11.6. Working Toward the Finish

A project requires many things: finances, hardware, time, and other resources. Chief among the required resources is a commitment from all parties involved in the project. This includes the project manager, management, the project sponsor, and the project team. You will need to create and maintain a relationship with each of these parties to ensure their continued support of the project and their commitment to seeing the project through. Project managers who isolate parties that are not actively involved with the implementation are doing their project and career a disservice. Management, project sponsors, and departments that are impacted by the technology implementation want to hear from the project manager on a regular basis, as Figure 11-6 shows. They want, and need, to be kept informed.

11.6.1. Commitment from the Project Team's Managers

If you are working in a functional or matrix environment, managing a project team is a complex process that requires a commitment from the team members' managers. The managers of the team members may be from several different departments within the organization, or they could all be directly within the IT department. The structure of your organization will have a huge impact on the attitude and outlook of the project team on the technology project.