingly unrelated ideas to form new ideas;; 4) the hurdler, who develops a knack for overcoming roadblocks;; 5)
the collaborator, who helps bring eclectic groups together;; 6) the director, who gathers talented people and ignites
their creativity;; 7) the experience architect, who designs compelling experiences;; 8) the set designer, who transforms
physical environments;; 9) the caregiver, who delivers customer care;; and 10) the storyteller, who builds internal
morale and external awareness through compelling narratives. A perfect cross-functional team will have all of these
personas.
IMPORTANCE OF OUTSTANDING EFFORT REWARDS
57%
31%
11%IT executives were asked to rate how important
master rewarding someone for outstanding
effort. Highly Important
Important
Not Important
Somewhat Important
1%

SECRET 10: PROVIDE CLARITY OF PURPOSE
and deliverables. The projects that I have seen that are less than successful are where the goals and deliverables
sponsor, you need to set reasonable goals and make clear to the team the measurements for the team,” said Raj
Clarity of purpose starts with simple vision. The simple vision should be concise and to the point. In written form, the
simple vision should be clearly spelled out in short sentences and paragraphs. It should focus only on the purpose
and objectives. In presentation form, vivid graphics and block diagrams work the best. As the project moves forward,
the executive sponsor needs to recognize the stakeholders’ contribution and show how that contribution ties back to
the simple vision. The executive sponsor needs to track the project vision and the corporate vision to realign them,
as changes to both may occur over time.
If the project is diverging from the current corporate vision the executive sponsor needs to take corrective action.
Simple vision should include a statement of participation and the roles of the stakeholders. If the project warrants,
it could include a request for support and a commitment to contribution. A mistake many executive sponsors make
is they do not articulate the vision. The executive sponsor needs to clearly communicate to the team what he or she
wants to accomplish with the program. Executive sponsors need to have detailed information and measurements to
know if they are getting the performance results that they want out of the program.
they match corporate strategy, you can usually win over the skeptics for support. Your vision must be presented in a
manner that everyone can understand. It must align all the stars in order to match the process and the systems with
the business goals. “You need to be able to link the program to the overall strategy of the organization and show it
to the team. The program vision paints a picture of what the organization looks like after the program is completed—
IT INFLUENCE IN CLARITY OF PURPOSE
providing clarity of purpose. Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
61%
24%
6%8%

IMPORTANCE OF TEAM MEMBER RECOGNITION
SECRET 11: RECOGNIZE TEAM MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS
While you, the executive sponsor, are the driving force behind the project, no project can be completed without a
team. It is important that you recognize team members’ contributions. This is for both big items and the smallest
detail. Celebrate the successes no matter how small. A good job and self-satisfaction is what most workers look
the team with a true sense of appreciation for their efforts. So, how skilled are you at recognizing team member
contributions, both big items and small details?
“An executive sponsor is a coach, not a manager. As coach, you want to be a sounding board to listen to the team’s
this huge, fuzzy problem and deconstruct it into manageable chucks. However, they always have to come back to the
vision. The vision has to be from the top down, because you always have to come back to the reason you are doing
Coleman.
needs a good quarterback. Like a quarterback in football, the project manager can do nothing without the front line
for protection, a great running back to push through those holes in the defense, and great receivers to catch the play
action pass or a long bomb. Each team member knows his or her role and responsibilities, takes on ownership, and
team knows their roles and responsibilities.
Show your appreciation and give praise to the team for their efforts. You will always have an individual who shines
above the rest, but be careful not to over-praise that individual or overshadow the other team members. You do not
want to alienate him/her from the rest of the team. Show your team that you are committed to providing your support
and backing at all times. Become a buffer to prevent unnecessary distractions and annoyances. Promote the team
order for them to commit as a team they must know there is full commitment from the executive sponsor and the
rest of the organization.
it is for their project executive sponsors
to master recognizing team members’
contributions, big and small.
Highly Important
Important
Somewhat Important
56%
5%
39%

IT INFLUENCE IN DECISION ACCEPTANCE
SECRET 12: OBTAIN DECISION ACCEPTANCE
Benjamin Franklin said, “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” You, as the executive sponsor,
will need to make hundreds of decisions in the course of an average-size project. The real concern is getting people
to accept your decisions. If team members just go through the motions of acceptance, but they really do not believe
in the decisions, then their compliance can impede the project’s progress. In order for a project to be successful you
need team members to embrace your decisions. The question is, how skilled are you at getting people to accept your
decisions?
“The executive sponsor for the custom sales force automation system at this company did not dictate what he
What he did was create user ownership of the project,” said CIO Kelley. “The executive sponsor made them feel
like it was their project, and he supported them by being in every meeting, getting the funding, and removing any
roadblocks that got in the way of progress.”
“To me, the difference between a coach and manager is very simple. Managing implies to me that you are telling
somebody what to do: ‘You are going to stand at this place in this production line. You are then going to pick up the
wrench, and when this part comes by you, turn the screw to the right until you see 4.4 pounds of pressure. You are
then going to stop and wait for the next part to come down the belt.’ If you have managed everything about that job,
you have paid not one cent for the intelligence of the individual,” said venture angel Coleman.
According to Kelley, the executive sponsor of the sales automation system would make decisions quickly. He insisted
that everyone knew what was going on and that the minutes of every meeting were published in a timely manner.
“One of the major success factors was his decisiveness in making a decision when one was required and not forming
a team or leaving people hanging,” said Kelley. Such decisiveness helps executive sponsors gain acceptance of their
decisions. As Coleman points out, “In the world we are in, you are hiring people for their knowledge and intelligence.”
Therefore, smart people often do not take decisions at face value and you need to have talent for them to accept
your decisions.
getting people to accept their decisions. Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
51%
39%
6%
4%

QUALITY USER RELATIONSHIP SKILL LEVEL
of their project executive sponsors in having a
quality relationship with users.
SECRET 13: DEVELOP QUALITY USER RELATIONSHIPS
It is critical for you, as the executive sponsor, to develop and maintain a quality relationship with the user and user
groups. Building and maintaining a rapport facilitates communications and understanding. Attendees of CHAOS
University determined that the need to understand the user’s business and to communicate effectively with the
user are key to establishing user rapport. A quality relationship begins with creating a cooperative environment
with mutually agreeable ground rules for effective teamwork. This environment should include negotiating and
establishing formal or informal contracts and ensuring that the rules of interplay are clearly understood. How skilled
are you at developing a quality relationship with users?
“I’m a lawyer who likes to negotiate, not litigate, outcomes, but I know I often talk too much, talking when I should
be listening. The biggest lesson I learned from the convention center project is that you need to learn to really listen.
Listening to others, including our neighbors, made our building of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
so much better, and it helped us build a good reputation with our neighbors and city leaders,” said Gloria Cordes
Larson, president of Bentley University and former chair of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. You
should hold regular progress meetings involving the user to test this quality relationship. If you determine that the
relationship has deteriorated, immediate remedial action is required.
“For example,” Larson continued, “the South Boston neighborhood was very concerned that this huge building would
loom over their homes and cast shadows. So our architect revised the design of the portion of the building closest to
the neighborhood to not go over the height of a typical Boston three-story row house, while the front of the building
soared to a much greater height with a prominent canopy, appropriately announcing its singular design. We included
more green space, we repositioned the building on our site to reduce the look of its massive size, and we located
loading docks on the side farthest from the neighborhood to reduce noise,” said Larson.
“We took a lot of feedback from local citizens and business people directly into consideration when designing
and building the center. This requires the executive sponsor to do a lot more listening than talking, and I’m glad
to say that our whole team did just that,” said Larson. Once you have established a quality relationship, the next
requirement is to maintain it by making it easy for users to be involved. The project executive sponsor should
understand how the user likes to communicate, such as via text, instant messages, e-mail, WebEx, telephone, or in
person. You should try to use the user’s favorite method as much as possible.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
40%
20%
39%
1%

IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING YOUR ROLE
master skills in understanding their role in the
project.
SECRET 14: UNDERSTAND THE EXECUTIVE SPONSOR ROLE
In our opinion, the executive sponsor is the owner of the project. You, as owner of the project, have the full weight
and responsibility for the success or failure of the project squarely on your shoulders. “I see the role of an executive
my job is to make sure I provide the support, resources, and guidance to allow our academic and administrative
team to be successful,” said Larson of Bentley University. How skilled are you at understanding your role in the
project?
As the executive sponsor, you own the vision, direction, and the project’s mission. “The executive sponsor helps set
is communication around these things. I can say without hesitation that you can never have enough communication.
And it’s not only important for the executive sponsor to communicate regularly with key audiences, but the entire
leadership team needs to do so as well. Projects work best when you have a team of ‘evangelists’ spreading the
word and reporting feedback from your stakeholders,” said Larson.
“I don’t think about being an executive sponsor as simply my ‘day job.’ I think about it as being my job. When
I became president of Bentley, I decided that I would try to be both visible and accessible. I attend numerous
meetings and functions on and off campus every week. I have parties at my home for students, faculty, staff,
trustees, and alumni throughout the year. So when we’re in the middle of developing a program like the new MBA, I
look for every chance I can to talk about our plans and get feedback. An executive sponsor should always be on the
lookout for opportunities to help the team get more support,” said Larson.
Projects that have an active, responsive, and skilled executive sponsor fare better than those left to hang alone
indicates responsiveness. Executive responsiveness increases the chances of success. The executive sponsor needs
to be personally accountable to ensure a successful outcome. The major skills needed include: vision, commitment,
rapid decision-making, measurements, and celebrating. The greater the executive’s skills in managing and owning
projects, the greater the chances of success. A nonresponsive executive, on the other hand, increases the chances
that a project will experience overruns or failure. If you are a good executive sponsor you will make tough business
Highly Important
Important
Somewhat Important
39%
12%
49%

DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING RISK AND REWARD
SECRET 15: UNDERSTAND RISK AND REWARD
The Standish Group characterizes projects or requirements that have both a high risk and a high yield as panda
bears. The strange name came from our workshops that utilized a zoo scenario. We had participants weigh the risks
and rewards of obtaining a panda bear versus bringing in other animals with less risk and/or less gain. The idea
is that there are few real panda bears in projects, but when they do occur they need to be considered with great
care. You, as the executive sponsor, need to decide whether to keep the panda bear or not. You need to consider
cost, risk, and gain collectively in your decision-making. How skilled are you at understanding the project’s risk and
reward?
Everybody loves panda bears. It is proven that when you have one in a zoo it draws people;; in turn, revenue yield or
return goes up. Conversely, a panda bear can be expensive and may not adapt well to the environment—it can get
sick and die, and therefore is a very high risk. When weighing features and functions within an application, the same
thought process must be used. What has a high yield and what is the risk? Every requirement should be assigned
values of cost, return rate, gain, and risk. Meet with all stakeholders to validate your assumptions.
Panda bears are rare, and most projects will not have them. It is also very unlikely that a project would have more
“What I have seen is projects with a very concrete set of success criteria always do much better than projects that
project forward. You can have a lot of high-level goals that are not measurable, but they do not help make critical
decisions. You also will have problems and the team will need to optimize trade-offs, prioritize, and solve problems.
issues for our customers, partners, or company. In general, it has been my experience that projects with super-clear
success criteria are more successful,” said VMware’s Heil.
master skills in understanding the project’s risk
and reward.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
28%
32%
23%
17%

IT INFLUENCE IN MAKING QUICK DECISIONS
making quick decisions.
SECRET 16: MAKE QUICK DECISIONS
You, as the executive sponsor, will be called on to make many decisions in the life cycle of a project. Standish Group
research shows that latency between decisions is a major contributor to project delays and failures. There are
literally thousands of decisions that have to be made during the life of a project. Standish Group research shows that
for every $1,000 in project cost, the organization will need to make 1.5 decisions. A $1 million project will produce
1,500 decisions, while a $5 million project will have 7,500 decisions. During a typical medium-size ERP system
implementation the organization will have to make more than 10,000 decisions. So, how skilled are you at making
quick decisions?
While the volume of decisions comprising a project can be concerning, it is the time that lapses from when an issue
is only one hour, then the added decision time to a $1 million project is six months (1,500 decisions = 1,500 hours).
On the other hand, if the project team can cut the latency time in half it adds only three months to the project time
(1,500 decisions = 750 hours).
Let us take the case of two pharmaceutical companies in Chicago, or the tale of two CRMs. The companies are
similar in size, number of accounts, and salespeople. They used the same software package. Both started to
decision latency.
“The key reason for making fast decisions has nothing to do with always making right decisions. It has everything to
do with being open to mistakes. I think we have built a business culture since the 1920s where we want to put our
top managers on a pedestal and they make the right decision every time,” said the OMG’s Soley. “I think that is a
very serious mistake. The fact is that if you are innovative it means you have failed a bunch of times. If you don’t try
new things you are just not going to be successful. I think a good executive is quick to say ‘yes’ and also quick to say
‘we are done.’ A good executive sponsor has to be open to failure and recognize when a failure has occurred, and
learn from that failure. You learn more from failure than from success.”
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
37%28%
15%20%

OBJECTIVITY AND TRANSPARENCY SKILLS
SECRET 17: DEMAND OBJECTIVITY AND TRANSPARENCY
As the executive sponsor, you must demand project transparency. Transparency starts with being objective. Being
objective is expressing or dealing with facts or conditions of a project, program, or circumstances as perceived
without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations. The major problem is everyone has their own
version of reality and experiences. A solid solution is to make everything transparent and continuous. This starts at
the top with executive leadership. The communication must be honest and frank. Last but not least is that anyone
who is not honest or forthcoming is penalized. How skilled are you at demanding objectivity and transparency?
You need to consider objectively the effect that changes to the business and requirements have on the success or
failure of the project. If these changes have a negative effect they need to be highlighted and considered in light of
the organization’s goals. “Ideally, I think everyone would want more objectivity, but in a large corporation it is more
about compliancy. If you recognize that the schedule is the most important item, then you need to deal with it. A lot
of times the executives just don’t seem to care if the results are 100%, they just want to know that the project is on
schedule and on budget,” said IT senior manager Fleming.
You could be a barrier to objectivity. You may have unrealistic expectations or a private agenda. There could be some
lack of transparency with the true sense of purpose. You may have a false assumption. You will be able to overcome
these barriers with information, demonstration, and honest feedback. Objectivity is the driver that provides the aim
or goal of the project with its intended or desired outcome. You need to demand feedback because many might
believe you are not interested. “So, to be completely transparent about what is really going on is not as important
to many executive sponsors. It seems as though the executive sponsor would just as soon not be burdened with the
details,” said Fleming.
You should demand the organization have a comprehensive communication plan and platform that provide
meaningful feedback. There should be a periodic reevaluation and update of the purpose of projects and programs
that coincide with the business goals. In order to be objective you must have correct and up-to-date information.
While information is important, nothing beats a demonstration. Demonstration is where the rubber truly meets the
road. Ask, demand, and review concrete results early, often, and in-depth. Demonstration provides the ultimate in
objective opinion, for you will know right away what progress is being made and how to move the project forward.
IT executives were asked to rate the skill level of
their project executive sponsors in demanding
objectivity and transparency.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
31%
49%
19%
1%

DIFFICULTY OF FINANCIALLY MANAGING CHANGES
SECRET 18: MANAGE FINANCIAL CHANGES
Managing change is key to managing projects. The inability to do this well is almost always a major contributor
to failure. You, as the executive sponsor, need to be very concerned about effecting change, since the slightest
comment could set the project team in a whole new direction. Change management is all about setting realistic
expectations. The importance of this critical factor cannot be understated. Almost nothing can cause a misalignment
between expectations and deliverables more quickly than a failure to manage change. You are the keeper of the
purse and you need to know what impact changes have on the cost and budget of the project. How skilled are you in
You will almost certainly mentally process the casual assessment of a verbal change request during a hallway
conversation as a commitment to include the change at no cost, and with no impact to the original project schedule!
“Projects get behind a dollar or a day at a time. My observation is they get behind because people cannot make
decisions. Therefore, it is important to establish a process that enables you to quickly gain the decision information
you need,” said Sledge of Robbins-Gioia.
Process consists of the steps to effect change. To determine whether the project team is effectively managing change
and to prevent unrealistic expectations, you need to do the following: Make sure there is a clear statement of the
requested change and the associated costs, risk, and gain. It’s important to have meaningful project steppingstones,
and they need to be set at frequent intervals to prevent irreparable errors if the project goes off-track. “For example,
if you have to decide on a baseline change, you would want to know the reasons for the change;; how it will affect the
cost, time, and scope of the project;; and alternatives to and trade-offs from the change,” said Sledge.
The project team should have a consultative and approval process in place to consider change requests. The project
team most likely will need additional time and funding. You might have to move or delete some other requirements.
That is why having a ranking by cost, risk, and gain is such a powerful tool for deciding whether or not to accept or
deny a change request. “Let’s face it, you will never have 100% of the information you would like, but you need to
make timely decisions. Quickly establish the minimum set of information and the means to collect the data you need
to evaluate the trade-off decisions. If you do not, you will waste time, burn money, and get deeper into the hole,” said
Sledge.
project.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult31%
29%
25%
15%

EXPLICIT USER NEEDS SKILL LEVEL
SECRET 19: DETERMINE EXPLICIT USER NEEDS
You, as the executive sponsor of a project, might have intimate knowledge of the explicit user needs just from your
position and experience. However, if this is not the case you might consider making sure the project team has
conducted and is able to present primary research. The Standish Group’s three-step process to gain valuable user
information includes interviews, focus groups, and surveys. “The only thing sacred in our company is the user,” said
Ken Edwards, CIO of Ameritech. “We do focus groups, interviews, and demonstrations to ensure we meet the users’
skilled are you in obtaining the right information on explicit user needs?
“Over the course of my career, I have worked on projects as both a project manager and an executive sponsor.
My comments are a mix of thoughts from both experiences. When I look back on these projects it is hard to separate
the two. I think these experiences provide a different and valuable perspective to being a good executive sponsor.
However, when I am the project manager, I focus on getting the project done through the project plan. When I
am an executive sponsor, I focus on achieving a business objective with a vision and mission that are tied to the
organization’s business plan and strategic goals. I think it is helpful for the executive sponsor to have managed a
project,” said Daniel Langermann, IT-2-Business consultant.
A good example of knowing user needs happened at midnight on October 25, 1942, on Guadalcanal. The Imperial
Japanese Army attacked the U.S. Marines who were defending Henderson Field, the island’s air base. The Marines’
defense was a line of water-cooled machine guns. About 100 feet from their position, the Marines set up wires with
cans attached. Far away, the Marines could hear the Japanese advancing, but they kept still. When the Japanese
battle ended three hours later. The Japanese were defeated. Only one American was wounded, 26-year-old Marine
Gunnery Sergeant “Manila John” Basilone.
defensive weapon, long-range accuracy was crucial. On Guadalcanal, Sergeant Basilone realized this problem and
reengineered the weapon to reduce the vibration. In doing so, he also increased the shots per minute from 450
there really were. As a user of the M1917, Sergeant Basilone was intimately involved.
of their project executive sponsors in having the
right information on explicit user needs.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
47%
39%
13%
1%

SECRET 20: ENDORSE THE BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
You, as the executive sponsor, must be committed to endorsing the business objectives of the project. You should
have a vested interest and the most to gain by the implementation of the project. Before you take any action you
must take the pulse of the organization for the project and the goals for which they are aspiring to achieve. By your
endorsement you must then capture the interest and commitment of the organization in supporting the project. If
you need to decline or cease being the project’s sponsor. How skilled are you at endorsing the project’s business
objectives?
“My approach to being an executive sponsor is to be the link between those who execute and implement the project
These options should include things like, ‘Here is what we can do at different cost, time, and scope points. For
example, if you want to speed it up then this limits scope. If you want to achieve more, then this is the increased
time, cost, and scope.’ This is so I, as the executive sponsor, can make an informed decision. In other words, my job
said Langermann of IT-2-Business.
A major issue is that sometimes the business objectives are not clear. “I think ‘having a clear business objective’ is
one of those phrases that is overused. The projects that are the most interesting are the innovative ones where you
may not be aware of the clear business results until after the project is done. Innovation does not mean doing the
same thing over and over again. Innovation is doing something new. In my experience, where a project has vague
[goals] or [lacks] clear business objectives is where we have found breakthrough value,” said Soley of the OMG.
You, as the executive sponsor, should know the difference between breakthrough projects and average projects.
What you most want to guard against is not project failure, but project management failure. “As a standards
organization, success for us is a standard that is adopted not only by the members, but anyone in the industry in
general. The standard should provide some level of interoperability, portability, and reuse that did not exist before
the standard. Therefore, while an executive sponsor should have a framework to assess value, he also needs to be
IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS OBJECTIVES ENDORSEMENT
master skills in endorsing the project’s business
objectives.
Highly Important
Important
Not Important
Somewhat Important
2%
40%
51%
6%

SECRET 21: DISTRIBUTE DECISION POWER
Time is the enemy of all projects and that includes decision time. You, as the executive sponsor, should not and
cannot make all the decisions. Therefore, you need to have a method for how decisions should be made through
the life of a project. You need to consider the impact of these decisions. Who makes the low-impact decisions?
Who makes the high-impact decisions? How critical does a decision need to be before it comes to you? You need to
consider segmenting the decisions based on roles and responsibilities. You need to consider grouping the decisions.
How well do you distribute decision power?
Maintaining high velocity is key to project success, so don’t impede speed by insisting on making every decision.
“My response should be limited to ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘we need more information to back up your recommendations,’” said
Kirby Wadsworth, international marketing executive. “I think we are all too familiar with the concept of a ‘rock-fetch’
where skittish executives who don’t have the courage to make a decision say, ‘Well, good stuff so far team, but that
rock isn’t quite the right color, so you need to bring us another one,’ sending the project team off in search of yet
‘one more rock’ and ‘just one more’ until the team’s energy is exhausted and the project stalls.”
Sometimes it is hard, as Bentley University’s Larson can attest. “In higher education,” she said, “it takes much longer
than any other type of organization I’m familiar with to come to a decision. Decision-making in this environment
question. For example, with the new MBA, there were numerous forums for the faculty to ask questions and provide
their viewpoint—all designed to get people’s input, build consensus, and ultimately create a comfort level with what
was a large-scale overhaul of our MBA program.
“We were creating a whole new structure that involved team teaching and a studio format that didn’t exist previously,
so there was a lot of understandable apprehension,” Larson continued. “As the executive sponsor, I needed to link
arms with my academic leadership team and let everyone know that this was a personal priority. We all had to be
united in our view that over time, the new MBA could have a positive effect on our rankings and on our standing in
the education and business worlds. This was a democratic process, so we ultimately had to call the question and get
people to vote. In the end the new MBA prevailed with a sizable majority, but it was no landslide.”
IT INFLUENCE IN DISTRIBUTION OF DECISION POWER
the distribution of decision power to team
members.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
33%
54%
7%
6%

DIFFICULTY OF OVERCOMING ARROGANCE
SECRET 22: OVERCOME ARROGANCE
Hubris is often associated with a lack of knowledge, interest in, and exploration of history, combined with a lack of
humility. Really smart people do not need to make themselves feel better at the expense of others. “I am always
amazed at how executives in business fail to realize that other people’s motivations are not the same as their own
motivations. You should never put up with dishonest people—that is a showstopper. However, people have very
different motivations and if you expect that they will have the same outlook as you then you are never going to
succeed,” said the OMG’s Soley. So, how capable are you at recognizing and overcoming arrogance?
“I think one of the best ways to deal with arrogance is to know two things: Who are your allies, and who are not your
allies. So, we were installing SAP into this organization. One of the team members said he knew everything there was
to know about SAP,” said CIO and FDA compliance consultant Kelley. “So, I said, ‘Great, tell me how you set up global
security’ and laid out my problem. He could not answer some simple questions about the security. He was never
arrogant again, but I knew he was not an ally either.”
Soley added, “One thing I don’t mind is earned arrogance;; I do very much dislike unearned arrogance. As an
executive sponsor I will put up with more from people who have shown me they are innovative and creative. I
will not put up with people that have not earned the right to be arrogant. You just need to be aware that people’s
motivations, thought processes, dearly held beliefs, approaches to problems, assumptions, and prejudices are likely
to be different than your own.”
Kelley said, “It reminds me of a story about George Washington. During a march, George Washington took off his
coat to help some of the soldiers move a log across the road. Later that night one of his lieutenants said he should
piece of string and told the lieutenant to push it in a straight line. The lieutenant tried to push the string, but it just
curled up. Washington then took the string by the head and moved it forward in a straight line. He then looked at the
lieutenant and said, ‘That is called leadership.’”
skills of overcoming arrogance.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult14%
38%
31%
17%

DIFFICULTY OF OVERCOMING FRAUDULENCE
SECRET 23: OVERCOME FRAUDULENCE
Fraudulence can take many forms. In our book, The Public Execution of Miss Scarlet, the title character does many
things to try to cover up the real status of the project. Some of the things she does are intended to deceive her
superiors and co-workers. Other things she does only fool herself into believing that she can turn things around.
When she does confront her superior on the real status of the project she is rebuffed. Her stakeholders also refuse
to believe the project is going badly. Other characters in the book rationalize why they are having problems with the
project. Still other characters are just in denial, while others in the story have their own fraudulent behavior. As an
executive sponsor, you need watch out for both outright fraudulence and denial.
He won the popular vote, he thought he won the Electoral College, and he thought he was the new president.
However, there were 20 electoral votes in dispute. If they went to him he would win by 19 votes;; if they went to his
Republican rival then he would lose by one vote. So he engaged in a bitter legal and political battle over who won
to Florida to oversee the recounts and look at the condition of ballots. A special board was set up to adjudicate
disputed ballots. The controversy went on for months.
was struck, that if the federal government removed their troops from the South and ended Reconstruction, the
Democrats would concede to the Republican. Samuel J. Tilden lost to Rutherford B. Hayes in the 1876 presidential
president. One of the easiest ways to combat project fraudulence is through transparency. If everything is out in the
open it is hard to fool people.
“You have to be truthful. You tell people they have to tell the truth. Do not foster unrealistic expectations. Try not to
embellish. The executive sponsor needs to get everyone to commit and have buy-in to the project. You don’t have to
be a cheerleader, or worse yet, a consummate phony, said CIO and FDA compliance consultant Kelley. “There is a
variety of pieces within a project [for which] you really need to know the truth;; for example, target dates. If you have
a target date and you know you are not going to make it, you tell everyone and make sure you tell them why. It is
fraudulent if you lie about the date because people are making plans based on the target date. However, if you and I
agree on a date that I don’t like, that is not fraudulence. It is simply telling the truth.”
skills of overcoming fraudulence.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
15%
47%
7%
31%

DIFFICULTY OF ROI AND RISK METRICS
SECRET 24: USE VALUE AND RISK METRICS
You, as the executive sponsor, need to be keenly aware of both risk and reward. Many people think of these items in
the beginning of the project and never consider them again until there is a problem, and even then do not go back
and look at them. However, these two items will continually change throughout the life of a project for many reasons,
including changes in the business. In most commercial businesses there are only two types of project objectives:
organization. How good are you at using value and risk metrics?
“Different people use different measurements;; many people use a percent of revenue or of total expenses. So, say a
project has a cost of $1 million. If the total company expenses are $1 billion, then the cost is one-tenth of a percent
that project to various other projects. To calculate ROI, take the return of a project and divide by the cost of the
project;; the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.
“I like to use margin improvement as a measurement, because I think it is more sensitive to changes. In the
the project cost is 10% of the improvement. Therefore, if the project runs over it affects the corporate margin
improvement goals, which is a big deal for the investors. Therefore, if the executive sponsor sees the project having a
negative effect on their margin improvements they are more likely to react promptly and take the necessary actions
to protect the company margins.”
it’s the probability of an undesired outcome. First, risks should be considered by the types of events, such as a key
person leaving the project before its resolution. Second, they should be concerned with the probability of occurrence;;
such as the risk is only a 10% chance that a key person will leave before the project is completed.
skills of encouraging the use of the project’s
ROI and risk metrics.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
35%
38%
17%
10%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING THE PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
SECRET 25: UNDERSTAND THE PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
You, as the executive sponsor, are the project’s champion. You need to communicate the project’s importance to
the business. In order for the executive sponsor to communicate to the rest of the organization he or she must know
what problem the project solves, what the solution is, and how the solution will be accomplished. The executive
sponsor should demand that the project have a concise and to-the-point plan that he or she can read, understand,
have to be a separate plan solely for you, but a synopsis of the project plan put into a concise and readable format
for the executive. Are you skilled at understanding the life cycle?
“I think one of the things about doing any project is the understanding that you cannot plan everything. When you
executive sponsor will understand the difference between planning and iterative evolution. For example, having
knowledge of the environment is a major plus in communication. Many times you have to justify and explain to an
executive sponsor why something is not working or we need resources over here or there. If you cannot explain the
situation and get the executive support in two or three sentences you might have a problem with your executive
sponsor.”
“I was hired from a medical school into a big bank,” said Jeff Sutherland, CEO of Scrum Inc. “The bank was doing
traditional waterfall project management. The projects were always late, managers were upset and putting people
under pressure, the people were frustrated, and it just was not working. The more they put on pressure and controls,
the worse it got. My epiphany was at Saddlebrook, where I was the VP of engineering. I was reading this paper from
get the biological system to evolve faster you needed to increase freedom to the point of chaos. So I was reading this
and looking over at the COBOL programmers and thinking that was the problem. We had too much control, and in
order to make them go faster we needed to release control.”
the skills of understanding the project life cycle.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
19%
60%
15%
6%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING BASIC PM TECHNIQUES
SECRET 26: UNDERSTAND PM TECHNIQUES
You, as the executive sponsor, should have a basic understanding of project management techniques and skills.
There are really only two types of methods: waterfall and Agile. You should know the difference between a waterfall
and an Agile project. However, in either case they are rarely pure, and often an organization will use parts of both
methods. In a waterfall project the project manager is the linchpin and you are the driver. The IT community has
recognized the true role of the project manager in waterfall projects. With the Agile process the driver is a product
owner and an Agile master owns the process.
An Agile product owner could be the executive sponsor, but this is a full-time job and most likely you will have
other responsibilities. In this case you would abdicate most of your executive sponsor duties to the product owner.
Waterfall project managers have to transition to the Agile process as either a product owner or process master. In
either case they give up 50% of their roles and responsibilities. In reality the skills required to be a good product
mechanical skills of planning, tracking, and controlling.
Education on Agile and project management is readily available from many places, including many colleges and
started the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center [BCEC] project in the middle of all of the investigations
surrounding Big Dig cost and time overruns. As the new chairman of the board of the Massachusetts Convention
Center Authority, I suddenly became the ‘owner’ of an $800 million project to build a new convention center on
the South Boston waterfront. When we started the project all we had was the authorizing legislation from the
Massachusetts State Legislature,” said Bentley University’s Larson.
to focus at every turn on best practices. This was well before we hired the designers, architects, construction
managers, and other teams to build the center,” said Larson. “Our project was about keeping our eye on the prize,
while managing the details to make sure in a linear, engineer-like fashion that we did all the right things to ensure
that the project came in on time and on budget.”
master skills of understanding basic project
management techniques. Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
31%
48%
7%15%

DIFFICULTY OF OVERCOMING IGNORANCE
SECRET 27: OVERCOME IGNORANCE
You, as the executive sponsor, need to guard against ignorance. Ignorance is the condition of being unaware,
uninformed, uneducated, and/or unsuspecting about the project and stakeholder goals, directions, details, issues,
and opportunities. Ignorance is often coupled with apathy, or to say it another way, “I don’t know and I don’t care!”
One of the best ways to avoid ignorance is to create a communication platform. A communication platform should
people off more than not getting messages returned or answered. Use a mix of media and methods that highlight
urgency when needed. Do not overuse the communication platform when things are not urgent.
Another way to guard against ignorance is to set goals and benchmark against them to track and improve responses
to questions and decisions. Last is to take a close look at the risks and features and learn the reasons for the
requirements. Communicate what you have learned through your new communication platform. Communication is
the key to overcoming ignorance. One CHAOS University delegate stated that at a former company, a new director
of engineering was in an executive staff meeting making a presentation of a project on a new product. After a little
while the company president piped up and asked why he was still working on the project since it was cancelled
two months ago. The delegate joked that the poor new director of engineering just stood there looking like a penny
waiting for change.
I would share with him the status of the project. I would show him my Excel planning spreadsheets and we would talk
about the progress. He would ask a lot of questions,” said IT senior manager Fleming. “If I had an issue with another
group at a higher level, he would address it. We would also just brainstorm issues and make decisions. As the project
manager we created this bond between us that worked very well. The biggest advantage I had over other projects
in the move program was the fact that he would come to my desk once or twice a week and check in with me. In
addition, if I had a problem I could just go to his desk and talk to him. This is rare in projects, but I think it is a great
way to make sure the project stayed on track.”
skills of overcoming ignorance.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult 20%
47%
25%
8%

IT INFLUENCE IN HAVING A SUCCINCT VISION
SECRET 28: HAVE A SUCCINCT VISION
You, as executive sponsor, need to have a succinct vision like John F. Kennedy. In 1961, Kennedy said the nation
would put a man on the moon within a decade. It was a clear and simple vision. In 1969, the United States landed a
the same page, without any ambiguity. A clear and simple vision statement coming from the executive sponsor is a
leading precondition for project success. Of course, like most things in life, this is easier said than done.
are the most important;; these are vision, value, and valuable. The leader must establish a compelling vision of why
you are in business or why you are doing the project. The leader must prove why the project has differentiation. The
leader must show how this differentiation has value to the customer. Then the leader must prove that the project is
valuable to the organization and supports the vision. So the leader sets the vision, shows the customer value, and
shows how that customer value is valuable to the organization,” said venture angel Coleman.
The Standish Group has conducted hundreds of “group therapy” sessions over the years. A group therapy session
is similar to a focus group or workshop, except all the participants are part of a single project team. This group
generally consists of the project manager, executive sponsor, user representatives, and technical representatives
of a particular project. The size of each group therapy session ranges from six to 12 people. Sessions have no more
than 12 participants because group dynamics tend to get lost in larger groups. A Standish adviser moderates the
group therapy session and leads the participants.
In more than 100 group therapy sessions, not one person has had the same goal as any other participant in the
session. In one particular session a user wrote, “…will create a reusable object-oriented infrastructure for change,”
canceled with a loss of more than $5 million to that organization. When there is no common understanding of the
project, you know the project is in trouble. However, it is possible to solve half the problems right away by getting
everyone on the same page.
having a succinct vision.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
24%
13%
7%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING WHEN TO PULL THE PLUG
SECRET 29: KNOW WHEN TO PULL THE PLUG
Every project should have a kill switch. You, as executive sponsor, are in charge of the kill switch. A kill switch is a
predetermined position where it is unwise to continue to invest in the project. If you reach the point that the project
no longer makes sense, take the bath and pull the plug! The three elements that make up the kill switch point are
business triggers, technical triggers, and investment triggers. A business trigger is an event that changes the course
of the business in such a way it renders the project to have reduced business value. A technical trigger is an event
that disrupts the current technical solution in a manner that reduces the value of the project to the organization. An
investment trigger is when the cost to continue the project is greater than the expected return.
R&D building prototypes. So, we would spend three to four months building a prototype and then show it around. All
we wanted was for somebody to say that is pretty good,” said Don Haderle, IBM Fellow, CTO, and father of DB2. “It
might not work at this stage, but the customer thinks it is a good thing to have or if they didn’t then you would have
to make changes. So say they said it was pretty good. We would expand the development with a bigger or a longer
development period. Then again we would show it to customers for feedback. It might not be elegant, but it worked.
Here again we wanted the ‘aha moment’ from the customer. If we did not get the ‘aha moment’ we knew we needed
to make changes.”
Apple Computer’s Copland operating system is an example of pulling the plug on a project. “I felt that we would put
out a release that no one would buy. We had no marketing plan and no understanding of the quality of the product.
It was a shame in that the Apple people were truly advocates of the new operating system. They were very, very
brilliant people,” said Ellen Hancock, professional CEO and corporate director, and former head of engineering at
Apple. “However, brilliant people need discipline to lead them to a successful launch of a new product. They really
didn’t have a strong executive sponsor and it was too late for Apple to continue without a new operating system.
that brought Steve Jobs back into Apple. This was the end of Copland.”
skills of understanding when to pull the plug.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
44%
19%
35%
2%

IT INFLUENCE IN SIMPLE VISION
SECRET 30: DEVELOP A SIMPLE VISION
You, as the executive sponsor, need to have a simple vision. The simple vision should encompass project
agreed to, by all project stakeholders. The executive sponsor needs to ensure that the simple vision is
tied to the overall corporate vision and strategy. The project vision and the corporate vision should mesh
together in the short-, mid-, and long-term life cycle. The vision should allude to what is in it for the users
“All programs need a committed executive sponsor or they just don’t get done. For example, when he was
was, ‘We will put all our wood behind one arrow,’ said Dave Bealby, international management consultant
and venture angel. “To many, if not most, in the organization this was the scariest thing they ever heard
because many of the products were very successful. While Scott was the ultimate executive sponsor, all
the major areas within the company had to have an executive sponsor that believed in the vision. These
sponsors made sure that third-party software was ported over to SPARC, the sales channel was properly
and timely realigned, and manuals were updated. All this took individual executive sponsors to make the
vision a success.”
“The executive sponsors are always creating tension between the developers and the business people.
This is good only if it provides motivation. On the other hand, having a weak executive sponsor, or worse,
multiple executive sponsors, causes stakeholders to promote their different agendas,” said Fidelity
and confuses priority for the development team and creates elephant projects. This, in turn, caused lots of
mistakes, poor decisions, and wasted efforts. In one case the head of one of the technical groups tried to
take control of a large group with multiple executive sponsors, but then he got blamed for all the problems
and ended up leaving the organization. The FCAPP project was a classic elephant project starting in 1999
and is still in development in 2012.”
developing and maintaining a simple vision. Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
34%
12%
2%

DIFFICULTY OF BASIC METRICS
SECRET 31: TRACK PROGRESS WITH METRICS
You, the executive sponsor, should have the team develop a method to present the progress of the project in an
easy-to-understand form. In this easy-to-understand form you should be able to see the actual goals and attributes
against the forecasted plan goals. This presentation method should be based on the team’s normal metrics that they
use to measure the project progress. In this way you could dig down deeper if you want more information. However,
you should not have to learn how to use a project tool or read a Gantt chart, project details, and other detailed
reports to be able to track progress. The game of golf suggests that the winner will hit a golf ball fewer times than
the other players. After each hole the scores are tallied and each player knows where he or she stands. You want to
consider how the project team can become a winner and how the scores are kept. One of the easiest ways to keep
score is to set up a goal system.
“The executive sponsor needs to have the mechanisms in place to effectively oversee and get insight on how the
initiative is performing over time. For example, we are a program management company and I assumed on one of
our larger internal programs that we would track it using standards tools. I would have my plans, baseline, resource
system established for our own internal use. It took some time to get this in place. We had training for people to
learn how to use it. It took time on my part to communicate my requirements and the information I needed to get out
of the system to provide its direction.”
“In 2006, Palm was trying to build a Web operating system. They were running three-week sprints, but doing their
testing later. The number one issue on a lean list is that nothing is partially complete. Their management said that
they did not have enough testers to do the quality assurance inside of the sprint. So, I suggested an experiment like
Edwards Deming would do. We would run a few sprints with the tester inside and also do the same QA in the current
process,” said Sutherland of Scrum Inc. “A few weeks later they had the data and found that one hour of testing
inside the sprint took 24 hours outside of the sprint. So I said that that shows they did not have enough testers. They
were shocked. They asked, ‘Does that mean it takes two years to ship something we should ship in a month?’ I said,
‘If you can multiply it does!’
master skills of understanding the basics of the
metrics. Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
23%
35%
15%
27%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING PROJECT ACTIVITIES
SECRET 32: DRIVE PROJECT ACTIVITIES
You, as the executive sponsor, need to understand and drive the project activities. The executive sponsor is the
project’s champion and communicates the project’s importance to the business. In order for the executive sponsor
to communicate to the rest of the organization he or she must know what problem the project solves, what the
solution is, and how the solution will be accomplished. One of the things you need to know is what activities you
will be involved in and how much time you will spend on these activities. Depending on the organization’s project
management methods and polices these activities could be substantial.
If your organization is using the Agile process it could absorb 100% of your time if you are the product owner or very
little if you are not. Since most likely you are not the product owner, the activities are mostly meeting with the product
owner and providing input. On the other hand, if you are using the waterfall method this could amount to 5% to 10%
of your time. As an executive sponsor of a waterfall project, a well-thought-out and well-articulated project plan is
a must. Your executive plan should include a description of the project’s scope with a list of activities, a schedule
of steppingstones with time estimates, and resources with assignments and responsibilities. Additionally, it should
include cost estimates and risk factors.
Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 to 1547. He is one of the most colorful and notable characters in all
of history. He is most noted for his six wives, cruel reaction to detractors, and the break with the Roman Catholic
Church. However, what traits made Henry so notable were his intelligence, education, and knowledge. Henry wrote
and played his own music. While we normally picture Henry as being rotund, he was an avid jouster in his younger
years. He would often disguise himself to participate in tournaments, to the chagrin of his father, Henry VII. He also
liked to dance, hunt, and play tennis.
The real lesson here for the executive sponsor is his thirst for information. At a young age Henry surpassed his
tutors and demanded more education and formal training in multiple subjects. During his reign very little escaped
his attention. He was a workaholic and spent most of his time in court meetings doing interviews with diplomats
and politicians. He was constantly reading and responding to dispatches that came from throughout England and
the rest of Europe. In an age where information traveled by horse and boat, he knew at all times what was going on
within his kingdom and throughout Europe, especially items that affected his administration and kingdom.
skills of understanding project activities.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
37%
43%
7%13%

IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING
SECRET 33: CELEBRATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
You, as executive sponsor, should cultivate an atmosphere of accomplishment and focus on execution. Most
behavioral scientists recommend positive reinforcement of desired behavior and ignoring unwanted behavior. One of
the best tools an executive sponsor can use to advance this practice is celebration. Celebration allows the executive
sponsor to reward accomplishment and behavior that will advance the progress of the project. Do you know how to
properly celebrate accomplishment?
The three elements that comprise celebration are recognition, reward, and event. One the easiest and the most
effective method of celebrating is through recognition of an accomplishment. The executive sponsor who says
company, such as naming a person of the month or designating a special parking place for a week or a month. The
executive sponsor who understands and recognizes true accomplishments and concrete results will earn the respect
within the group. That is why it is important for the executive sponsor to be fully informed and understand the project
that is being executed.
In the early days of Tandem Computers, the company had what was known as a “Beer Bust.” Every Friday from about
4 p.m. to 6 p.m. employees would stop work and join together to celebrate that week’s accomplishments. People
from the factory, accounting, marketing, development, and executives would meet and talk informally about the
company and what they had been doing that week. There may not be a direct cause and effect here, but in fact when
Tandem stopped holding the “Beer Bust” the company lost its edge.
After a major event or the end of the project the executive sponsor should hold an event, like a party or dinner out.
This could also include a Broadway show or a boat ride including spouses. It could be a picnic in the park, a baseball
game, or a game of darts. This is the great equalizer where all the team members get to celebrate success. This is
where no one gets ignored. An event provides a platform for encouraging greater performance. Executive sponsors
should remember that they will have more than one project and people will remember who gave the best parties.
it is for their project executive sponsors
to master celebrating large and small
accomplishments. Highly Important
Important
Not Important
Somewhat Important
31%
55%
1%
13%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING INVESTMENT EVENTS
SECRET 34: TRACK INVESTMENTS
You, as the executive sponsor, are responsible for all investments in the project. Therefore, it is essential for you to
keep track of these investments. A common method for a waterfall project is quantifying project performance by
comparing the amount of work that was planned with the work that was accomplished. The value of work performed,
calculated in terms of the baseline cost, is known as budget cost of work performed in the cost/schedule control
similar to Earned Value Analysis (EVA), but replaces the cost element with gain.
with the work that was accomplished;; this is the value of work performed, calculated in terms of the estimated ROI
or gain versus a budget cost. In the Agile process you want to track burndown, or the amount of work in story cards
that gets completed. A burndown chart is a publicly displayed chart showing remaining work in the backlog. Updated
every day, it gives a simple view of the progress. The burndown provides quick visualizations for reference. However,
like EVA, it does not calculate the value of the investment-only cost. Our OptiMix product allows you to track progress
by value both for waterfall and Agile.
“During the custom sales force automation systems project at this company we created a policy on making
decisions. The good part was nothing was based on cost. Everything was about value,” said CIO and FDA compliance
consultant Kelley. “All decisions were based on the value to the organization, users, and ultimately our clients.
For example, we had 4,000 customers with hundreds of products. What was the value to the salesperson and the
salesperson could offer deals while with the customer. The sales organization loved it, and we had a great increase
in sales. It was all about the executive sponsor and users making valuable and timely decisions.”
Investment events must also be considered in the light of business changes or a business trigger. A business trigger
is an event that changes the course of the business in such a way that renders the project to have reduced business
value. An example of a business trigger may be the loss of an account for which the project was designed or the
stoppage of a product line. The trigger could simply be that the project is no longer aligned with corporate goals. The
skills of understanding what investment events
affect value. Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
41%29%
11%19%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING TECHNICAL EVENTS
SECRET 35: TRACK TECHNICAL EVENTS
You, as the executive sponsor, need to be aware of technical changes that could impact the project or program. A
technical trigger is an event that disrupts the current technical solution in a manner that reduces the value of the
project to the organization. An example is client/server projects. The Internet made many of these projects obsolete,
yet organizations continued to invest in them well past the recognition that they had little to no value because of
inertia and fear. On the other hand, you also need to be aware of technical standards within your own organization.
While you and your team might become enamored with the latest whiz-bang technology, your infrastructure might not
support it or corporate standards may prevent the adoption.
“Tektronix spent a fortune on planning, marketing, and building a graphical workstation. However the business was
performing poorly. I, as a marketing manager by trade, convinced management the problem was the product had
chip technology. The team spent weeks considering different offerings. They selected a chip from MIPS,” said
international management consultant and venture angel Bealby. “I was then told Tektronix only works on Motorola
chips. While the team was disappointed, they looked at the Motorola offerings and selected the 8800 chipset.”
Tektronix never did become a force in the workstation marketplace, while Silicon Graphics, which did use the MIPS
chipset, enjoyed years of high-performance leadership.
“A good executive sponsor will own the future. Let’s face it, the reason for any project is to create new stuff. However,
there is always pressure to enhance the old stuff and use the resources for present-day problems. A good executive
sponsor will be using up resources for something that most people cannot see how it will help the organization in
mature into market,” said IBM’s Haderle. “If you wait until the market is on you, then you are too late. As a CTO of a
large organization, like IBM, you need to bring new talent in to work on new stuff and understand how the new stuff
will help create the future.” A good executive sponsor must have a clear vision of the future.
skills of understanding what technical events
affect the value. Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
39%
43%
14%
4%

IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING COMMITMENT
SECRET 36: HAVE COMMITMENT
You, as the executive sponsor, need to commit to the project or program. You should have your own plan that
describes this commitment and expected involvement with the project. Your plan should include a communication
method to get updates on ongoing activities and issue resolutions. “An executive sponsor can effectively champion
only so many programs. It is a commitment and an investment of time, energy, and institutional and political capital.
If the executive sponsor gets involved in too many programs, he or she cannot be effective on any of them. Executive
sponsors must choose their initiatives wisely and pick the programs whose results they can be passionate about,”
said Robbins-Gioia’s Sledge.
“We do quite a few projects a year and not all require an executive sponsor. The functional heads can handle most
gets deeply involved and adds value. The executive sponsor needs to allocate their time and commit to helping the
time to make a positive impact to the success of the project. It is important that the executive sponsor does a self-
assessment on whether or not they are ready to make the necessary commitment.”
“The executive sponsor is a key person in the program. Programs are investments, and organizations need to get a
return on their investments. I think it is great when we are able to serve as an executive sponsor,” said Bounds of
Booz Allen Hamilton. “Also, I think it is OK to say no when we do not have the bandwidth or it is a challenge for us to
serve. My advice is to not accept the role if we know we cannot give the program the attention it needs. It is much
better to refer to someone else to act as the executive sponsor when we just do not have the time or ability.”
“I think you can really get pumped up about a program when you have a vested interest in its outcome. An executive
sponsor could micromanage everything, but this is not a wise investment of his or her time. A critical item is
collaboration with the project or program manager. The program manager takes care of the details. The project team
worries about the execution. The executive sponsor worries about priorities and the passion,” said Sledge.
their real commitment.
Highly Important
Important
Somewhat Important
51%
23%
26%

DIFFICULTY OF KNOWLEDGE OF SIMILAR PAST PROJECTS
SECRET 37: BE FAMILIAR WITH SIMILAR PROJECTS
You, the executive sponsor, should demand and receive information on outcomes, costs, risk, value, and other
information about similar projects and programs. Your project manager should have access to similar projects to use
as role models against your current project. Role models should include successful and unsuccessful projects. These
role models can act as guides to the current project or discover points of peril that can be avoided. Every project
will have its differences, but there will be plenty of similarities with other projects to measure against. The Standish
Group has a database of 80,000 that can provide this kind of information to be used as role models.
The average project will have 2.1 restarts, so there is a good chance that the current project has been tried before.
The former project has a wealth of measurement information. You should review this information and understand
what areas hampered the project’s progress and look for signs in the current project where similar situations could
result in poor project performance. Knowing this, you could then take remedial action to help the project along. In
addition, you should know the project team’s history and past performance on a similar project of type and scope. It
is especially important to understand the project manager’s history.
“It is important for the executive sponsor to understand which processes can be automated and standardized so the
team can reduce cost and reduce delivery times. By standardizing repeatable processes you increase predictability.
Predictability is the one thing that all good executive sponsors want and need. Another underlying aspect of
sponsorship is ensuring trust and respect, both among the team members, and between the team and the sponsor,”
said Wadsworth, international marketing executive. “Teams need a strong, no-nonsense sponsor, someone who will
provide clarity to the objective, turn the lights on, avoid patting the elephant, get out of the room, and hold them
accountable.”
The Standish Group’s Single Project Assessment is a comprehensive, yet easy way to assess the critical elements
of an individual project to improve the chance of your project coming in on time and within budget. Single Project
Assessment looks at and measures all the CHAOS critical success factors and project best practices within your
minimal disruption and effort to your organization. You will learn from this engagement the individual project success
rate as it compares to 80,000 projects and 1,000 organizations with a similar project. Single Project Assessment
the greatest chance of success and which attributes give your project the greatest stress.
their project executive sponsors to master skills of
knowledge of past projects of a similar nature.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
33%
42%
7%
18%

DIFFICULTY OF OVERCOMING OVERAMBITION
SECRET 38: OVERCOME OVERAMBITION
fortune, or power through the impact of overreaching goals. Overambition is one of the Five Deadly Sins of project
Wall Street, Michael
Douglas’ character says, “Greed is good.” Ambition is also good. Without ambition, where would we be? However,
uncontrolled ambition is the problem—it’s like a tornado. The point is to control and funnel ambition to accomplish
some useful goal.
Three things that can help you overcome your own overambition are risk-based priority, iterative development
risk assessment include highlighting behaviors that are causing the project to overrun and providing management
with the ability to mitigate them. The iterative development process allows for gradual course correction, much like
a ship would do before GPS. If you are using a waterfall method, you might consider reducing the time and size
to take the focus off the complete project and instead put it on a smaller endeavor, thus allowing the organization to
have some quick wins and get a quicker return as well as reduce risk.
“In the early ’80s I was working at Hit or Miss, a specialty clothing retailer, as their CIO. I reported to the CFO. We had
a number of competing projects and we just could not do them all. My boss, the CFO, had his projects and he wanted
them to be the priority,” said Kneeland of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. “Other VPs and executives had their
projects and they also claimed theirs were the most important. I would get threats from each of the executives that they
head of the priority stack. I came up with the idea of an executive committee headed by the president of the company.”
He continued, “On a monthly basis, I would present all of the projects. The executives would then explain in detail
and defend their projects, the cost, and the strategic importance to the organization. The executive committee would
president took on the responsibility of the ultimate executive sponsor. Since he was now responsible for scheduling,
the executive sponsors calmed down and stopped demanding unrealistic priorities and timeframes, making life
easier for them and me. It was nice since I got to keep my lights on, my desk, and my job.”
overcoming overambition.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
33%
19%
17%

IT INFLUENCE IN A COMMON VOCABULARY
SECRET 39: ESTABLISH A COMMON VOCABULARY
You, as the executive sponsor, should insistent on a common vocabulary. A common vocabulary is a collection
organization promotes good communications. Having a common vocabulary builds transparency and accountability
into the process and the program. A common vocabulary provides objectivity so there can be no ambiguity in the
results. It also comes back to common goals, and the reason the organization is doing this project or program. How
good are you at establishing a common vocabulary?
“If you develop a good process that is repeatable and measurable, it comes with a common language. It also comes
with a set of metrics. Because you are so focused on having to deliver objective results, it forces a common vocabulary.
Part of having a common vocabulary is building transparency and accountability into the process,” said venture angel
Coleman. “A common vocabulary provides objectivity, so there can be no ambiguity in the results. It also comes back to
A common and agreed upon vocabulary should be part of every project management toolkit. During one of Standish
Group’s CHAOS University sessions, the class broke up into six workshop “focus groups” to undertake a variety of
topics, one of which was titled “Infrastructure Management.” In this workshop we delved into the requirements for
managing infrastructure and the accompanying problems and issues.
To do so, the groups had to discuss what was meant by the word “infrastructure.” It’s a word that gets thrown around
quite frequently in our industry and one that we discovered is quite versatile. Some attendees focused on “software
infrastructure,” others on “hardware infrastructure.” There were debates over whether humans were part of the
equation. What about electricity and air conditioning? Is the phone system included? What about the concrete of
which the basement of the building is made? Surely these things are considered infrastructure—or are they?
Having a versatile word can be a good thing. After all, minimizing the number of terms and words in our industry is
helpful. However, it can also be bad. Many of our workgroups started debating the management issue right away,
only to later discover the source of many arguments had to do with confusion over what exactly it was that they were
trying to manage.
the project executive sponsors to communicate in a
common vocabulary.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
40%
45%
12%
3%

IT INFLUENCE IN USE OF A DECISION PIPELINE
SECRET 40: USE A DECISION PIPELINE
Standish Group research shows that latency between decisions is a major contributor to project delays and failures.
Standish Group has developed a tool, called the Dezider, that can help organizations speed the decision-making
process, and thereby improve project success rates. “Projects get behind a day at a time. My observation is they get
behind because people cannot make decisions. Therefore, it is important to establish a process that enables you to
quickly gain the decision information you need,” says Sledge of Robbins-Gioia. The three elements that make up the
decision pipeline are issue clarity, timing, and goal.
Clarity of the issue is the most important objective in coming to a decision. An issue that is fuzzy or is not well
project problems and many project teams are not very skilled at providing clear issue statements. One of the ways
to help with issue clarity is to break down the decision into smaller and multiple decisions, leading up to a bigger
decision. A decision pipeline approach allows you to create minor decisions, leading to a bigger decision. Minor
decisions get processed faster and have greater acceptance.
Timing is the second most important issue. Delays in decision-making cause delays in the project. Even minor
decisions with minor delays cause frustration for the team members. If team members believe the organization does
not feel it is important enough to make timely decisions then they will feel they have the luxury to slack off and not
put forth maximum effort. Most organizations are not very skilled at making quick decisions, but most executives
decision latency and make quicker decisions. A pipeline can set a timer for decisions and enforce timeliness.
The goal is the target for both timing and participation. It is important that each decision is made at the right level
with the people who have the right roles and responsibilities. It is important that enough people have their voices
heard and to ensure that each decision is not reversed. On the other hand, getting more people to be part of the
decision can increase decision latency. A decision pipeline can effectively increase decision participation and
decrease decision latency. Inside the decision pipeline goals are set for participation and timing.
encouraging the use of a decision pipeline.
Skilled
Moderately Skilled
Not Skilled
41%
24%
35%

STEPPINGSTONES SKILL LEVEL
SECRET 41: DELIVER STEPPINGSTONES
You, as the executive sponsor, should have the project delivered in steppingstones. A steppingstone is a small but
hands-on. Steppingstones are easy because you can see them. Each steppingstone is assigned an owner who is
that lead to more deliverables or indicate the project is not on the right track. Steppingstones are powerful because
they allow for rapid feedback, creation of feature velocity, and accelerated user training and acceptance. Are you
good at ensuring the delivery of steppingstones?
The three elements that make up steppingstones are ambiguity, team size, and story points. Ambiguity is the
embrace of the uncertain. Steppingstones by their nature are vague. In the Agile process you write the story so it is
vague and then you have the conversation with the owner or user. The conversation drives to clarity. Team size is one
of the most important aspects in the Agile process. In our recipe for success we specify that the ideal team size is
six people. After more years of research we are even more convinced that this is the perfect team size. Story points
represent the effort to complete a story.
miss the whole market. For example, in 1993 one of my people came and said Internet transactions are going to be
a big deal. So, I said let’s put a two-person team together to develop a prototype to read and write a transaction from
a browser to DB2,” said IBM’s Haderle. “That took us three months. We did it, and to our pleasant surprise it worked.
So then we expanded the program to six people, created some nice useful products with customer feedback, and
kept adding to the team.”
He continued, “My counterparts in the other parts of IBM were doing the same;; that is, building skunk projects
to understand and develop the Internet. We then expanded the program to many teams and many products that
eventually turned into WebSphere. The key was as executive sponsor I was able to prove the value along the way,
collaborate with my peers and partners within IBM, and get more and more funding as we proved the technology in
the market.”
IT executives were asked to rate the skill level of their
project executive sponsors in encouraging the use of
steppingstones.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
34%
22%
35%
9%

DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING THE PROJECT TRACKING SYSTEM
SECRET 42: TRACK PROGRESS AGAINST THE PLAN
You, as executive sponsor, need to know the project team is tracking its progress. Tracking means to measure
measurements, and steppingstones (actual deliverables). Have an estimate of the resources needed per task and
a plan to make the resources available. The estimated dates for completion of the steppingstones should be based
overruns, and other items that affect the project. In many cases there is a detailed change contingency plan in place
with associated risk factors, cost increases or decreases, and gain increases or decreases.
“One of the mistakes a program manager makes is not understanding the executive sponsor’s information
requirements. There has to be collaboration between the program manager and executive sponsor. Every executive
sponsor is going to have different information needs,” said Robbins-Gioia’s Sledge. “Some of this information is
predicated on the size and complexity of the program and talent and experience of the program manager. However,
the two must come to a consensus on the information requirements and share delivery. One of the ways executive
sponsors can help themselves is to take the time up front to clearly identify how they measure progress. Executive
sponsors need to tell the program manager the requirements they need so they can effectively provide oversight.”
The 1948 presidential election pitted accidental incumbent President Harry S. Truman against very popular and
for the fallen Franklin D. Roosevelt. He narrowly won his party’s nomination. In addition, the Democrats had been
in power for the last 16 years and the country was looking and ready for a change. Republicans thought Dewey was
The polls clearly showed Dewey well ahead of Truman as the fall campaign began. Truman decided to take the
opponents’ names in speeches and hardly ever criticized them. This practice earned Truman the nickname “Give
’em Hell Harry.” Thinking he was invincible, Dewey continued to keep above the fray, and speech after speech was
full of clichés. In fact, the polling organizations had Dewey so far in the lead that they stopped surveying the voters in
October. However, Truman kept pounding away at Dewey in what most thought was a futile effort. Truman won by 303
electoral votes versus Dewey’s 189. The Chicago Tribune headline “Dewey Defeats Truman” clearly jumped the gun.
understanding the project tracking system.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
43%
10%
36%
11%

PROJECT COMMUNITY SKILL LEVEL
SECRET 43: CREATE A COMMUNITY
You, as executive sponsor, are not only part of the project community, you are the mayor of the community.
Creating and maintaining a community facilitates a healthy ecosystem. A community in the context of a project,
program, or ecosystem is a unit of a sociopolitical and economic organization consisting of a number of people,
groups, departments, and divisions. Community leadership is typically formalized but casual and permanent, and
community shares a common language, culture, and opportunity. A community can become a major part the
organization’s communication platform. How good are you at creating community?
The three elements that highlight a good community are value, discovering barriers, and overcoming barriers.
purpose and objective of the community with measurements. Then discover the barriers. The barriers to creating and
maintaining a community include the lack of a common infrastructure. In order to overcome some of these barriers,
assign an evangelist or multiple evangelists who have stature within the organization to promote the community.
Also important is having a visible executive sponsor who would be persistent and accountable for the success of the
community.
“As executive sponsor of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, I thought it was important to reach out to
the myriad interested parties to get feedback and support. This included not just legislators, the governor, and the
mayor, but the neighborhood groups that surrounded the convention center,” said Bentley University’s Larson. “The
new convention center site is located in South Boston, which is a very traditional, close-knit neighborhood, and we
did not want to infringe on people’s daily lives or disrupt their sense of community. Pulling all those groups together
is the essence of this type of management capability.”
She continued, “This project was not about me, it was about the team—a project oversight team that involved
someone who knew construction really well, another person who ran a development company that had built large
commercial structures in the Boston area, folks like me who understood the politics, people who had experience in
the travel and tourism industry, and local neighborhood leaders. Having such a diverse team was a much different
approach than other large public projects in and around Boston had taken previously, virtually all of which had faced
major challenges that often tarnished project reputations and results. I think our group dynamic was a major factor
in the project being so successful, coming in on time and on budget, and later serving as a model for convention
centers around the globe.”
IT executives were asked to rate the skill level of their
project executive sponsors in dealing with the project
community.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
41%
2%
37%
20%

PROMOTING HONOR AND PRIDE SKILL LEVEL
SECRET 44: EXHIBIT HONOR AND PRIDE
You, as executive sponsor honor, must start with your values. Honor is the sense of satisfaction taken in an
achievement, possession, or association with a project, program, or ecosystem. Actions needed to create and
maintain a sense of honor are awareness, transparency, communication, and sponsorship. Honor starts with
management values. There should be a good feedback system that provides information about both positive and
negative happenings. There should be a project focus. The organization should have some social responsibility
actions. Last, the organization should always celebrate its successes. The organization should implement a fair and
honest recognition and reward system. Do you exhibit honor and pride?
Two ingredients that emphasize honor are awareness and transparency. Awareness provides the attachment to the
through communication and acceptance. Communication helps build a good name or public esteem. Acceptance
helps keep honor or pride from turning into arrogance. Lack of real feedback is a sign of poor acceptance. The
project team needs to help the stakeholders with understanding the value and focus on the important issues. The
project team will also need to overcome cynicism, inaction, and apathy. Sadly, it is easier to do nothing.
Transparency provides the self-respect as to the progress, direction, and position of a project. If team members and
In order to overcome the normal project barriers the organization needs to work at being emotionally mature. This
maturity can only come from within the organization through team orientation and peer pressure. Transparency
promotes best practices for team orientation and proper peer pressure. Team-building workshops, like the Standish
more team-oriented environment.
“For me, the perfect executive sponsor is a person who fully understands his or her business;; his or her resources;;
what his or her goals and objectives are and how they relate to the rest of business;; and knows when he or she
where to go to get the help. He or she needs to know who they can ask and who they can trust to get the help. As a
coach to executive sponsors, you need to be proactive in helping them to ask for help because many see this as a
sign of weakness. It is not;; it is just good business and leadership.”
their project executive sponsors in promoting honor
and pride.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
44%
9%
26%
21%

DIFFICULTY OF OVERCOMING ABSTINENCE
SECRET 45: OVERCOME ABSTINENCE
You, as executive sponsor, have the responsibility to overcome abstinence. Abstinence, in the context of project
management, is the act or practice of refraining from participation and contribution to the project. Yogi Berra once
said, “If the fans don’t come out to the ball park, you can’t stop them.” If people have a choice they may make
the choice to stay away. If they have goals and commitments to their main job that the project interferes with they
will stay away. Absence of critical stakeholders is the bane of a successful project. Are you skilled at overcoming
abstinence?
The three elements that help overcome abstinence are required participation, regular and recurring
communications, and remove and replace. You need to require participation and mandate that essential
stakeholders take part in the project. Such mandates should be enforced with penalties for noncompliance. You
need to make sure there are regular and recurring scheduled communications and meetings. The meetings should
be advertised well in advance to avoid last-minute excuses. You must remove and replace stakeholders who do not
participate in the project. In most cases, such replacement will most likely be a relief to the wayward participant,
since their absence represents both a lack of interest and commitment.
“I think executive sponsors often fail to recognize who on the executive or leadership team has a stake in the project.
The executive sponsor needs to know the impact of the project on these people if the project is to be successful.
The executive sponsor needs to leverage these executives in the decision-making of the project or program,” said
Booz Allen Hamilton’s Bounds. “It is really important for the executive sponsor to reach out to his or her peers/
stakeholders and tell them what they need and get it for the team. I think often project managers are ill-prepared
for the organizational transformation that takes place when implementing a project. The executive sponsor needs to
help the project manager with executive leverage as part of the project.”
In his book How to Run a Successful Meeting in Half the Time, author Milo O. Frank suggests one of the best ways
suggests you consider other ways to communicate, because people hate meetings and especially unproductive ones.
The author also suggests that to come to a decision quickly in a meeting is to take a vote on the subject and move
on. Of course, this is the same premise behind the Standish Dezider. Using Dezider.com you do not need a meeting
and you get votes on how to move forward quickly.
overcoming abstinence.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
Somewhat Difficult
34%
33%
26%
7%

IT INFLUENCE IN GETTING OTHERS TO MAKE QUICK DECISIONS
SECRET 46: AVOID DECISION LATENCY
You, as the executive sponsor, need to make quick decisions. Decision latency is a major cause of project stress,
delays, and failures. Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is about making quick
decisions. Gladwell suggests that quick decisions based on intuition can be more accurate than well-researched and
careful analysis. He lays out many examples of where a quick response was much better than a drawn-out response.
What is really powerful about Blink is that many of the examples provide a framework for making rapid decisions.
For instance, Gladwell details the cardiac ward of the Cook County Hospital. There, a doctor will ask six questions
to determine if the patient should have more tests or be sent home with a package of Tums. In the case of the Blue
versus Red Army game, the preset communication and protocols allowed the participants to make not only quick, but
accurate, decisions. “I spent a decade with a hierarchical organization. Everyone brought me their issues and asked
me to make a decision. In every meeting I would be asked to make a decision. Each time I would make the decision,”
said Bounds of Booz Allen Hamilton.
“Wisdom tells me there is a better approach. The biggest difference now is I empower my teams to think like leaders
and give them the freedom to make most decisions. It is my mentoring style. I spend enough time with my team so
they know how I think, I reward them, and I count on them to make decisions. One thing I avoid is shooting them
for their decisions even though sometimes I would have decided differently. What I try to do is when they ask me to
make a decision is tell them how I would make the decision and say to them, ‘This is how I think about this or that,’”
said Bounds.
The Dezider’s (Dezider.com) benchmark feature allows you to measure your decision-making capability. Under the
issue tab, click on benchmark. This will bring you to a listing of all your closed issues. Select the issues you want in
the benchmark report and click on generate report. The system will generate a report with the average response
latency, the average decision latency, and the percentage of stakeholders responding to your issues. You can
also use the advanced search feature to select issues to benchmark. The export feature allows you to move the
benchmark data into an Excel spreadsheet for further reporting and analysis.
project executive sponsors in getting others to make
quick decisions.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
43%
17%
34%
6%

IMPORTANCE OF BASIC NEGOTIATING SKILLS
SECRET 47: NEGOTIATE
As the executive sponsor, you are the prime negotiator. Delivering a successful project requires negotiating the
plan and execution. Every project must have a business objective, such as increasing revenue, improving customer
such as the business functions and organizations impacted, as well as the constraints, such as deadlines, budget
presented to the executive sponsor to start the negotiations. Are you a skilled negotiator?
The two components that make up negotiation are power and time. All power resides and emanates from you, the
executive sponsor, whether or not you realize this. Like feudal kings, you grant power to the project participants in
order to move the project forward. Here you must use your executive skills in a manner that is not overpowering and
dictatorial, but orchestrates the way to get everyone to play the same tune with the right notes. Executive sponsors
the executive sponsor may have the power, you may not have the power to change the process or the technology and
many other organizational constraints.
Time is an area of considerable consternation for many executive sponsors. They all want it now. So, negotiations
then scope must change. If the scope cannot change then the deadline must change. If the executive sponsor forces
a deadline without changing the scope, that outcome will most likely end up in a disaster. Executive sponsors do not
have the power over physics.
“I was involved with three distinct sales forecasting projects to support three different manufacturing companies.
All three manufacturing companies needed to understand the sales forecast to be able to buy parts and schedule
work for the plants. What made these projects interesting is that manufacturing departments are generally skeptical
about the accuracy of sales forecasts,” said Langermann of IT-2-Business. “There are two schools of thought in the
sales forecasting business. One is if you want to understand demand, you need to talk to the people in business
development who are talking to the customers. The other school of thought says that salespeople are too optimistic,
and you need to consider an economic statistical model. My role was to negotiate the vision of how we would come
up with a valid forecast that manufacturing could use.”
IT executives were asked to rate how important it is
for their project executive sponsors to master skills of
basic negotiating.
Highly Important
Important
Not Important
Somewhat Important
29%
5%
39%
27%

AWARENESS SKILL LEVEL
SECRET 48: BE AWARE
You, as the executive sponsor, must have your project team focus on creating and maintaining awareness.
Awareness is the condition of being informed, educated, and/or curious about the project and stakeholder
goals, directions, details, issues, and opportunities. However, we all suffer from too much information.
The actions needed to create and maintain a sense of awareness include designing a communication system
that provides the right information to the right levels at the right time, reducing information overload. It must
address lower, mid-level, and executive stakeholders. It should be centrally controlled, simple to use, and offer
two-way communication.
The main barrier to awareness is information overload. People are inundated with information. When you get
600 e-mails a day, which ones are important? It is the sorting and selecting of information that is the critical
issue. Much of the information is unstructured, uncoordinated, unintelligible, and useless. In order to overcome
the information overload barrier, communication should be managed by content, proper levels, and the “need to
know.” Many of the CHAOS University delegates thought it should be managed centrally, while others thought this
You also need to consider how to deal with rumors, particularly bad ones. Bad rumors can really kill the
progress of a project. One solution is to have a central place for rumors or “rumor central.” You could let people
post anonymously and then the central authority would be able to answer those rumors. This would cut down on
rumors running rampant, especially bad ones. A recent example is President Barack Obama. He successfully used
a central rumor control system to combat charges made by his rivals during the 2008 presidential campaign.
“If you are the executive sponsor, you need to walk in the user’s shoes and understand how the user will use
the product from the project. I think it is important that the executive sponsor have a working relationship with
the people who will use the product,” said Langermann of IT-2-Business. “For example, if you are the customer
customer representative feels that the organization is no longer equipped to handle it. It just cannot be good for the
organization. So the executive sponsor needs to have general empathy with the user.”
their project executive sponsors in demanding
awareness.
Highly Skilled
Skilled
Not Skilled
Moderately Skilled
42%
34%
13%
11%

DIFFICULTY OF KNOWLEDGE OF PM’S PAST PROJECTS
SECRET 49: BOND WITH THE PM
You, the executive sponsor, need to have a strong bond with your program manager or owner backlog manager. If
the project fails it is your fault, not the project manager’s fault. That distinction falls squarely on you. On the other
hand, if the project or program is successful it is because of the stakeholders and project team. That is just a fact
of life. However, the project manager can and should help you by generally connecting with the stakeholders and
team members. A quality executive sponsor will have natural communication skills and use that natural skill to
foster awareness and transparency. If the executive sponsor does not have this natural ability it is up to the project
A good executive sponsor will demand, and a good project manager will respond with, a communication platform
that the executive sponsor can use easily. Together, the project manager and executive sponsor will use the
communication platform as a bully pulpit to advance the project’s agenda. The project manager and executive
sponsor will also use this platform to communicate with each other. Executive sponsors help themselves by
having the ability to measure progress. Project managers help the executive sponsor by providing metrics and
measurements that they can understand and assimilate. A quality executive sponsor will know the basic metrics and
use these metrics to track the gains and risks.
Issuing responses that are both timely and truthful will help create the bond between the project manager and the
executive sponsor. Project managers need to be both active and responsive to bring the right type of project issues
to the executive sponsor. The project manager needs to help the executive sponsor be readily available to answer
he or she does not understand how the executive sponsor addresses issues. There has to be collaboration between
the program manager and executive sponsor. Every executive sponsor is going to have their own style for addressing
issues.
“I think it is a good idea that the executive sponsor and program manager interview each other before starting a new
said Langermann. “Sometimes it doesn’t work out so well and the engagement manager needs to be replaced. It is
important for the executive sponsor to make sure the program manager gets what you are trying to accomplish from
the business-value side of the equation;; if he or she does not, then it could be a real problem.”
knowledge of the project manager’s past projects. Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
19%
34%
4%

IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING
SECRET 50: CELEBRATE WITH A PARTY
of people feel better than a sincere thank you. Thank you’s or accolades can be relatively cheap, such as a simple
steppingstones show early successes. Grant time off (if possible) when steppingstones are reached. Give team
with no work just to take a break. Don’t forget the red carpet post-debut party.
variances from our plan in terms of the triple threats: cost, time, and scope. However, we have had major successes
and we must ensure that the leadership and staff recognize these major accomplishments,” said Bounds of Booz
Allen Hamilton. “We need to document the lessons we learned both good and bad during this project. In today’s
fast-paced world we are looking to get those skilled people on the next project without looking at what was just
accomplished. It is the responsibility of the executive sponsor to schedule time to celebrate and review project
success.”
Dolley Madison knew how to celebrate and she knew how to give a party. During her husband’s tenure as Secretary
of State under Thomas Jefferson, she would often entertain and acted as a surrogate First Lady to the widow
Jefferson. In 1809, James Madison ran for president and after a hard-fought battle became the country’s fourth
chief executive. In celebration of this victory and to reward her husband’s supporters, Dolley created and hosted the
get entertainment expenses, nor at that time had a campaign war chest, Dolley sold 400 tickets for $4 each.
Since then every president has had an Inaugural Ball and most have had more than one. Andrew Jackson was the
honor. It was Warren G. Harding who started the trend to make the Inaugural Balls a charity event. He had one at a
private home. Clinton holds the record with 14 balls and played the saxophone at them. George W. Bush had eight,
and Barack Obama has had 10 so far. So, the next time you have a hard-fought campaign, think of having a ball.
IT executives were asked to rate how important it is for
their project executive sponsors to master the skill of
throwing a celebration party.
Highly Important
Important
Not Important
Somewhat Important
39%
25%
26%
10%

EXECUTIVE TIME
SUMMARY
In our examination of successful projects, most have quality executive sponsors with expert vision and prompt
responsiveness. Projects that have an executive sponsor who inspires the team do much better than projects
that lack inspiration. Projects that have a visionary who enlightens the team and stakeholders have a higher rate
of success. Projects that have a strong and decisive executive sponsor also do better. Executive sponsors who
celebrate small and large accomplishments move their teams to greater performance. On the other hand, most
challenged and failed projects typically lack quality executive support. In most cases, projects without quality
executive support will perform poorly.
Projects that have an active and responsive executive sponsor fare better than those left to hang alone without a
commitment and responsiveness. “One of my main principles in signing up to be an executive sponsor is to make
able to add value to the team. Stripes alone does not make one a good executive sponsor. You need know what you
are talking about to gain and keep the respect of the team. It just works so much better if you know what you are
Executive responsiveness increases the chances of success. The executive is accountable to ensure a successful
outcome. The greater the executive’s skill in the Standish success factors, the greater the chance the project will
be successful. On the other hand, a nonresponsive or mediocre executive increases the chances that a project will
experience overruns or failure. “Having the stripes makes a big difference. Often during a project the peer groups
need those reports and what they are going to do with them. One of the problems is the team is in the trenches and
are not always able to see the bigger picture. The nice thing about having the knowledge base and experience is you
can step back as an executive sponsor and look at the broader view of the project.”
You are not born a good executive sponsor. Executive sponsorship is a developed skill. The 50 secrets to being a
good executive sponsor in this report discuss the attributes of quality executive sponsorship. The executive sponsor
who adheres to these principles will develop as a quality executive sponsor and enjoy greater project success.
IT executives were asked how much time an executive
sponsor should allocate for effectively supporting and
governing a simple project over its lifetime. Simple
project: under $750,000 in labor cost;; six months or
a small project team (six or fewer);; and similar to other
projects done by the organization.
1 to 5 hours
6 to 10 hours
More than 25 hours
11 to 25 hours
27%
23%
29%
21%

SENIOR EXECUTIVE TIME
TRUE COST
In our research paper titled “The True Cost of a Project,” we examined a typical project budget to look at all the costs
that were not included. In this example in our paper, the project cost 50% more than the budgeted cost because of
these hidden expenses. The cost of the executive sponsor is rarely included in the budget or the cost of a project.
This means it is not part of the return on investment (ROI) calculation as well. In our example of a $1 million project
budget the true cost of the executive sponsor added more than $40,000 to the true cost of the project. However, the
cost is only the direct labor cost of the executive sponsor, not the lost opportunity value of the executive sponsor’s
In a recent engagement we were asked to examine four different methods for upgrading a critical system. These
methods included a total rewrite, two different packages, and modernization. One of our major concerns for the
packages and the rewrite methods was the cost of the executive sponsor’s time. In this case, the executive sponsor
was the prime rainmaker and business development driver. The executive sponsor estimated he will spend a third of
his time on this project. Over the life of the rewrite or package implementation projects this could easily equal one
to two years’ compensation. While a raw cost of time would be expensive, the real cost is the loss of opportunity,
creativity, and promotion. We estimate the cost would be as much as $20 million. This cost exceeded the budget of
the entire project.
Many organizations have tried to reduce executive time and cost by creating surrogates or proxy executive sponsors.
“I think a proxy works if it is not really a proxy, but a delegation of authority. You can help the person be an executive
sponsor by providing guidance, but the executive sponsor must have the authority and respect of the team. If the
team thinks that the person is just standing in for you because you do not have the time to devote to the project it
“At VMware we had a couple of projects where there was a little bit of executive sponsor proxy. I found nothing good
about having a proxy executive sponsor. It is my opinion that it just does not work. If we have a project then there
should be an executive sponsor who has accountability to make it work and be successful. I want to make this clear
that the executive sponsor is totally responsible and accountable for the success or failure of the project,” said
level, vice president level, or director level.”
IT executives were asked the total maximum
percentage of time a senior executive can devote
to the executive sponsor role, over all projects and
programs. Senior executives can spend about 7%
of their time on project activities. Of course, it is
expected that senior executives will work longer hours,
so the average per week would be 60 hours or about
4 hours per week on projects.
Less than 5%
6% to 10%
Greater than 26%
11% to 25%
14%
4%
20%
62%

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR EDUCATION
EDUCATING THE EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
“I think it is important to groom people to be an executive sponsor. First, you choose potential candidates who have
you need to choose the right setting for the new sponsor. And make sure that he or she can have a reasonable
chance of success. You can be in the background and provide guidance to help the person along. Here again,
the team needs assurances that the new executive sponsor is not a puppet for someone else, but he or she is in
charge.”
Standish Group research shows that executive sponsors have no formal training on how to be an executive sponsor.
In addition, the majority of organizations claim that the primary vehicle for executive sponsor training is on the job.
The project manager assigned to a project that the executive sponsor is supporting does most of this education. The
thinking is, each time an executive sponsor supports a project he or she will gain more experience and knowledge on
how to be an executive sponsor. There are a number of problems with this on-the-job training practice.
First, there is the reliance on the project manager. The project manager may or may not know how to run projects,
but he or she has no formal training on how to educate the executive sponsor on how to be a good executive
sponsor. “The problem is that project managers have their own view and language. The project manager looks at
the project tactically,” said Bounds of Booz Allen Hamilton. “He or she looks more in the weeds of the project or the
details to try to get it done. The executive sponsor tends to look at it as a strategic event.”
Second, the project manager is in a subordinate role and may not have the good standing with the executive
organization. In the project management profession we have our own language and plenty of acronyms. So there is a
to understand the PMBOK [project management body of knowledge] and all of its artifacts and processes.”
Third, each project manager may have different views, approaches, and opinions on how to be a good executive
sponsor. “It is up to the project manager to make that translation. Executive sponsors, on the other hand, have the
responsibility to ensure that the project manager makes that translation,” said Bounds.
IT executives were asked how their executive sponsors
know/learn how to be executive sponsors.
Formal Training
On-the-Job Training
Don’t Know
1%
19%
80%

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR ASSESSMENT
The Executive Sponsor Assessment asks about and measures the 50 secrets as outlined in this report. It also rolls
up many of these secrets into characteristics. There are many characteristics, but the 10 prime characteristics are:
Resolution Promptness: During the life of the average project there is a need to make thousands of decisions
and resolve many issues. Resolution promptness is the executive sponsor’s skill at making timely decisions and
addressing issues as they surface. Resolution promptness also is the skill to get others to accept and believe in their
decisions. You, the executive sponsor, need to have the skill to get others to make timely and rapid decisions. You
need the ability to back up others they have trusted to make decisions.
Clear Business Objectives: Clear business objectives are achieved when all the stakeholders are focused on
and understand the core values of the project. You, the executive sponsor, need the skill to help stakeholders see
the big picture and show how the project aligns with the organization’s business strategies. The quality executive
sponsor will provide a simple and succinct vision that all can grasp and follow. The executive sponsor can tie back
the project’s functions to the original agreed-upon vision and objectives.
Emotional Maturity: Executive sponsors with emotional maturity have the ability and capacity to perceive, assess,
manage, and direct the emotions and actions of the project stakeholders and team members. It is the skill to
identify and remove unnecessary roadblocks. It is the skill to demand transparency and excellence. For the executive
sponsor, emotional maturity means how to recognize and deal with the CHAOS Five Deadly Sins. The CHAOS Five
Deadly Sins are fraudulence, arrogance, abstinence, overambition, and ignorance.
Stakeholder Motivation: Executive sponsors with the skill to motivate stakeholders create and maintain quality
relationships with users and stakeholders. Executive sponsors with this skill have empathy with the user process and
procedures. They explicitly understand the real needs of the stakeholders and use these needs to motivate them.
The quality executive sponsor will understand what motivates the stakeholders and frame the solution to harness
their enthusiasm. The quality executive sponsor will develop a project community of stakeholders. The executive
sponsor will use the community to motivate the stakeholders.
Team Motivation: Executive sponsors with the skill to motivate the team help the team to achieve excellence and
drive progress. A quality executive sponsor will distinguish between activity and progress. He or she will recognize
achievements and reward these accomplishments. The quality executive sponsor will celebrate outstanding effort
with sincerity and will fairly commensurate the effort. In this manner the quality executive sponsor will ensure the
celebration motivates the entire team and promotes harmony.
IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTING WITH THE EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
IT executives were asked to rate how important it is
for their IT project workforce to master the project
management skill of generally connecting with the
executive sponsor.
Very Important
Important
Somewhat Important
43%
30%
27%

DIFFICULTY OF CONNECTING WITH THE EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
Value Insight: Executive sponsors with value insight skills understand how the project brings value to the
organization and what events affect that value. A quality executive sponsor will know what the organization will gain
from a successful project outcome. The quality executive sponsor will know the risks and how to mitigate the risks
whether they are business, technical, and/or investments. The quality executive sponsor will not only have value
insight for the project he or she is commanding, but insight for the value of the other projects. In this regard, the
executive sponsor will be ready when called on to make decisions that are best for the organization.
Communication Astuteness: Quality executive sponsors will have natural communication skills and use those
skills to foster awareness and transparency. The skilled executive sponsor will insist on excellence in execution. The
quality executive sponsor will demand a communication platform to promote pride and honor in being part of an
important project for the organization. The quality executive sponsor will use the communication platform as a bully
pulpit to advance the project’s agenda. However, the adroit executive sponsor will use tools like our Dezider (Dezider.
com) to include stakeholders in decisions and gain feedback.
Resource insight: Executive sponsors with resource insight skills know what it takes to get the job done. A
quality executive sponsor will have a keen appreciation of the commitment that they need to make, as well as the
commitment other executives, stakeholders, and team members need to make to the project. The quality executive
sponsor will consider the hidden cost of executive time, user lost production, IT support, and other stakeholder time
in the project resources.
Process Insight: Understanding the process helps the quality executive sponsor manage the needed resources
and commitments. The quality executive sponsor knows in advance how to react to situations that may be
troublesome to the inferior executive sponsor. A skilled executive sponsor can avoid many problem areas by
understanding how the process should be done, not how it is being done. The quality executive sponsor will have a
summary conception of the project’s methodology, such as waterfall or Agile.
Measurement Insight: Executive sponsors help themselves by having the ability to measure progress. A quality
executive sponsor will know the basic metrics and use these metrics to track the gains and risks. Changes to the
project will not frustrate the quality executive sponsor. He or she will have ardent comprehension of how the changes
are the decision process and timing.
for their IT project workforce to master the project
management skill of generally connecting with the
executive sponsor.
Very Difficult
Difficult
Not Difficult
29%
39%
9%

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR EFFECT
PERFECT EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
This report is an attempt to outline the 50 best practices and tools needed to be a good executive sponsor. These
50 secrets have been researched and developed for executive sponsors to help you improve your skills. “The perfect
executive sponsor would be someone who understands the product arena, so if it was software they would have
some experience in software, maybe as a product manager. I think the perfect executive sponsor would be someone
who understands team dynamics. He or she should also have tremendous communication ability to convey the value
of the project to his or her management,” said the OMG’s Soley.
“A good example is we had a tremendous executive sponsor for our support CRM system. We were using Siebel for
com, so we decided to support Salesforce.com as well in order to have a single enterprise view of the customer.
Support had three distinct roles, and the executive sponsor understood these roles really well. He also had a pulse
of the support leadership. He focused on the minimum set of success criteria to drive the teams to be happy. He was
absolutely in charge of scope control,” said VMware’s Heil.
executive sponsor will have broad internal and external connections so when he or she needs support it will be there
Soley added, “The executive sponsor is the person holding the umbrella over the team, because we know when it
rains it pours, and ultimately keeping the crap from hitting the team. By doing this the team can do what the team
was hired to do without too much interference. On the other hand, for providing such protection the executive
sponsor should be made to look good by that team.” And according to Heil, “One of the key things an executive
biggest item for the executive sponsor is to gain and maintain the respect of the team. If the executive sponsor loses
the respect of the team, then the project is most likely lost.”
IT executives were asked what percentage of a
project’s success is directly attributable to the quality
of the executive sponsor. Their answers suggest
that a little less than half of a project’s success is a
direct result of the contribution of a quality executive
sponsor.
1% to 20%
21% to 40%
More than 60%
41% to 60%
26%
17%
28%
29%

50 SECRETS TO BEING A GOOD EXECUTIVE SPONSOR AT A GLANCE
Secret 1: Inspire
Secret 2: Know How the Solution Will Be Used
Secret 3: Understand the Project Management Process
Secret 4: Set Goals
Secret 5: Get the Right Project Resources
Secret 6: Promote Excellence
Secret 7: Understand Business Events
Secret 8: Communicate the Facts
Secret 9: Reward Outstanding Effort
Secret 10: Provide Clarity of Purpose
Secret 11: Recognize Team Member Contributions
Secret 12: Obtain Decision Acceptance
Secret 13: Develop Quality User Relationships
Secret 14: Understand the Executive Sponsor Role
Secret 15: Understand Risk and Reward
Secret 16: Make Quick Decisions
Secret 17: Demand Objectivity and Transparency
Secret 18: Manage Financial Changes
Secret 19: Determine Explicit User Needs
Secret 20: Endorse the Business Objectives
Secret 21: Distribute Decision Power
Secret 22: Overcome Arrogance
Secret 23: Overcome Fraudulence
Secret 24: Use Value and Risk Metrics
Secret 25: Understand the Project Life Cycle
Secret 26: Understand PM Techniques
Secret 27: Overcome Ignorance
Secret 28: Have a Succinct Vision
Secret 29: Know When to Pull the Plug
Secret 30: Develop a Simple Vision
Secret 31: Track Progress with Metrics
Secret 32: Drive Project Activities
Secret 33: Celebrate Accomplishments
Secret 34: Track Investments
Secret 35: Track Technical Events
Secret 36: Have Commitment
Secret 37: Be Familiar with Similar Projects
Secret 38: Overcome Overambition
Secret 39: Establish a Common Vocabulary
Secret 40: Use a Decision Pipeline
Secret 41: Deliver Steppingstones
Secret 42: Track Progress Against the Plan
Secret 43: Create a Community
Secret 44: Exhibit Honor and Pride
Secret 45: Overcome Abstinence
Secret 46: Avoid Decision Latency
Secret 47: Negotiate
Secret 48: Be Aware
Secret 49: Bond with the PM
Secret 50: Celebrate with a Party

Chaos report 2012

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Chaos report 2012