TVP – Metric 26 Project Championship

Resource Type
Tool
Authors
Alan Fusfeld, Innovation Research Interchange
Topics
Innovation Metrics, Stage-Gate, Tools and Techniques
Associated Event
Publication

Background | User Guide | Program Contents | Stakeholders | List of Metrics

1. Metric Definition

A metric related to Management Support that provides an anchored scale evaluation of the degree to which management champions step forward to provide special support to individual projects or project teams.

An effective project champion is a person who believes deeply, but objectively, in the project and the need for its pursuit to commercialization. This is a person who takes ownership of the project and has the authority and resources to ensure that adequate market information is gathered up-front to justify the project and define appropriate goals; the project team is supported and motivated; and if the project is successful in meeting the goals, the resulting product will be take to market.

Ideally there should be a champion associated with the sponsoring business, such as a division manager, business manager, or product manager, as well as a champion in R&D. The project champion can lend an air of enthusiasm, optimism, and urgency that tends to permeate the project team.

2. Advantages and Limitations

It is critical that the champion believe strongly in the project, however, the champion also must be analytical in assessing the project and its progress, so as not to drive the project beyond when it appropriately should be terminated.  This metric is relatively easy to assess. It requires an honest and objective assessment of the role of business partners in projects. It does not require a large amount of data collection, history or benchmarking.

3. How to Use the Metric

The metric is an overall assessment of practices throughout the organization that is being measured.

A four-point scale is used to assign a value to the state of project championship in an R&D or innovation organization.  If practices are different in different units or projects, the metric will be an average.  Levels 1 and 4 are relatively straightforward. Levels 2 and 3 are interpolations between 1 and 4.

Level 1 – there are no effective champions for projects. The R&D personnel are responsible for gathering market information and setting project goals, and the business people are not involved. It is up to the R&D people to conduct field trials and to take products to market.

Level 2 – there are project champions, for most projects, but the champion is within R&D. There is some business participation in projects, but it is not extensive.

Level 3 – there is extensive business manager/leader participation in projects, some of whom are the project champion. There is no uniformity throughout the organization.

Level 4 – all projects have an effective champion who is associated with the sponsoring business unit, as well as a champion in R&D. The business people participate in obtaining up-front information to define and justify the project and establish project goals, and they support and help to motivate the project teams. The business people also take a leadership role in arranging field trials and taking the product to market.

4. Options and Variations

Business involvement typically varies throughout the stages of a project, such as project definition, technology development, product development, and product commercialization. This metric might spawn additional metrics for the different stages of each project.

5. Champions and Contacts

6. References

Farris, G.F. and Ellis, L.W. 1990. Managing Major Change in R&D, Research-Technology Management, 33 (1), pp. 33-37.

Kanter, R.M. 1983. The Change Masters. New York: Simon and Shuster.