

Stakeholder Identification
Why do I need to identify the stakeholders, and who might they be?
Examples of external stakeholders

Other stakeholders - 1
The project manager must recognize
· The existence of other stakeholders
· I.e. other than those directly associated with the project team
· And who can affect the project outcome
· The diagram on page 2 showed some examples
· E.g. the public, regulators, the competition and those with special interests
· For example, software project stakeholders include
· Users of the software
· Customers who will buy it, and
· Investors who pay for the development
Other stakeholders - 2
These stakeholders
· May have direct influence over the project
· Such as the public and regulators
· Who benefit from the project results
· Or they may be constituents
· Who are affected by it indirectly
· By changes in work or leisure opportunities
· And who may also represent opposition
· The question is
· How do you know?
Stakeholder identification
When the project community is quite large
· It is vital to know
· Who is, and who is not, important
· From the perspective of influence
· On the project's success
· You have an opportunity to improve both the perception and reception of the project
· And establish a more comprehensive scope
· By learning about the various stakeholders
· As described in the steps that follow
Steps to stakeholder identification - 1
Step 1
· Survey the project's public (people environment)
Step 2
· Get to know the real nature of each group's business
· And hence their interest in the project
Step 3
· Understand their behavior and motivation
· And how they might react to various approaches
Steps to stakeholder identification - 2
Step 4
· Pinpoint the main characteristics of each group
· And develop responses designed to establish a good relationship
· Some people like to be involved, others don't
· Most people like to be kept informed, a few don't
· Almost everyone wants to know if their pocket book will be affected !
Steps to stakeholder identification - 3
Step 5
· Determine which group, therefore, will have the most impact on the successful perception of the project upon completion
· And develop an acceptance plan aimed at managing and meeting external stakeholder interests
· Most people are willing to put up with some inconvenience
· If they will ultimately benefit
· Or at least know about the inconvenience in advance
Steps to stakeholder identification - 4
Step 6
· Always be alert for any "fatal flaw"
· That could be found by even a minor stakeholder group
· And bring the project to a standstill !