Be a Better Sheepdog Project Ownership Practical Guide

Are you a Sponsor of a new project?

You need to be more than a figurehead for the project; a Project Owner is a better name as you need to own the project from inception to completion, even though you will have a Project Manager to manage the project on your behalf day to day.
Having briefed many Sponsors on their role over 35 years of being a Project Manager, the author has produced this concise practical guidebook, which has some key benefits for you:
It explains what you are accountable for within a project.It presents a summary view of Project Management processes, so you have awareness of what your PM should be doing without wallowing in detail. Importantly, it tells you where you need to get involved and why.If you are really short of time, there is a fast route through the book to give you a good overview allowing you to start the project and return for more information when needed.It is independent of any Project Management methodology in use within your organisation presenting a simplified view of project processes.It will help you to direct your PM to present information in a form you can quickly digest.The style of the book uses analogies and proverbs with a number of hopefully humorous cartoons, which scientific research indicates aids memory. Rather than learning by rote that Risk Management is really important, it is easier to remember the proverb "Attack the risks before the risks attack you!"The author has priced the book competitively to cover costs of production, because rather than aiming to make money he is motivated by a desire to improve project outcomes.
In terms of chapters, the book first examines an important concept which is what success represents in a project before moving onto:
The partnership between Project Owner and Project Manager.The need to "Do the right project" before "Do the project right" which involves production of a Business Case.A summary of Project Manager owned activities for awareness and to understand where you need to get involved.A simplified view of the 3 processes needed to execute a project and a checklist for Project Owners.The key "project contract" document explained (this key definition document can have a number of different names depending on the methodology in use).A number of useful reference appendices including a glossary of terms you may hear.