Project sponsor

Typically, the project sponsor is the check writer and a supporter of the project manager throughout the life of the project. It is not unusual for the project sponsor to be internal to your organization, but just like anything else in project management, it depends on your situation.

The project sponsor's role is greater than just writing checks though; this is the key stakeholder who contributes to the project charter and is also the one that needs to approve the project charter. You will review the project charter in depth in Chapter 4, Developing a Project Charter, but for our purposes now, the project charter gives the project manager formal authority to begin project work. The charter also provides high-level requirements.

As the project manager on the project, it will be your job to work closely with the project sponsor and to keep them up to date on the project deliverables as well as any potentially major risk events. The sponsor may have the last word and be the decision maker on any project issues.

The main responsibilities of the project sponsor are as follows:

• They work to help define the business case and justify the project is necessary.
• They contribute to and approve the project charter which, in part, assigns the project manager and defines their level of authority on the project. The charter also gives formal authorization for project work to begin.
• They provide the financial resources necessary for project work dependent upon the business case or possible contracts in place.
• They define and approve high-level requirements.
• They approve the project baselines after planning and before execution of the project. If updates to the baselines are necessary during project-execution, the sponsor would be part of the change approvals process.
• They help the project manager resource their projects and in general are supportive of the project manager and project work.