The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development

30.6. Selecting the Sponsorship Team

The management sponsorship team fills a vital need for launch success. These executives review the plans and progress of the team, remove roadblocks, and help prioritize the effort within the scope of other initiatives. This governing body ensures that the launch team is both accountable for and empowered to effectively execute the launch. Behind the scenes, sponsorship team members frequently mentor launch team members.

NOTE

The sponsorship team ensures that the launch team is both accountable for and empowered to effectively execute the launch.

Choosing the sponsorship team is highly organizationally dependent, but there are several guidelines to bear in mind:

• Members are the final decision-makers and have authority over resources: In medium and large organizations, this team is frequently two levels above launch team members.

• Less is more: This team should consist of the minimum number of people necessary to make decisions for functions affected. In other words, avoid functional duplication. This will also help in scheduling meetings.

• Encourage consistency of sponsorship team membership across launch programs: This allows the team to learn to work together effectively in making decisions across the business portfolio.

Effective sponsorship teams typically include one executive each from Engineering, Finance, Marketing, Operations, and Sales, and a general manager. Depending on the organization, it may make sense to add seats for one to two ...