Stakeholder identification and analysis is the most important process in project management. This process involves identifying those persons, groups organizations, or individuals that are part of or are affected by the project. The expectations as well as the contributions of the stakeholders are highly relevant to the success of the project.
Role of stakeholders in a project.
Stakeholders have different roles in a project, and they affect the outcome of that project differently. The specific roles of different stakeholders include:
- Project sponsor: funds, resources, as well as overall support of the project.
- Customers or clients: Receivers of project deliverables or services and give feedback on improvement.
- Project Team: Persons executing tasks to meet project goals.
- End-Users: Individuals who are going to put the project’s deliverables into use.
- Regulators or Government Agencies: Rule out rules, regulations as well as compliance standards.
- Suppliers or Vendors: Goods or services used in the project.
- Community or Society: Possible impact on the project which raises concerns for societal or environmental effects.
However, these roles are important as project managers can use them to set up communication pathways, manage stakeholder expectations, or ensure that the project will satisfy everyone involved in it.
Techniques to Engage Stakeholders Analysis/Identification:
Stakeholder Mapping
Stakeholder mapping is a form of visual communication whereby stakeholders can be identified, classified, and distinguished according to their influence and interest where the stakeholder’s influence is plotted on one axis and their interest on another. It is necessary to determine the level of engagement per stakeholder group.
This would be, for example, in case of a project under which a new park will come into the community; the major stakeholders would include:
- ‘Town township, high-power/high-interest’
- Nearby residents, with high power but low-interest
- Environmental organizations: Low power, high-interest
- Construction contractors: Low power, low interest.
Then the project manager should tailor-make the communication and engagement strategy depending on each stakeholder mapped out.
1. Power/Interest Grid
Power/Interest Grid is the categorization of stakeholders in terms of power regarding influence in the project versus interest towards the outcome of the project in the following categories:
- High Power/High Interest: Actively involved and influential in decision-making.
- High Power/Low Interest: Conduct influence but do not take part in day-to-day project activities.
- Low Power/High Interest: Interest is caused in the project but little or no impact can be imposed on it.
- Minimal influence and interest in the project.
For a software systems implementation:
- High Power/High Interest: CEO, IT department, end-users.
- High Power/Low Interest: Other departments are indirectly affected.
- Low Power/High Interest: External auditors, regulatory bodies.
- Low Power/Low Interest: Suppliers, limited involvement.
This power and interest grid prioritizes stakeholders from whom different responses will be expected concerning the project.
2. Stakeholder Analysis
As the above, this too deals with an analysis of the variables making up the relevant actors-the stakeholders in stakeholder analysis. Furthermore, it might assist managers in developing communication strategies and engagement plans for particular projects.
Components of stakeholder analysis are
- Power or Influence: The extent to which a stakeholder can affect the overall success of a project.
- Interest or Engagement: The extent to which a person is interested in and under any circumstances engages with the project achieving its intended benefits or not.
- Needs and expectations: Issues and requirements related to what is expected by a stakeholder from the project.
- Potential impact: The power of the stakeholder to create a positive or negative impact on the outcome of the project.
Example:
There are residents who have a stake in noise pollution traffic interruption or environmental impact due to a construction project. Then such stakeholder analysis will document these issues and has to find mitigation measures like noise control plans or traffic management.
Conclusion
Stakeholder Identification and analysis constitute a basis according to which project management is executed. While the project manager gets to know the different roles, interest possible influences that the stakeholders might exert over the project, they are to formulate effective communication and engagement strategies for them. Clear visualization techniques are represented in stakeholder mapping and power/interest grids; they make decisions and manage expectations well. They adequately cover the needs of stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the project, an incremental advantage with active involvement in public-private partnerships.
