ROLE DEFINITIONSTRAINING

A description of the different project roles and responsibilities within an organization

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© 2009 IT Project & Portfolio Office I The University of Utah

ROLE DEFINITIONS

The roles and responsibilities are different on any given project. You may find yourself functioning as a Project Manager on one project only to function as a Resource Manager on the next project.

What are these different roles and how do they interact with one another? In this module we set out to define each role and what their responsibilities are.

Project Manager

Resource Manager

Functional Manager

Stakeholder

Sponsor

SPONSOR

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A Sponsor is a ranking representative of the developing organization. This is the individual who will be championing a project and ensuring that the life of the project is maintained. A sponsor can be the person or group that provides the financial resources, in cash or in kind, for the project. A sponsor should not be the requesting body. Project Managers need to identify who the sponsor of the project is and ensure that he or she understands their role.

A Sponsor’s role includes: Confirms the Project Context Validates the Scope and Approach Confirms and Supports Project Changes Confirms and Supports the Project Plan Gives Approval to Proceed to Execution Validates Deliverable Completion

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PMRMsProject Team

Sponsor Customer

Objectives

Validation

Objective

Alignment

The Sponsor acts as a liaison between the Customer and Project Manager by verifying and aligning the customer’s objectives and communicating them with the project manager.

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PROJECT MANAGERThe person assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives is referred to as the Project Manager. The Project Manager is the person responsible for managing a project. Often at times you may not find yourself as a Project Manager by title but rather by role. The Project Manager:

Validates the project objectives and plan with the Sponsor

Requests resources from the resource manager

Builds the Project Plan Ensures Deliverables are on time and on

budget Prevents scope creep where the scope of

the project increases.

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Sponsor Customer

Objectives

Validation

Objective

Alignment

The Project Manager ensures that the customer’s and stakeholders needs are being met. Project Managers validate the objectives and progress of the project with Sponsors. A Project Manager also coordinates resource allocations with Resource and Functional Managers.

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RESOURCE MANAGERA Resource Manager is the person responsible for activities of people in a specialized department or function; a person responsible for the direction and training of personnel specific to a certain skill set. This is someone with management authority over an organizational unit. The manager of any group that actually makes a product or performs a service. This is the person who controls availability of resources. The Resource Manager:

Coordinates resource availability with the Project Manager

Approves or denies resource allocations for specific project work

Manages the level of capacity per resource

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Sponsor Customer

Objectives

Validation

Objective

Alignment

Resource Managers ensure that their resources are properly allocated and not working above scheduled capacity. The Resource Manager coordinates with the Project Manager in scheduling resources on a project.

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FUNCTIONAL MANAGERA Functional Manager is much like a Resource Manager. A Functional Manager is the person responsible for activities in a specialized department or function; a person responsible for the direction and use of resources (either person or thing). This is someone with management authority over an organizational unit within a functional organization. Depending on the project a Functional Manager may or may not:

Coordinate resource availability with the Project Manager

Approve or deny resource allocations for specific project work

Manage the level of capacity per resource Work on projects

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Sponsor Customer

Objectives

Validation

Objective

Alignment

Functional Managers ensure that their resources are properly allocated and not working above scheduled capacity. The Functional Manager coordinates with the Project Manager in scheduling resources on a project.

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STAKEHOLDERA Stakeholder is a group or individual who affects or is affected by the project. Stakeholders can be a person or organization (e.g., customer, sponsor, performing organization, or the public). Stakeholders can be actively or passively involved in the project. A Stakeholder is one whose interests may be positively or negatively affected by the project. It is up to a Project Manager to discover what level of involvement a Stakeholder will need to have. A Stakeholder’s role includes:

Confirming the Project Context Validating the Scope and Approach Confirming and Supports Project Changes Confirming and Supports the Project Plan Gives Approval to Proceed to Execution Validates Deliverable Completion

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Sponsor Customer

Objectives

Validation

Objective

Alignment

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Stakeholders, such as Customers influence the projects success or failure. Many stakeholders will assign an advocate on the Project Team.

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