This document discusses project stakeholder management. It defines stakeholders as individuals or groups who can affect or be affected by a project. Early identification of stakeholders is important so their needs, interests and impact can be understood. Stakeholders should be analyzed and classified based on factors like importance, expectations and influence. The project manager needs to develop a stakeholder management plan that identifies how stakeholders will be engaged and affected. Effective stakeholder engagement increases project success by securing support, managing issues and keeping the project on track. Ongoing control of stakeholder activities is also important as the project evolves.

1. Project Stakeholder Management
Arch. Saad Al Jabri, PMP

2. Introduction
• Focuses on continuous communication with stakeholders in order
to understand their needs and expectations, address their issues
as they occur, manage conflicting interests, and foster appropriate
stakeholder engagement in project decisions and activities.
• Stakeholder satisfaction should be managed as a key project
objective.

3. Who is a stakeholder?
• Project stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations who
may affect, be affected by, or perceive themselves to be affected by
a decision, activity, or outcome of a project. They are comprised of
persons and organizations such as customers, sponsors, the
performing organization, and the public who are actively involved
in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively
affected by the execution or completion of the project.

4. Who is a stakeholder?
They may also exert influence over the project and its deliverables.
Stakeholders may be at different levels within the organization and
may possess different authority levels, or may be external to the
performing organization for the project.

5. Identify stakeholders
• Allows the project manager to identify the appropriate focus for
each stakeholder or group of stakeholders.
• It is critical for project success to identify the stakeholders early in
the project or phase.
• The identified stakeholders need to be analyzed and classified
according to their importance, expectations, level of interest,
involvement, and influence.
• Enables the project manager to focus on the relationships
necessary to ensure the success of the project.

6. Identify stakeholders – Tools & Tech.
Stakeholder Analysis is a technique of systematically gathering and
analyzing quantitative and qualitative information to determine whose
interests should be taken into account throughout the project.
Example of classification systems that could be used to analyze stakeholders:
• Power/Interest Grid: Level of authority (“power”) combined with level of
concern (“interest”);
• Power/Influence Grid: Level of authority (“power”) combined with level of
involvement (“influence”);
• Influence/Impact Grid: Active involvement (“influence”) combined with the
ability to effect changes to the project (“impact”);
• Salience Model: Power (ability to impose will), urgency (need for immediate
attention), and legitimacy (whether involvement is appropriate) are factors
used to describe classes of stakeholders.

7. The stakeholder analysis

8. Stakeholder Register

9. Plan Stakeholder Management
• Provides a clear, actionable plan to interact with project
stakeholders to support the project’s interests.
• Identifies how the project will affect its stakeholders.
• Stakeholder management plan is the main output.

10. Plan Stakeholder – Tools & Tech.
Analytical Techniques
The engagement level of the stakeholders can be classified as follows:
• Unaware. Unaware of project and potential impacts.
• Resistant. Aware of project and potential impacts and resistant to
change.
• Neutral. Aware of project yet neither supportive nor resistant.
• Supportive. Aware of project and potential impacts and supportive to
change.
• Leading. Aware of project and potential impacts and actively engaged
in ensuring the project is a success.

11. Stakeholders Engagement Assessment Matrix
Through this analytical process, gaps between the current and desired
engagement levels can be identified.
Actions and communications required to close these gaps can be identified by
the project team using expert judgment.

12. Manage Stakeholder Engagement
• Benefits:
• Increases the chances for project success
• Helps stakeholders understand the benefits and risks associated
with the project, thus securing their involvement and support
• Minimize resistance from stakeholders
• Keeps the project on track by resolving stakeholder issues
• Project Manager is responsible for stakeholder management

13. CHOOSING THE STAKEHOLDER
ENGAGEMENT APPROACH
The diagram illustrates the relationship between
stakeholder influence/power and stakeholder
engagement approaches

14. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
APPROACHES
Engagement approach Description
Partnership
Shared accountability and responsibility. Two-way engagement joint learning,
decision making and actions
Participation
Part of the team, engaged in delivering tasks or with responsibility for a particular area/activity. Two-way
engagement within limits of responsibility.
Consultation
Involved, but not responsible and not necessarily able to influence outside of consultation boundaries. Limited
two-way engagement: organization asks questions, stakeholders answer.
Push communication
One-way engagement. Organization may broadcast information to all stakeholders or target particular stakeholder
groups using various channels e.g. email, letter, webcasts, podcasts, videos, leaflets.
Pull communication One-way engagement. Information is made available stakeholder choose whether to engage with it.

15. Manage Stakeholder Engagement: Tools &
Tech.
Interpersonal Skills
The project manager applies interpersonal skills to manage
stakeholders’ expectations. For example:
• Building trust,
• Resolving conflict,
• Active listening, and
• Overcoming resistance to change.

16. Manage Stakeholder Engagement: Tools &
Tech.
Management Skills
The project manager applies management skills to coordinate and
harmonize the group toward accomplishing the project objectives.
For example:
• Facilitate consensus toward project objectives,
• Influence people to support the project,
• Negotiate agreements to satisfy the project needs, and
• Modify organizational behavior to accept the project outcomes.

17. Control Stakeholder Engagement
• Maintain or increase the efficiency and effectiveness of
stakeholder engagement activities as the project evolves and its
environment changes.
• Stakeholder engagement should be continuously controlled.

18. Control Stakeholder Engagement: Outputs
• Work Performance Information
• Change Requests
• Project Documents Updates
• Stakeholder register
• Issue log

19. Thank you