by Guillermo Martinez

Project Sponsors and Steering Committees have similar roles in a CPQ project (or any project, as a matter of fact), both have an actual interest in the outcome of the project and are responsible for the project performance. The Project Sponsor or Steering Committee will approve the project charter, is responsible for communicating project progress to higher levels of an organization. They are also responsible to assure senior management supports all the team’s decisions and direction, secure resources and in few words “pave the road” and remove barriers for the project team to have a smooth execution and focus on completing the tasks.

While a project sponsor may only have authority over a single division of an organization, an effective steering committee may be formed by a group of individuals form several departments of the organization. Typically, a CPQ project would involve several divisions of an organization: Business Unit, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Product Management & Engineering, Sales Operations, Sales, Information Technology, etc. Because that characteristic of a CPQ project, it is a good idea to create a CPQ Steering Committee to oversee a CPQ project.

When selecting a project steering committee, be sure that every member truly represents the interest of the group or department she or he belongs to as well assure that the member has the authority to assign resources and approve, deliverables, schedule and budget. The steering committee will help to sort out interdepartmental project challenges that inevitable will arise during a cross-departmental project like a CPQ project. When effective, the steering committee will keep all stakeholders informed on the progress of the project and will keep every team member focused on their assignments by providing guidance on project business issues. Be mindful that creating a steering committee will involve an extra administrative level of the project, and their meetings take time of valuable organization resources, however, the creation of the committee is a good idea when multiple divisions of an organization are involved and will benefit from a project.