Sponsorship:The unspoken role of sponsors, champions, shapers, and influencers

Many of the surveys focused on the success criteria of projects, organisational change efforts, or process improvement initiatives that home in on the need for senior executive support. The advice is often couched in terms of securing the support and backing of a senior figure within the organisation in order to guarantee successful delivery. Within the software process improvement community this is typically recognised as the dominant factor that is required in order to guarantee success