This document summarizes a stakeholder engagement focus group meeting held by APM People SIG on March 21st, 2017. The meeting agenda included a discussion on why stakeholder engagement should be a higher priority for project managers, and a presentation of resources being developed for a stakeholder engagement website. These resources include case studies of engagement challenges, patterns of ineffective engagement, and tools/techniques for mapping stakeholders and managing communications. Meeting attendees were encouraged to contribute their experiences to help other project managers improve their stakeholder engagement.

1. Stakeholder engagement
Resources for project managers
APM People SIG
Stakeholder Engagement Focus Group
21st March 2017

2. Introductions
Fran Bodley-Scott
Customer & stakeholder relations consultant with over
15 years experience in communications, marketing and
stakeholder engagement. Member of the Stakeholder
Engagement Focus Group (SEFG) since 2016.
Ian Cribbes
A seasoned project manager with particular
experience of delivering major projects for
complex multi-stakeholder organisations both
in the UK and internationally. Founder member
of the Stakeholder Engagement Focus Group.

3. Agenda
 Why do we need to focus on stakeholder
engagement?
 Stakeholder engagement resources for project
managers
 Call to action

4. Why do we need to focus on
stakeholder engagement?

5. Who is a stakeholder?
“A stakeholder is any group or
individual who can affect or is
affected by the achievement of
the organization's objectives.”
Source: Ed Freeman,
“Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach”
(1984)

6. Stakeholder engagement needs to
be a higher priority
 Far too many projects fail due to a lack of stakeholder
engagement
 Stakeholders are generally considered late in the project
management process after key decisions have been
taken and the causes of failure have been baked in
 For practitioners wishing to increase stakeholder
engagement maturity there is little guidance in the APM
BoK
 There is valuable research and development being
undertaken around the topics of stakeholders and
stakeholder engagement but much is hard to find

7. SEFG: Supporting practitioners across
the project management community
 Stakeholder Engagement Focus Group (SEFG):
Part of the People Specific Interest Group
 Our mission:
– To encourage practitioners to make stakeholder
engagement a higher priority
 We have started to build a ‘Stakeholder Engagement’
website to collate useful information, techniques and
application tools
 It is hosted on the APM website but available to anyone
including non-members

8. Understanding our stakeholders improves our ability
to influence them

9. Why stakeholder engagement should be a priority

10. Stakeholder engagement
resources

11. Building the stakeholder engagement website

12. Case Studies (1)
 Experiences of stakeholder engagement have been
condensed into a varied series of case studies by a
number of experienced project managers.
 Case studies convey the practice of stakeholder
engagement impacting on projects giving context to the
theory and concepts.
 The essential components of a case study are; a
statement of the problem, the solution, realised benefits.
These are identified in a template.
 The series of case studies is a living collection and can
be added to at any time.

13. Case Studies (2)
 Case studies analyse and draw conclusions about
stakeholder behaviours from a single project-related
experience.
 They present context-specific experiences.
 They relate to one project or programme in one
organisation.
 Example:
– Stakeholder communication improvements in a
software delivery project

14. Patterns
 Patterns are observed, repeated behaviours that impede
stakeholder engagement
 Unlike case studies, patterns are drawn from
observations across a number of projects and
organisations. i.e. a ‘horizontal slice’
 Examples:
– The Distant Sponsor
– Just how important is this project?

15. Tools & Techniques (1)
Stakeholder Mapping
Define which
stakeholders are
key, which need
cultivating, and
which need to be
kept informed.

16. Tools & Techniques (2)
Colour Styles – Know your stakeholders
Colour Styles

17. Tools & Techniques (3)
The Crucial Conversations
Getting the necessary information from stakeholders.
Is there an elephant in the room?
Are there any hidden agendas?
Is the information complete, consistent and
up-to-date?

18. Tools & Techniques (4)
The Communication Plan
 The standard approach - plan how to communicate with
each stakeholder (or group of stakeholders)
 Keep it live – respond to operational feedback (see next
slide).
 Plan stakeholder contact – can range from a scheduled
phone call to a webinar to videoconference to a face to
face meeting.
 The important thing is – communicate

19. 19
Director
Customer
Equipment
Maintenance
Director
Customer
Engineering
Director
Customer
Specialist
Training
Director
Customer
Flight
Operations
Director
Customer
Security
Director
Customer
Specialist
Equipment
Customer
Training
Department
Customer
Flight
Operations
Programme
Manager
Customer
Maintenance
Department
Contract oversight –
Customers site
Contract oversight -
UK
Company Training
Department- UK
Company Training
Governance - UK
Company Aircrew
Training - UK
Company Training
Coordinator - UK
Engineering Teams – UK
Engineering Teams
– UK (External)
10 different
organisations
Company
Vice President
Operations
Customer
CEO / CFO
Key:
Regular Communications
Informal Communications
Critical Path
Stakeholder / Communications Matrix
Communication: Planning

20. Communication: Clear, Concise, Timely

21. Communication: Cultural boundaries

22. Bibliography
case studies, tools and techniques and patterns -list of principles, methods and behaviour, and definitions
How it can go wrong
Add a little to a little and there will be a big
pile.
[The Mythical Man Month]
Determining what to include is crucial
Why it can go wrong
When all the information seems to fit perfectly,
you have probably missed a significant
contribution
How to get it right
With your help, experience, stories, favourite
books and articles we can build a present and
continuous resource
Acquiring content can be deceptive Realising the content a collaborative journey

23. Call to action

24. Review your stakeholder engagement
 Can stakeholder engagement be improved for your project?
 Learn more about stakeholder engagement:
– Online:
 www.apm.org.uk/stakeholder-engagement
 ‘Useful Links’ monthly updates
– Events:
 “Introduction to Stakeholder Management”: SWWE branch March 22nd
 “You never make it alone”: Wessex branch March 23rd
 APM Presents “Stakeholder Engagement Key Principles” July 7th

25. Contribute your experience to help others
 Contribute your experience or recommendations
– Lessons learned:
 Case Studies:
– eg. examples of stakeholder engagement within a specific
industry or environment, risks that could be avoided
through early stakeholder engagement
 Patterns:
– How you address typical problems eg. the absent
sponsor, changing stakeholders, community engagement,
minimising people-related risks
– ‘Useful Links” content:
 Stakeholder related events, articles,
publications, online tools

26. Tell us what you need …

27. SEFG@APM.Org.uk
@ApmSefg
https://www.linkedin.com/in/franbodleyscott
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iancribbes
Online:
www.apm.org.uk/stakeholder-engagement
https://www.apm.org.uk/community/people-sig/
Events:
“Introduction to Stakeholder Management”: SWWE branch March 22nd
“You never make it alone”: Wessex branch March 23rd
“Stakeholder Engagement Key Principles”: APM Presents July 7th
Contact us:
Useful links:
Any questions?

28. Appendix – additional resources
 “Communicating Projects: An End-to-End Guide to Planning, Implementing and
Evaluating Effective Communication”, By Ann Pilkington, 2013
https://www.routledge.com/Communicating-Projects-An-End-to-End-Guide-to-Planning-
Implementing-and/Pilkington/p/book/9781409453192
 “Making Projects Work: Effective Stakeholder and Communication
Management”, By Lynda Bourne, 2015
https://www.crcpress.com/Making-Projects-Work-Effective-Stakeholder-and-Communication-
Management/Bourne/p/book/9781482206661
 “Global Risk Assessment and Strategic Planning: An introduction and
facilitator’s guide to the GRASP Methodology”, By McLaughlin et al
http://www.icebookshop.com/bookshop_main.asp?ISBN=9780727760944
 “The Lens Collective: A Guide to Seeing Different Perspectives in Project
Management”, By APM People SIG
https://www.apm.org.uk/book-shop/the-lens-collective-a-guide-to-seeing-different-perspectives-
in-project-management/