Project Sponsor in the Agile Framework

The Importance of the Project Sponsor
The Project Sponsor is a role that commits to support the project and its outcome (a product or service for example). The sponsor clearly understand project's objectives, have some level of control over project resources, and have influence in decisions related to a project. The sponsor typically support the scope, objectives, risk management, quality expectations and benefits realization plans that the project manager implements. The sponsor discusses and clarifies goals of the project with the organization’s executive management. Sponsors will work with project managers to create plans should the project go off course from changes in situations i.e. resource requirements are increased. They take on many roles in the business, from selling the project in the beginning to providing insights and maintaining a smooth operation by protecting the team from outside or inside influences that threaten development.
How the Project Sponsor is Selected
It's recommended that the project sponsor has some educational background and experience in project management. In order for a person to be appointed in the role, he or she must be at the senior level of the organization to provide the support needed for the project. For smaller projects, the appointed sponsor will have to come from a top position within the business. Overall it is considered that the higher the level of the project sponsor, the higher the probability of success.
Project Sponsor vs. Project Manager
The roles of the project sponsor is similar to the roles of a project manager. Both have control over the time, budget, planning, and commitment to the scope of the project. Both are heavily involved in the entire process of operations; beginning to end. There are distinctions between the two when they work together that clarify the differences.
Project sponsors are responsible for the success of the project while the manager is accountable for the success of the team. The sponsor will mentor the manager; the manager mentors the team. The sponsor removes obstacles that the manger cannot do on their own and the sponsor supervises him or her. The project team is mentored and supervised by the project manager. Sponsors have oversight of sub projects while the manager will have oversight of the entire project. Sponsors will review and approve planning; the manager takes the planning into development for the team. The direction of the project is defined by the sponsor and the direction of the sub projects is defined by the manager.
Similarities Between Product Owner and Project Sponsor
The product owner is accountable for the value of the product and the work for the development team that utilizes agile frameworks: a methodology in project development. This person is in charge of managing the backlog which includes: ordering backlogs to accomplish goals which are best to the product's development, ensuring value of performance in the teams work, controls the direction of the scrum team, and makes the case the development team understands the objectives in the backlog and its level of importance. The managing of the product backlog is relative to the direction of the project. The product backlog is absolutely necessary in Scrum: an iterative and incremental agile development framework for managing projects, typically software, product or application development. The backlog lists the project's requirements (in the form of user stories) in order to have a deliverable product. Although anyone may suggest user stories to the backlog, only the product owner may choose which stories will ultimately be selected for development.
In comparison, the product owner's authority in approval is like the project sponsor's role in reviewing and approving project planning and change requests. Of course, great communication is vital for efficiency and success within the traditional or agile framework. Both the product owner and project sponsor communicate and work close with stakeholders: those interested in the business. They both are highly committed towards the project's success.
Project Sponsor and Agile Methodology
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. Companies need to define the role of sponsorship to describe precisely where the responsibilities are since there are different meanings to the title in each case. The sponsor must own the project.
Project Sponsor as the Product Owner in Agile and Effectiveness
The product owner is the member of the agile team who serves as the customer proxy and works closely with the project manager and other stakeholders. They are part of the development (project pre- planning, estimating and gathering resources and communication with various interest groups) and extended project management team (planning iteration and release, backlog refinement, and vision). They are accountable for product demonstrations for key program stakeholders. A product owner who has a thorough understanding of a customer's needs will be able to describe, prioritize, and note requirements for a product that will satisfy those needs. A product owner who is proactive in stakeholder management (production support, service, sales, analysis of marketing trends) is key for success. For software-development related projects, basic to advance knowledge in software development is effective for product owners to communicate and work closely with teams to technical detail and practice. In some cases the Scrum Master, a buffer for the developing team and any distractions that slow their ability to perform and complete tasks, can be a product owner as well. This is an interesting combination since the hybrid of those two titles, Product Owner and Scrum Master, is advantageous, where a person has knowledge of both technical and collaborative skills, and a deep understanding of business and marketing. There are a few traits that make an effective product owner in the organization: availability, decisiveness, and authorized. A good product owner should be available to the team for a higher productivity rate; there should be no time wasted in scheduling a conference call. Sometimes distance, i.e. separate geographical locations, can be an issue however with improved communications over the past two decades eliminated frequent travel to such locations; internet calls, video phones, streaming live conferences and virtual chat rooms are ways to have distant team members present during daily meetings. Decisiveness is an attribute ever product owner should have: the ability to make resolutions without avoiding them. Along with making hard decisions is the responsibility to stick with them and held liable. In essence, the product owner's job is to maximize the delivery of features of a product in some period of time meaning the product should have as much business value as it needs.
Agile project management works well in small or medium sized enterprises. If the scale of a project increases, having complex requirements and as more changes arise, the framework begins to weaken. Agile in large teams can work if there are goals set in detail in the beginning of the development and there is an understanding of those goals across the teams. The agile framework is flexible and adaptable. For the practice to be implemented successfully, it must be adjusted to the structure and culture of the company. “In some cases, the product owner role can be too much for one person. Researchers Angela Martin, Robert Biddle, and James Noble found that the product owner role is 'consistently under more pressure than the developers and other participants in the project' (2004, 51).”. A product owner team is assembled to help the organization and overall workflow with one person appointed with the highest authority. Each development team needs to have one person, within the product owner team, that they can go to for answers. Some common problems are overworked, underpowered, or partial-to-the-job product owners. Rather than splitting roles, it's advised that organizations should take the challenge of applying the role properly. This may consist of organizational changes, adapting to new roles and paths and outlook on responsibilities. A product owner should have no more than two teams to give adequate support. Using proxy product owner is not recommended to remedy overwork, unrealistic tasks for one person, because it can delay decisions and cause conflicts, slowing progress; the proxy in place does not have authority. Organizations should ensure the authority to product owners. Otherwise, failure is imminent and will result from not having a well-structured team and not addressing the underlying issues. Committees created by companies can also hold delays since there is no sole person responsible for the product. Applying the product owner effectively in Scrum is a key for success and a learning experience for individuals who take the job.

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