1.

Identify and describe the roles of the stakeholders, sponsors, project

managers, team leaders, and team members.

Stakeholders can be anyone who has an interest in the project. They can be the people who
fund the project in some way, provide resources or equipment, receive the product of the
project, oversee the project or organization, etc (Brown, 2014, p. 48). Stakeholders directly
influence the scope of the project. They hold power over determining the project’s outcome and
overall success or failure. The sponsors are the entities or people who fund the project or
provide its resources. Project managers oversee the planning and execution of project tasks to
create deliverables and the final products. A key role of the project manager is to be the main
source of communication for project status. They work with team leads, project sponsors, and
stakeholders to ensure the plan is on track, the project doesn’t have any scope creep, and
expectations are properly managed. Project managers must also assess risks to the project and
design plans to manage them. Team leaders report to the project manager and oversee a
specific group or team. They communicate with team members to assure task completion and
resolve any conflicts within their team. Team members are individuals assigned to complete
tasks within a project. They may also be a part of brainstorming sessions in order to create
improvements to smaller deliverables or processes.

2. Discuss how these various roles interact in the Project Management  Process. 
Include both the potential positive and negative impacts. 

Certain roles do not interact with others whereas the project manager will likely interact
with every role in some way. Communication from stakeholders flows downward to
project team members, but communication often does not usually flow upwards the
opposite way. Often times, concerns or complaints from the team members will only
make it as far as their team leader. The team leader assesses the concern and gets to
decide if the communication continues to the project manager and onward. This can be
stressful for team members if they feel as though their concerns are not being heard, or
stakeholder expectations are not in-line with reality.

The relationship between the project manager and project stakeholders is very
important. The two must be in good standing for stakeholders to feel satisfied with
project progress. There must be a mutual and comprehensive understanding of what
the project will produce and what the status is throughout the project lifecycle. If there
is good communication, and everyone is kept informed about what is being produced
and its progress. All roles are satisfied.

3. Discuss your bias (supportive or not) of the interaction of these various people

(roles)  in your Project Management process?  

I am very supportive of keeping communication open for all roles to share their input. If
team members are on board and feel what is trying to be produced is possible,
stakeholders are pleased with what the product will be, and project sponsors will
provide the needed funding all roles are acting in harmony with one another. This kind
of communication allows project members to feel included without allowing anyone to
step outside of their role.

4. Identify and discuss an interaction you have had with stakeholders and describe

how this interaction either fit or did not fit into a Project Quality Management
model. 

I am reminded of a time that I was going to clean out and organize my mother’s garage for her. I
had to clear out a lot of things from my childhood like old sports equipment and bicycles, as
well as furniture we didn’t use anymore, and outgrown clothing she kept for a garage sale she
would never have. My mother was a project stakeholder. Upon beginning to clear things out, she
would sort through my piles and take out things she wanted to keep. These things were not
sentimental, nor were they of any use. The product of the project was a clean and organized
garage where she could have easy access to the things she needed and park her car. It occurred
to me that as she was pulling out these things, we had not defined what the definition of ‘things
she needed’ was. An essential definition for quality management. We had then had a discussion
about what would be kept, and what kinds of things would need to be cleared out to allow for a
quality product. Afterwards, we both felt better and I was able to finish the project without many
more hiccups.

References:

Brown, J.T. (2014) The handbook of program management:  How to facilitate project success
with optimal program management. 2nd Ed