Summary
Stakeholder management in project management involves identifying, analyzing, and engaging with individuals, groups, or organizations that are impacted by the project's outcome. This process includes managing the expectations and requirements of both internal and external stakeholders to ensure their needs are met throughout the project lifecycle. Effective stakeholder management requires creating a stakeholder management plan, which outlines strategies for communication and engagement, and using tools like project status reports to keep stakeholders informed and satisfied. By maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders, project managers can enhance project success and mitigate potential risks.
Before You Start
Before you wade into Stakeholder Management tasks, the Project Manager should first meet with the key stakeholders, the Project Customer and Project Sponsor, to discuss the nature and purpose of the project, which will later inform the business case, charter, and other steps. Clearly outline what the project aims to achieve, along with a rough estimate of time, cost, and scope.
Steps
Stakeholder Management involves Identifying, Analyzing, and Engaging with individuals, groups, or organizations that impact and/or are impacted by, the project's outcome. Stakeholder considerations need to be addressed throughout the project. Consider the following tasks:
Identifying
- Identify Stakeholders: Determine who the stakeholders are that will be engaged in the project.
- Document Stakeholders: Create a stakeholder register to document the identified stakeholders.
Analyzing
- Analyze and Categorize Stakeholder Interests and Impact: Understand the needs, expectations, and potential impact of each stakeholder on the project, and classify them based on their interest and impact.
- Assess Stakeholder Influence: Evaluate the level of influence each stakeholder has on the project’s success.
- Prioritize Stakeholders: Rank stakeholders based on their importance and influence to focus efforts on key stakeholders.
Engaging
- Develop Engagement Strategies: Create tailored strategies for engaging with each stakeholder based on their needs and influence.
- Communicate Regularly: Establish regular communication channels to keep stakeholders informed and involved.
- Monitor and Adjust: Continuously monitor stakeholder engagement and adjust strategies as needed to maintain positive relationships and address any concerns.
What processes and tools may help you Identify, Analyze, and Engage Stakeholders?
- The Project Manager should work with the Customer and Sponsor identify and create a preliminary list of key and associated stakeholders, both internal and external to the College. Essentially, a stakeholder is anyone that may impact and/or be impacted by the project. At this early stage, cast a wide net by listing anyone and everyone who COULD have a stake in the project, regardless of possible or likely interest or impact.
- Create a register of stakeholder names, along with other pertinent information such as their current position or role (inside or outside your organization), contact information, an expected or anticipated role in the project. Later, you will conduct one or more analyses to gather additional information that will help you, such as maximizing communication and managing expectations. You may utilize a Register template for this step of the process or opt to employ a more extensive template that will capture a more robust listing and analysis of Stakeholders. See sample documents, attached.
Additional Resources
A number of valuable Stakeholder Management resources are available to provide further insight and guidance, including: