Project Manager Time Quadrants

In 1995 I managed my first Information Technology project. It was for an organisation that did not have formal methodology experience, but they were pleased that I did.  It was very much a 1 to 1 relationship between me, Project Manager/ Business Analyst and the Project Sponsor/ Subject Matter Expert.  My focus was on capturing requirements and feeding them back to the developers, managed by another line manager. I spent nearly all of my time managing the relationship with the key stakeholder, and delivering the project; almost none managing the relationship with the delivery team and administering the project.

By contrast, in my last project, I had 15 high-profile stakeholders and subject matter experts. My delivery team was spread across 3 divisions with 3 different managers. I was considered one of the subject matter experts in the technology, and this organisation has a large and complex project reporting structure.

How is one project manager meant to fulfil all the roles in the Project Management life cycle?

Generally, there are two things a project manager spends time on: Relationship Management and Delivery Management.

Relationship Management focuses on who you spend your time with to get the results you have promised for the project. This can be Stakeholder-focused such as the Project Sponsor, Steering Committee or End users or on your project team who are providing the deliverables.

Delivery Management focuses on how much time you spend providing feedback on progress. Administrative focus is heavily-based on methods, formulas, EPMs and reports. Delivery focus is based on showing frequent and accurate results, such as prototypes and releases.


If we plot these on a grid it looks like this:

So let's say you spend 100% of your time updating Gantt charts, checking on task status, writing reports and updating budget spreadsheets. We call this the Project Administration Quadrant. More time is spent on reporting and communicating with the team.

The opposite extreme is the Stakeholder Manager Quadrant. The Project Sponsor or Owner has hired you, the Project Manager to turn a mish-mash of opinions into a functioning system, application or network.  This is the hardest of the roles because it requires up to 100% of your time setting and managing expectations of the stakeholders who want (or don't want) the project to succeed, whilst focusing on the delivery of their objectives. You have little time with the team, and little time to report on progress. If the Stakeholders are high-profile, a Project Director might be brought in to manage the individual project managers. This is the Project Manager role I prefer, but with a Project Director in place (or with me as the Project Director).

If your time is spent managing the delivery team and the deliverables, you fall into the Team Leader Quadrant.  These are usually straight forward requirements with a small number of stakeholders.


Lastly, the Program Management Quadrant requires a lot of administrative time and management of stakeholders. Program Managers rarely interact with the delivery teams or the act of delivery unless problems arise.

So in which Quadrant does your current project reside? In the next blog, I'll show you how to use this quadrant for your project planning.

Forget Sponsors, Champions Rule!

The Project Management bandwagon has made Project Steering committees "fashionable". Despite a Project Manager's best intentions, a seat on the committee can be politically desirable, resulting in too many stakeholders, too many agendas and the nomination of a sponsor so high up in the ranks that he/she does not have the time to dedicate to the project objectives.

Enter the Project Champion.

This is a person on the steering committee who is respected by all members, especially the project sponsor. But most importantly, the strategic agenda of the Champion depends on the objectives of the project outcomes.

In other words, your project is one of the most important to them.

With a Champion in place, you are able to have almost daily feedback from the agenda makers. Your project has a voice at every meeting of the Champion's peers and higher-ups.

Why is this important? Word of mouth is a powerful thing. If your project is important enough to be discussed in meetings you didn't attend, then everyone starts believing it is important for the organisation.

Requests for resources are magically granted! Training receives full attendance! Another bandwagon is launched!

So how do you find the Champion in the politically charged environment? Ask questions, offer to do research, volunteer information. A little work outside of the straight-line project management will uncover the person who is most likely to manage upward and outward, so you can concentrate on delivery.