According to the KPMG New Zealand Project Management Survey 2010, one of the most common reasons why projects fall short is a lack of executive support and management buy-in. In addition, PMI’s 2010 Government Program Management Study found that 81 percent of program managers at U.S. government agencies said that strong support from at least one executive-level sponsor had a high impact on project success.
Top management commitment is crucial to project managers for four reasons. First, project managers need adequate resources. Without required money, human resources, and visibility, a project will die easily. However, the commitment of top managers can ensure the resources of the project. Second, project managers often required approval for unique project needs in a timely manner. Top manager need to understand for a big project many unexpected problems will occur, such as need of a hardware or the specific skills of people. Third, project managers must have cooperation from people in other parts of the organization. Because most IT projects cut across functional areas, top manager need the help the project managers deal with the political issues. Lastly, it is helpful for the top manager to mentor and coach project mangers on leadership issues.
Top managemment must assist project managers if they are to do a good job of project integration. According to George Paradi, the strong support is half way of a successful project. When top-level support is strong everyone knows it. But they also know it when top-level support is weak. Project managers know it. Team members know it. Those in other functional areas know it. Even end-users or customers know it. Without top-level support the project may never be approved, or if it is approved at all it may take forever for it to get through the process. Without senior management support, cooperation from other departments may be impossible to obtain, and the commitment from team members will lack enthusiasm. In other words, there will be a lack of commitment by the organization at large.
Citation:
Why Senior Management Support is a Must for IT Project Success?
https://www.boardroommetrics.com/blog/why-senior-management-support-is-a-must-for-it-project-success-20131123.htm
The Importance of Executive Management Support
https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/306739/The-Importance-of-Executive-Management-Support
