Engagement Management – A Discussion in Process and Function
Engagement Management is a systematic approach that initiates with the sales process and ends with the engagement closing. This typically has an accounting component associated with it – overseeing the profitability of project engagements within an organization.
Engagement Management provides direct oversight of Project Management at an organization. Additionally, it should have touchpoints with Sales, Legal, Technical Professionals (developers, business analysts, network administrators, etc.), Accounting, and others as necessary. The processes that Engagement Management follows should support an organization as a whole in delivering products and business capabilities, not just the individual groups.
Project Management is a more narrow focus of providing management of an organization’s internal projects. Engagement Management should include Project Management, but should also focus on providing the organization’s Enterprise-wide capabilities and services to outside customers and partners in an attempt to increase revenue and profitability.
Engagement Management should provide the tie between Sales and the actual technical solution at an organization. It should be the glue that holds the delivery process together with the intent of avoiding many of the disconnects faced by organizations when Sales, IT, and PM are all working under their own assumptions and priorities. Currently, many organizations are experiencing frustrating disconnects between Sales and Delivery. Some organizations experience these frustrations on a weekly or even daily basis. An Engagement Management structure helps to “standardize” the sales process and how that “sold” solution is translated into a “delivery” solution.
Proposed General Organizational Structure
- CEO
- Sales
- CIO
- Engagement Management
- Operations
- Etc.
The Benefits of an Engagement Management organization:
- Customers see a standardized and professional engagement process across all implementations
- Brings all of PM together and allows for future growth
- Allows for the ability to standardize the PM approach and reporting
- Ability to define standardized PM templates and processes
- Not hindered or biased by a reporting relationship through Operations or IT
- Ability to define a change management process and change order/scope management process
- Engagement Management provides general oversight to all
inputs and deliverables in the delivery process
:
- Business Requirements Document (BRD) delivery and signoff
- Statement of Work (SOW) delivery and signoff - Project Plan/timeframe definition
- Solution or product implementation - Post implementation reviews
- Customer satisfaction
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Brad,
I’m interested in your concept of engagement management. It offers potential in some types of businesses and not so much in others. I’m wondering what types of businesses you would target this approach towards? Who is the person who would take this approach and why? And finally, for you as the person proposing it, what is your interest?
Inquiring minds want to know…
Andy