Sponsoring a
Continuous Improvement Project
(A Guideline For Sponsors)
MVA | 2017
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TOPICS
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Project Sponsor definition
The roles and responsibilities of a Project Sponsor
Interaction with team / communication
DMAIC process
Tollgate process
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PROJECT SPONSOR DEFINITION
Project Sponsors are key members of a Continuous Improvement project,
as they determine the success of the project
Project Sponsors own the project and are overall accountable for the
success of a project
Project Sponsors are at a level in the organization where they have high
influence on the stakeholders and process owners
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THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
PROJECT SPONSOR
Identify and review a new or existing project that would benefit the organization and ensure that
it is aligned with the company’s business goals and strategies – determine project viability
Questions to ask:
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How is this project aligned to our goals and strategies ?
What is the overall goal and value of working on this project ?
Are there other competing goals that should be prioritized ?
Is the scope of this project reasonable (3 to 5 month for completion) ?
Do we have the right resources to work on this project ?
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THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
PROJECT SPONSOR
Ensure that the right team members are selected for the project
Questions to ask:
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Who should lead the project (skill, availability) ?
What team members do we need to work this project (skills, availability) ?
Are there competing tasks that will prevent team members to be actively involved in moving
the project along (re-assign tasks) ?
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THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
PROJECT SPONSOR
Keep track of the project and ensure that it progresses without delay by using the tollgate review
process – cancel a project if necessary
Questions to ask:
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Is there a planned schedule (i.e. weekly) to have a quick project review discussion with the
team lead (progress, hurdles) ?
Are there tollgate reviews scheduled after the “Define” & “Measure”; “Analyze”; and “Improve
& Control” phase gate ?
Is the project still viable (financials; changes) – does it need to be cancelled ?
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THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
PROJECT SPONSOR
Be a link between the project members and the organization’s stakeholder
Questions to ask:
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Do we understand who the stakeholders for this project are (business areas that would
benefit from the outcome of the project) ?
Have we communicated the project charter to the stakeholders (understanding & buy–in) ?
Are we communication the project progress to the stakeholders ?
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THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
PROJECT SPONSOR
Approving any financials that are required for completing the project
Questions to ask:
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Does this project require any financial expenditures or investments ?
Is the sponsor able to approve financial expenditures / investments ?
Is there a mechanism to track financial project benefits ?
Are the financial benefits in line with the project goal(s) ?
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THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
PROJECT SPONSOR
Ensure that the completed project is handed over to the process owners and shows sustained
improvements
Questions to ask:
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Is the process owner clearly identified (area that is impacted by project) ?
Is the process owner communicated to throughout the progress of the project ?
Is the process owner taking ownership of the improved process at the conclusion of the
project (process hand over) ?
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INTERACTION WITH TEAM / COMMUNICATION
Participate with the team lead in creating the initial project charter
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The project charter should be prepared by both, the sponsor and the proposed team lead
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Problem Statement: What is wrong or not working ?
Business Impact: Why is this important to the business ?
Project Goal: What is our project metric and measurable goal ?
Project Scope: What is in scope and what is out of scope ?
Project Team: Who should be on the team (team lead, core team members, extended
team members) ?
Project Schedule: Estimated date for completing the project phases including the
completion of the project
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INTERACTION WITH TEAM / COMMUNICATION
Meet with the project team lead – preferably on a weekly basis (project status, issues, next
steps, coaching)
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A weekly process status meeting between the sponsor and the team lead is highly
recommended (normally a 15 min to 30 min meeting is suffice for this purpose)
- Project Status: what has been accomplished since the last status meeting
- Issues: any hurdles that need to be discussed (project, team, schedule, etc.)
- Next Steps: where does the team expect to go from here – need to schedule tollgate
meetings
- Coaching: this may be a good opportunity to give and/or receive coaching and
feedback
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INTERACTION WITH TEAM / COMMUNICATION
Be available to the project team to discuss any project issues as they arise
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There may be times where a project team may get stuck for a variety of reasons (general
know how; team member issues; schedules; resources; focus; etc.) – the sponsor plays a
vital role in helping the team get over these types of issues
Any team issues should be discussed during the sponsor / team lead meetings or as they
arise
Provide the team with honest feedback (positive and constructive)
One of the key roles of a sponsor is to be available for the team as needed
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INTERACTION WITH TEAM / COMMUNICATION
Actively participate and sign off on the project tollgate reviews
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The purpose of a formal project tollgate review is to assure that the project is following a
disciplined approach (DMAIC)
Set the expectation for short tollgates (15 to 30 min) – weekly project status meetings with
the team lead should enable that
Tollgate reviews should be combined: Define & Measure; Analyze; Improve & Control
Tollgates need to be documented (cover sheet; charter; body of work; conclusions; risks
and issues; next steps; tollgate checklist; tollgate approval)
The sponsor signs off on the tollgate to allow the team to move to the next phase(s) or to
complete the project
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INTERACTION WITH TEAM / COMMUNICATION
Celebrate the successful completion of the project with the team
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Once a project is completed, the sponsor should look at ways to celebrate the success
with the team
The sponsor should acknowledge the hard work and dedication that went into the project
by all team members
Recognition could be anything including: a pizza party; letter of appreciation; rewards; etc.
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PROJECT ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
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DMAIC PROCESS
DMAIC refers to a data-driven quality strategy for improving processes, and is
an integral part of the company's CI Initiative. DMAIC is an acronym for five
interconnected phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.
Define: Defining the project through the use of a Project Charter (Problem Statement;
Business Impact; Goal; Project Scope; Team; Schedule)
Measure: Establish project metric(s) and develop baseline data; process map
Analyze: Analyze the root cause(s) > current performance vs. performance goal
Improve: Develop solutions, based on the root cause(s); test and implement solutions
Control: Document the improved process and develop a control plan for sustainability of
improvements
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THE TOLLGATE REVIEW PROCESS
Notes on the Tollgate Review Process
DEFINE
Define & Measure Tollgate
MEASURE
ANALYZE
Analyze Tollgate
IMPROVE
Improve and Control Tollgate
CONTROL
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 Occurs at the end of each phase – Define &
Measure; Improve & Control are combined
to minimize number of meetings
 A tollgate package is presented by the team
to the sponsor for phase approval
 The tollgate review should be a quick review
of the project information (less than 30
minutes)
 Key participants are the sponsor and the
team lead – team members and
stakeholders are encouraged to participate
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THE TOLLGATE REVIEW
Generic Tollgate Package:
 Cover Sheet: Project Name; Tollgate; Team Lead & Team; Date
 Charter: Problem Statement; Business Impact; Project Goal; Project Scope; Project Team; Schedule
 Body of Work:
 Define: Charter; SIPOC; Communication Plan; VOC
 Measure: Process Map; Current Performance Data
 Analyze: Data Analysis; Root Cause Analysis
 Improve: Solution Selection; Risk Analysis; Solution Pilot
 Control: Performance Metrics; Updated Process Map; Documentation; Control Plan
 Conclusions; Project Risks; Lessons Learned
 Next Steps
 Tollgate Check List
 Tollgate Decision: Go; Conditional Go; No Go
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