This chapter focuses on the topic of Project Stakeholder Management, which begins with an initiating process, Identify Stakeholders, to identify the stakeholders. Next, the process involves developing the stakeholder register that is used in the Plan Stakeholder Management process; this additional process involves developing the stakeholder management plan. The Manage Stakeholder Engagement process carries out the stakeholder management plan, and the Control Stakeholder Engagement process checks planned activities against what is actually occurring in relation to stakeholder management.
The PMBOK
®
Guide processes
Project Stakeholder Management knowledge area
The four processes in the Project Stakeholder Management knowledge area are as follows:
- Identify Stakeholders (initiating process)
- Plan Stakeholder Management (planning process)
- Manage Stakeholder Engagement (executing process)
- Control Stakeholder Engagement (monitoring and controlling process)
What Is Project Stakeholder Management ?
Project stakeholder management is focused on all the processes involved in identifying as many stakeholders as possible on a project, understanding their expectations and levels of engagement, planning how to proactively engage and influence them, checking that what you are doing is in accordance with the stakeholder management plan, and acting on any deviations or variances.
A stakeholder is any person, group, or organization who can affect or be affected by your project. Stakeholders can have an impact on your project in both positive and negative ways. All projects have stakeholders interested in the outcomes and impact of the project. It is your job as project manager to identify all of these stakeholders and their expectations, keep them engaged, and ensure that stakeholder satisfaction becomes a key project deliverable. The easiest way to do this is to ensure that stakeholder management is a continuous dialogue rather than a one-off event or a series of sporadic events.
A main objective of the stakeholder management process is to get stakeholders to support your project or at least not to oppose it.
In order to effectively understand and manage stakeholders’ engagement and expectations, you must be both proactive and influencing. Being proactive means anticipating and planning, and it is the opposite of being reactive. By being proactive, you will minimize surprises that stakeholders can bring to the project.
To carry out effective influencing, you need to first ensure that you understand where stakeholders currently sit in relation to their expectations and engagement and know where you want them to be. Influencing means using a variety of skills and techniques to modify, enhance, or reduce particular aspects of stakeholder engagement and expectations. These skills and techniques include effective communication, highly developed interpersonal skills, and the correct display of technical ability. A skilled project manager chooses which combination to use in order to maximize stakeholder influencing.
Exam Tip
The success or failure of your efforts to identify and manage stakeholders will have a high degree of impact on whether your project is a success or failure. On the exam, you should treat any questions that refer to stakeholders as ones that require you to proactively define, manage, and influence their engagement and expectations.
Real World
I have often found that the actual or perceived success or failure of a project rests on how satisfied stakeholders are rather than technical measurements of cost or time. This is a sign of just how important it is to keep your stakeholders engaged and to ensure that their expectations are managed.
Identify Stakeholders
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Identify Stakeholders
You can read more about the Identify Stakeholders process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 13, section 13.1. Table 11-1 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.
Table 11-1.
Identify Stakeholders Process
Inputs ➪ | Tools and Techniques ➪ | Outputs |
|---|---|---|
• Project charter • Procurement documents • Enterprise environmental factors • Organizational process assets | • Stakeholder analysis • Expert judgment • Meetings | • Stakeholder register |
The Identify Stakeholders
process is an initiating process with the stakeholder register as its sole output. The stakeholder register contains key information about stakeholders that can be used in the other stakeholder management processes.
The Identify Stakeholders process covers the following initiating domain tasks
:
- Task 3: Perform stakeholder analysis using appropriate tools and techniques, in order to align expectations and gain support for the project.
- Task 8: Inform stakeholders of the approved project charter, in order to ensure common understanding of the key deliverables, milestones, and their roles and responsibilities.
Inputs
The Identify Stakeholders process uses some or all of the following inputs as part of the development of the stakeholder register for the project.
Project Charter
The project charter
contains information about internal and external stakeholders identified as part of project initiation, such as the customer, the project sponsor, and any other easily identified stakeholders. The project charter is an output from the Develop Project Charter process.
Procurement Documents
The procurement documents
are used as an input into the Identify Stakeholders process if a contract forms the basis of the project, because the parties to the contract are key stakeholders. Procurement documents are an output from the Plan Procurement Management process.
Enterprise Environmental Factors
The specific enterprise environmental factors
that are useful as inputs into this process are organizational culture and structure, any relevant government or industry standards, and any external cultural aspects of dealing with particular individuals or groups of stakeholders.
Organizational Process Assets
The specific organizational process assets
that may be important inputs into the development of your stakeholder register are any blank stakeholder register templates the organization has and lessons learned that your organization has gathered from previous projects.
Tools and Techniques
The following tools and techniques are available to be used to develop the inputs in this process in order to produce the stakeholder register.
Stakeholder Analysis
There are a number of ways to carry out stakeholder analysis
; each of them seeks to identify the stakeholders’ interests, expectations, power, influence, and level of engagement in the project. Stakeholder analysis begins with the use of information-gathering techniques such as brainstorming, interviewing, and other data-gathering techniques to identify stakeholders. The information gathered as part of carrying out stakeholder analysis will enable you to clearly describe the power, interest, influence, impact, and engagement stakeholders have on your project; then you can develop a robust stakeholder management strategy.
After you have gathered data about stakeholders, there are a number of ways to present this data. A very popular way of graphically showing the level of impact or engagement a stakeholder has on your project is with a matrix displaying either power and interest, power and influence, or influence and impact on the x-axis and y- axis, respectively. Figure 11-1 shows an example of a power and interest matrix.
Figure 11-1.
A categorization of stakeholder power and interest using a matrix
Exam Tip
Figure 11-1 is often called a Gardner grid or matrix, named after one of the original authors who developed it.
Another way to represent levels of stakeholder influence on your project is to use the salience model, which maps stakeholders’ power, urgency, and legitimacy to place the stakeholders into one of seven possible categories, each of which begins with the letter D. Figure 11-2 shows an example of a salience model and the seven possible categories of stakeholder. It shows, for example, that a stakeholder with high levels of power and urgency but a low level of legitimacy is categorized as dangerous, whereas a stakeholder with legitimacy and power but a low level of urgency is categorized as dominant.
Figure 11-2.
Salience model
Exam Tip
The salience model was developed by Ronald Mitchell, Bradley Agle, and Donna Wood. If an exam question refers to any form of diagram by these authors, you will know it is referring to the salience model.
Expert Judgment
Expert judgment
is a key tool to be used in the Identify Stakeholders process, because using experts with experience in the identification and assessment of stakeholders will ensure that you have a more complete stakeholder register. Particular experts you may want to consult with include the project sponsor, senior management, the key stakeholders themselves, other people who have worked in similar areas with relevant experience, and any subject matter experts in the area in which you are working.
Exam Tip
Recall that when soliciting information from experts, you can use a wide variety of information-gathering techniques such as interviews, consultation, meetings, surveys, workshops, and focus groups.
Meetings
Meetings
are an important tool for gathering, exchanging, and analyzing information gathered about stakeholders and their power, interest, influence, impact, engagement, and expectations.
Outputs
After applying the appropriate tools and techniques to the selected inputs, the Identify Stakeholders process has the following sole output.
Stakeholder Register
The Identify Stakeholders process has the stakeholder register as its sole output. The stakeholder register will probably contain information on the following:
- A classification of stakeholder categories so you can distinguish between different stakeholders and their expectations and engagement
- Information about individual stakeholders and their contact details
- A description of the interest that each stakeholder has in the project
- An assessment of the stakeholders’ power, impact, influence, engagement, and interest in the project
- A description of the strategy to be employed to gain their support and keep them satisfied
- A description of the frequency and method by which you will revisit the stakeholder register
Real World
Take great care with information that you record in your stakeholder register, and always keep in mind that a stakeholder may one day view the register; ensure that the information you include about your assessment of the stakeholders’ influence, impact, or engagement on the project will not adversely affect your project if the stakeholder reads the register. For example, on a project I worked on, one extremely difficult senior manager was part of the project control group and constantly failed to read reports, undermined project team members, and had a difficult interpersonal style. He also had the ability to greatly influence the project. As we documented his interest and impact on the project in the stakeholder register, we had to be careful how we described his interaction with the team, because if we had written what we really thought, it would have caused significant problems if he had viewed it.
The stakeholder register is used as an input into a number of processes, including the Collect Requirements process, the Plan Quality Management process, the Plan Risk Management process, the Identify Risks process, the Plan Procurement Management process, and the Plan Stakeholder Management process. This shows how important the stakeholder register is to multiple parts of the project.
Quick Check
1.
What is the main focus of the Identify Stakeholders process?
2.
What is the best definition of a stakeholder?
3.
What is your primary objective in identifying and managing stakeholders on your project?
4.
How is the Identify Stakeholders process linked to other project management processes?
Quick Check Answers
1.
The main focus of the Identify Stakeholders process is to carry out stakeholder analysis to develop your stakeholder register, which identifies stakeholders, their interest in the project, an assessment of the ways in which they can affect your project, and a consideration of the ways in which you can proactively manage and influence their engagement and expectations.
2.
A stakeholder is any individual, group, or organization that can affect or be affected by your project.
3.
Your primary objective when identifying and managing stakeholders on your project is to ensure that they stay engaged and their expectations are managed in order to ensure that they provide support to your project or, alternatively, do not oppose the project.
4.
The output from the Identify Stakeholders process is the stakeholder register, which is used as an input into the Collect Requirements process, the Plan Quality Management process, the Plan Risk Management process, the Identify Risks process, and the Plan Procurement Management process, all of which are outside the stakeholder management area. It is also used as an input into the Plan Stakeholder Management process.
Plan Stakeholder Management
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Plan Stakeholder Management
You can read more about the Plan Stakeholder Management process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 13, section 13.2. Table 11-2 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.
Table 11-2.
Plan Stakeholder Management Process
Inputs ➪ | Tools and Techniques ➪ | Outputs |
|---|---|---|
• Project management plan • Stakeholder register • Enterprise environmental factors • Organizational process assets | • Expert judgment • Meetings • Analytical techniques | • Stakeholder management plan • Project document updates |
The Plan Stakeholder Management process is a planning process that seeks to identify how the project will affect stakeholders, how stakeholders will affect the project, and how the team will proactively manage levels of stakeholder engagement, proactively influence stakeholder expectations, and ensure stakeholder support for the project, its objectives, and its deliverables.
The Plan Stakeholder Management process covers the following planning domain task
:
- Task 13: Develop the stakeholder management plan by analyzing needs, interests, and potential impact, in order to effectively manage stakeholders' expectations and engage them in project decisions.
Real World
A great deal of skill is required to be successful in proactively influencing stakeholder engagement and expectations. I strongly recommend that, as part of your professional development as a project manager, you focus on your ability to proactively influence stakeholders, because it is one of the key ways to ensure project success. Conversely, if it is done poorly, it is a surefire way to increase the chances of project failure.
Inputs
The Plan Stakeholder Management process uses some or all of the following inputs.
Project Management Plan
The project management plan
is an input into the Plan Stakeholder Management process because it provides a wealth of information about different aspects of the project that is useful in developing a stakeholder management plan. Specific information that will be useful includes the project life cycle, the methodology selected to execute the project, the project’s specific objectives and deliverables, and the forms of communication to be used. All this information can be found in different parts of the project management plan. The project management plan is an output from the Develop Project Management Plan process.
Stakeholder Register
The stakeholder register
is an extremely important input into the development of the stakeholder management plan because it outlines each of the stakeholders; their interest in the project; their power, interest, impact, and influence; and any particular identified ways of influencing both their engagement and expectations. The stakeholder register is an output from the Identify Stakeholders process.
Enterprise Environmental Factors
The specific types of enterprise environmental factors
that will be useful in the development of the stakeholder management plan are your particular organizational culture, structures, and internal and external political climate, because all of these will affect the method, frequency, and success or failure of your stakeholder management efforts.
Organizational Process Assets
The specific types of organizational process assets
that will assist in development of the stakeholder management plan include any lessons learned that your organization has gathered about stakeholder management activities from previous projects, any blank templates for the development of a stakeholder management plan, and any other relevant historical information.
Tools and Techniques
The following tools and techniques are used on the inputs to deliver the Plan Stakeholder Management process outputs.
Expert Judgment
Expert judgment
is an excellent tool to use in the Plan Stakeholder Management process because it allows you to bring together people with experience and skills in the identification of stakeholders and in the development of specific ways in which to manage both their engagement and expectations. You may choose to draw on the expertise of the project sponsor, senior management, other identified key stakeholders, subject matter experts with experience in the area in which your project is operating, and any other relevant experts.
Meetings
Meetings
are an excellent tool for bringing together experts and members of the project team to carry out the process of developing and reassessing your stakeholder management plan throughout the life of your project.
A particularly effective meeting that can be useful in increasing levels of stakeholder engagement and proactively influencing stakeholder expectations is the kick-off meeting. The kick-off meeting is held after enough planning has been completed to enable the first project execution work to begin. It is used to bring stakeholders together face to face, to discuss the project and show everyone where the project is going.
Analytical Techniques
You may choose to use a variety of analytical techniques to assess the level of engagement of individual stakeholders. There are several ways of assessing and documenting different stakeholders and the level of engagement they have with the project. Figure 11-3 shows a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix
, which is a popular way of showing whether a stakeholder is unaware of the project, resistant to the project, neutral about the project, supportive of the project, or leading and actively engaged in ensuring that the project will be successful. The letter C (Current) shows where the stakeholder currently is, and the letter D (Desired) shows where you would like them to be; getting stakeholders to position D is the focus of your stakeholder management activities.
Figure 11-3.
A matrix showing an assessment of stakeholder engagement both now and desired in the future
Outputs
The Plan Stakeholder Management process has the following outputs.
Stakeholder Management Plan
The stakeholder management plan
is the key output from the Plan Stakeholder Management process. The stakeholder management plan uses the information gathered from the stakeholder register to provide a plan that identifies stakeholder engagement and expectations and sets out a clear strategy for managing and influencing engagement and expectations to ensure that stakeholders are supportive of the project or at least do not oppose the project. The stakeholder management plan is used as an input into the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process.
Exam Tip
Any question on the exam about your interaction with stakeholders will require you to take the position of continuously and proactively influencing their engagement and expectations. In order to do this, you will require a stakeholder management plan.
Project Document Updates
The specific project documents
that may be updated as a result of carrying out the Plan Stakeholder Management process include the communications plan, stakeholder register, and any other document that refers to or relies on stakeholder engagement.
Quick Check
1.
What is the main purpose of the Plan Stakeholder Management process?
2.
What sort of information should a stakeholder management plan contain?
3.
What does a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix show?
4.
How do the activities contained in the Plan Stakeholder Management process interact with other project management knowledge areas?
Quick Check Answers
1.
The Plan Stakeholder Management process seeks to take the information gathered in the stakeholder register and use this to develop a coherent stakeholder management plan that proactively manages and influences stakeholder engagement and expectations to ensure stakeholder support of the project and its objectives.
2.
The stakeholder management plan should build on the information contained in the stakeholder register and contain information about the current and expected engagement levels of key stakeholders, the communications requirements and methods selected for the stakeholders, and the particular strategies to be employed in managing their engagement and expectations.
3.
The stakeholder engagement assessment matrix shows the level of engagement of individual stakeholders in the project.
4.
The project management plan, which refers to all other areas of the project, is used as an input into the Plan Stakeholder Management process, because any information about stakeholders’ expectations, requirements, constraints, and engagement that may be included in the project management plan is essential in developing a robust stakeholder management plan.
Manage Stakeholder Engagement
More Info
Manage Stakeholder Engagement
You can read more about the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 13, section 13.3. Table 11-3 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.
Table 11-3.
Manage Stakeholder Engagement Process
Inputs ➪ | Tools and Techniques ➪ | Outputs |
|---|---|---|
• Stakeholder management plan • Communications management plan • Change log • Organizational process assets | • Communications methods • Interpersonal skills • Management skills | • Issue log • Change requests • Project management plan updates • Project document updates • Organizational process asset updates |
The Manage Stakeholder Engagement process is an executing process focused on the execution of the stakeholder management plan in order to ensure that stakeholder engagement and expectations are proactively influenced and managed.
Exam Tip
By now you have seen the term proactive several times, particularly in the stakeholder management area. In relation to managing stakeholder engagement, being proactive means continuously engaging stakeholders in an appropriate manner to get their support for the project and ensure that you understand and can meet their individual expectations of the project. Being proactive also means being on constant alert for any concerns that may arise and dealing with them in a manner that stops them from arising or, if they do arise, minimizes the adverse impact.
The Manage Stakeholder Engagement process covers the following executing domain tasks
:
- Task 6: Manage the flow of information by following the communications plan, in order to keep stakeholders engaged and informed.
- Task 7: Maintain stakeholder relationships by following the stakeholder management plan, in order to receive continued support and manage expectations.
Inputs
The following inputs are used in the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process.
Stakeholder Management Plan
The key input into the Manage Stakeholder Engagement processes is the stakeholder management plan
, because it contains information about stakeholders, their ability to influence the project, their expectations, their level of engagement, and the documented strategies for proactively influencing all of these. The stakeholder management plan is an output from the Plan Stakeholder Management process.
Communications Management Plan
The communications management plan
is an essential input into the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process because it outlines individual stakeholders and the specific methods, frequency, and content of communication with them. Via the successful use of the information contained in the communications management plan, you can better execute the stakeholder management plan. The communications management plan is an output from the Plan Communications Management process.
Change Log
The change log
is an important input to have available because you want to be able to convey to stakeholders any changes that have occurred. The change log is an output from the Perform Integrated Change Control process.
Organizational Process Assets
The specific organizational process assets
that will be of use in the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process are any identified organizational communication methods, change control procedures, lessons learned, and historical information about similar previous projects and how they managed stakeholder engagement.
Tools and Techniques
The following tools and techniques of this process can be used on the separate inputs to deliver the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process outputs.
Communications Methods
The communications management plan outlines the specific methods and content of communication to be used for each stakeholder. As part of the communications model and methods
discussed in Chapter 8, several methods of communication can assist you in managing stakeholder engagement. These methods include interactive communication, which means all parties to the communication are involved in the exchange of ideas and messages. This is the most common form of communication for influencing stakeholders, and it relies on all parties involved in the communication having strong interpersonal skills.
Push communication
is a one-way, sender-driven communications method where one party, the sender, sends information to the other party, the receiver, without necessarily checking that it has been received and interpreted correctly. E-mail messages, letters, and press releases are all examples of push communication. As a communication method, it can be a very effective means of distributing information quickly and widely if care is taken to craft the message well.
Pull communication
occurs when information is posted so that recipients can visit and draw down the information at their leisure. Company or project intranet sites are good examples of pull communication.
Exam Tip
After reading this section on managing stakeholder engagement, you may want to read the communications management chapter (Chapter 8) again, because the two subjects are very closely linked.
Interpersonal Skills
The process of managing stakeholders is based on building relationships, and the project manager’s interpersonal skills are a key tool used in establishing relationships. The types of interpersonal skills you will want to use include leadership skills, decision-making skills, conflict-resolution skills, change management skills, and active listening.
Exam Tip
Interpersonal skills are also used as a tool in the Develop Project Team and Manage Project Team processes described in Chapter 7.
Management Skills
In addition to the interpersonal skills already mentioned, a range of management skills are more focused on directing and controlling stakeholders. These include presentation, negotiation, time management, and public speaking skills.
Real World
An artificial distinction is often made between management and leadership skills, somehow implying that they are separate and used individually. The reality is that as a project manager, you will need to develop both your leadership and management skills to high levels and use them concurrently, depending on the situation you are in and the outcomes you are seeking to achieve.
Outputs
The outputs from the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process include the following.
Issue Log
As you carry out the process of proactively managing stakeholder engagement, particular issues with individual stakeholders may arise that need to be documented so that they can be recorded and worked on. The best place to record these issues is the issue log. The issue log is used as an input into the Control Stakeholder Engagement process, the Manage Project Team process, and the Control Communications process.
Change Requests
In addition to issues that may arise, there may also be change requests, including corrective or preventive actions, which need to be documented and assessed via the approved change-control process. Change requests are an input into the Perform Integrated Change Control process.
Project Management Plan Updates
The specific parts of the project management plan
that may be updated as a result of executing the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process include, obviously, the stakeholder management plan, as well as the communications management plan, the human resource management plan, and any other parts of the project management plan that are affected by stakeholder expectations and engagement.
Project Document Updates
The specific project documents
that may be updated are, obviously, the stakeholder register and any other documents specifically affected by stakeholder engagement issues.
Organizational Process Asset Updates
As a result of carrying out the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process, you may want to update your organizational process assets
: specifically, lessons learned, recording your experience in managing stakeholder engagement, and documents containing stakeholder feedback.
Quick Check
1.
What is the main purpose of the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process?
2.
What is the difference between push and pull forms of communication?
3.
Why is the issue log a main output from the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process?
4.
How does the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process interact with other project management knowledge areas?
Quick Check Answers
1.
The main purpose of the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process is the execution of the stakeholder management plan, in order to achieve stakeholder support for the project.
2.
The difference between push and pull forms of communication is in whether the information is sent to specific recipients. In push communication, information is sent from a sender to a recipient; and in pull communication, recipients have to access the information themselves.
3.
The issue log is a main output from the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process because, while executing the stakeholder management plan, you may identify particular issues with individual stakeholders that need to be recorded and documented in order to ensure that they are monitored and resolved.
4.
The Manage Stakeholder Engagement process uses the change log from the Perform Integrated Change Control process and the communications management plan from the Plan Communications Management process.
Control Stakeholder Engagement
More Info
Control Stakeholder Engagement
You can read more about the Control Stakeholder Engagement process in the PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, in Chapter 13, section 13.4. Table 11-4 identifies the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.
Table 11-4.
Control Stakeholder Engagement Process
Inputs ➪ | Tools and Techniques ➪ | Outputs |
|---|---|---|
• Project management plan • Issue log • Work performance data • Project documents | • Information management systems • Expert judgment • Meetings | • Work performance information • Change requests • Project management plan updates • Project document updates • Organizational process asset updates |
The Control Stakeholder Engagement process is a monitoring and controlling process focused on examining the execution of the stakeholder management plan to ensure that it is being executed correctly and appropriately, and to determine whether it needs changing.
The Control Stakeholder Engagement process covers the following monitoring and controlling domain task
:
- Task 1: Measure project performance using appropriate tools and techniques, in order to identify and quantify any variances and corrective actions.
Inputs
The following inputs are used in the Control Stakeholder Engagement process.
Project Management Plan
The project management plan
contains the stakeholder management plan and other plans and baselines useful for determining whether the stakeholder management plan is being executed correctly. The project management plan is an output from the Develop Project Management Plan process.
Issue Log
The issue log
describes all the issues raised by stakeholders; as such, it can be used to determine whether there are issues and, subsequently, whether expectations are being appropriately managed and dealt with. The issue log is an output from the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process.
Work Performance Data
Work performance data
is required to enable you to assess whether the work you have been doing according to the stakeholder management plan is being carried out as planned. Work performance data is an output from the Direct and Manage Project Work process.
Project Documents
Several types of project documents
are useful in determining whether you are controlling stakeholder engagement as per the stakeholder management plan. Examples of relevant project documents include the stakeholder register, change log, communications register, and project schedule.
Tools and Techniques
The following tools and techniques of this process can be used on the separate inputs to deliver the Control Stakeholder Engagement process outputs.
Information Management Systems
A stakeholder-focused information management system
is a subset of the project management information system that allows for the documentation, distribution, and storage of information for and about stakeholders. The types of information that the information management system captures will reflect the particular interests of the stakeholders and may include information about any aspect of the project that can be measured and communicated, including information about project scope, cost, time, quality, risk, or any other relevant factor deemed of interest by stakeholders.
Real World
I have often found that there is a huge disparity between stakeholders when it comes to the types of project information they are interested in. Some stakeholders are interested in the traditional cost and time progress of a project, whereas others have no interest in these and are more interested in quality measures or issues specific to their interests. It is very important that the project manager determine what parts of the project are important to individual stakeholders. You also may need to control the amount of information that goes out to certain stakeholders. We had a particular stakeholder on one project who we knew was distributing project information to the media; because this stakeholder was a senior member of the project control group, he expected to have access to whatever information he desired. We had to ensure that he was only given the information he wanted as a member of the project control group and the same information everyone else received.
Expert Judgment
Expert judgment
is a valuable tool that can be used in the Control Stakeholder Engagement process. You, as project manager, are one of these experts, as are members of your team. You may also choose to draw on the experience of senior management or experts with experience in effectively controlling stakeholder engagement. In addition, you may choose to draw on the expertise of key stakeholders themselves.
Meetings
Meetings
between the project manager, project team members, experts, and stakeholders are an excellent way of ensuring that stakeholder engagement levels are kept high. This will occur only if meetings are run appropriately and have the correct people attending for the right reasons. The types of information that may be exchanged at a meeting are status reports relating to project data that is of interest to the stakeholders.
Outputs
The outputs from the Control Stakeholder Engagement process are the following.
Work Performance Information
Given that work performance data
is an input into this process, you can expect that work performance information is an output. It refines and analyzes the raw work performance data so that it can be presented in an appropriate format and used for decision-making.
Change Requests
As a result of carrying out the Control Stakeholder Engagement process, you may discover a variance between what you planned to do and what is actually occurring, and that stakeholder engagement levels are not where you had planned for them to be. Thus, you may raise a change request, which could include changes to the stakeholder management plan or a recommendation for corrective or preventive actions.
Project Management Plan Updates
As a result of carrying out stakeholder management activities, changes can be made to any other plan that forms part of the project management plan
. This reflects the wide range of influences stakeholders have over the project.
Project Document Updates
The specific project documents
that may be updated as a result of carrying out the Control Stakeholder Engagement process include the stakeholder register and issue logs.
Organizational Process Asset Updates
As a result of carrying out the Control Stakeholder Engagement process, you may learn information that requires you to update organizational process assets
to ensure that they better reflect what you have discovered. Specific types of organizational process assets that may be updated include any templates or processes related to stakeholder engagement management, any project records collating feedback from stakeholders, and any lessons-learned documentation.
Quick Check
1.
What is the main purpose of the Control Stakeholder Engagement process?
2.
Why is the issue log an important input into the Control Stakeholder Engagement process?
3.
What type of organizational process assets may be updated as a result of carrying out the Control Stakeholder Engagement process?
4.
How does the Control Stakeholder Engagement process interact with other project management knowledge areas?
Quick Check Answers
1.
The main purpose of the Control Stakeholder Engagement process is to monitor overall levels of stakeholder engagement against what is expected and make changes to the stakeholder management plan and the strategies around stakeholder engagement.
2.
The issue log describes and documents individual issues raised by stakeholders. Therefore, using it as an input into the Control Stakeholder Engagement process allows you to view the number of issues, the complexity of issues, which stakeholders are raising issues, and whether the issues are being resolved to the satisfaction of stakeholders.
3.
The types of organizational process assets that may be updated as a result of the Control Stakeholder Engagement process include any existing processes and templates, project records relating to your stakeholder engagement strategies and results, and, of course, your collection of lessons-learned documentation.
4.
The Control Stakeholder Engagement process uses inputs from the Develop Project Management Plan process (the project management plan) and also the Direct and Manage Project Work process (work performance data).
Chapter Summary
- The Stakeholder Management knowledge area is focused on the identification, management, and proactive influencing of stakeholders’ interests, expectations, and engagement to ensure stakeholders’ support for the project.
- The Identify Stakeholders process is an initiating process that produces a stakeholder register, which identifies stakeholders in the project.
- The Plan Stakeholder Management process is a planning process that produces a stakeholder management plan, which outlines how stakeholder expectations and engagement will be proactively influenced.
- The Manage Stakeholder Engagement process is an executing process that uses the stakeholder management plan to carry out the activities required to manage and influence stakeholder expectations and engagement.
- The Control Stakeholder Engagement process is a monitoring and control process that reviews the stakeholder management activities against what was planned and updates the stakeholder management plan as required.
Exercises
The answers for these exercises are located in the “Answers” section at the end of this chapter.
1.
Match the stakeholder management process
on the left to a process key output on the right.
Process | Key Output |
|---|---|
1. Identify Stakeholders | A. Stakeholder register |
2. Plan Stakeholder Management | B. Issue log |
3. Manage Stakeholder Engagement | C. Work performance information |
4. Control Stakeholder Engagement | D. Stakeholder management plan |
2.
Categorize each item in the following list as an interactive, push, or pull method of communication.
A.
Phone calls
B.
Letters
C.
Intranet sites
D.
Video conferencing
E.
Project reports
F.
E-learning site
G.
Meetings
H.
Press releases
Review Questions
Test your knowledge of the information in Chapter 11 by answering these questions. The answers to these questions and the explanation of why each answer choice is correct or incorrect are located in the “Answers” section at the end of this chapter.
1.
Which of the following processes produces the stakeholder register?
A.
Identify Stakeholders
B.
Plan Stakeholder Management
C.
Manage Stakeholder Engagement
D.
Control Stakeholder Engagement
2.
Which of the following is the best definition of a stakeholder?
A.
Your project team members, project sponsor, and client
B.
Any person or group who can affect or be affected by your project
C.
The client, the project sponsor, and external government agencies
D.
Any person or group
3.
If you are using a Gardner grid to show the results of stakeholder analysis, what information about stakeholders are you showing?
A.
How much power, urgency, and legitimacy they have
B.
The amount of risk each stakeholder is willing to share
C.
The levels of power and interest of each stakeholder
D.
Their contact details and interest in the project
4.
Which of the following documents will contain a description of stakeholder contact details and their requirements for the project?
A.
Stakeholder analysis
B.
Stakeholder register
C.
Gardner grid
D.
Stakeholder management plan
5.
At what point in the project should you conduct the kick-off meeting?
A.
As soon as the project is initiated
B.
At the end of the project, to assist with project closure
C.
Only after all the planning work has been completed
D.
After enough planning work has been completed to begin execution
6.
If you are assessing each stakeholder as either unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, or leading, what technique are you using?
A.
Brainstorming
B.
Delphi technique
C.
Analytical technique
D.
Root cause analysis
7.
If you are engaged in carrying out your project work and need to find out the planned timeframe and frequency for distribution of required information to stakeholders, where would be the best place to look?
A.
Project management plan
B.
Stakeholder management plan
C.
Stakeholder register
D.
Issue log
8.
Which of the following is not an input into the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process?
A.
Stakeholder management plan
B.
Issue log
C.
Communications management plan
D.
Change log
9.
You are sending out regular project updates to a list of stakeholders via e-mail. This is an example of what sort of communication method?
A.
Verbal
B.
Interactive
C.
Pull
D.
Push
10.
Which of the following is not an example of a management skill a project manager may use while managing stakeholder engagement?
A.
Negotiation skills
B.
Public speaking skills
C.
Presentation skills
D.
Conflict resolution skills
11.
What is the name of the document that lists any problems stakeholders may have and records what is being done about them?
A.
Change log
B.
Issue log
C.
Stakeholder register
D.
Stakeholder management plan
12.
During which stakeholder management process is work performance data an input and work performance information an output?
A.
Identify Stakeholders
B.
Plan Stakeholder Management
C.
Manage Stakeholder Engagement
D.
Control Stakeholder Engagement
Answers
This section contains the answers for the Exercises and Review Questions in this chapter.
Exercises
1.
Match the stakeholder management process on the left to a process key output on the right.
Process | Key Output |
|---|---|
1. Identify Stakeholders | A. Stakeholder register |
2. Plan Stakeholder Management | D. Stakeholder management plan |
3. Manage Stakeholder Engagement | B. Issue log |
4. Control Stakeholder Engagement | C. Work performance information |
2
Categorize each item in the following list as an interactive, push, or pull method of communication:
Interactive | Push | Pull |
|---|---|---|
A. Phone calls | B. Letters | C. Intranet sites |
D. Video conferencing | E. Project reports | F. E-learning site |
G. Meetings | H. Press releases |
Chapter Review
1.
Correct Answer: A
A.
Correct: The Identify Stakeholders process produces the stakeholder register.
B.
Incorrect: The Plan Stakeholder Management process has the stakeholder management plan as its primary output.
C.
Incorrect: Manage Stakeholder Engagement does not produce the stakeholder register.
D.
Incorrect: Control Stakeholder Engagement does not produce the stakeholder register.
2.
Correct Answer: B
A.
Incorrect: Your project team members, project sponsor, and client certainly are stakeholders, but they are a subset of all possible stakeholders and in this case not the best definition of stakeholders offered.
B.
Correct: The best definition of a stakeholder is any person or group who can affect or be affected by your project.
C.
Incorrect: The client, the project sponsor, and external government agencies may be stakeholders, but this is not the best definition of stakeholders.
D.
Incorrect: In order to be considered a project stakeholder, any person or group must be affected by your project or be able to affect the project.
3.
Correct Answer: C
A.
Incorrect: A diagram showing power, urgency, and legitimacy of stakeholders would use the salience model.
B.
Incorrect: The amount of risk stakeholders are willing to share would be shown in the stakeholder analysis.
C.
Correct: A Gardner grid shows the respective levels of power and interest of each stakeholder in order to classify them.
D.
Incorrect: Stakeholder contact details and interest in the project would be contained in the stakeholder register.
4.
Correct Answer: B
A.
Incorrect: Stakeholder analysis is a technique used to gather information about stakeholders, but it is not a document.
B.
Correct: The stakeholder register contains information about stakeholders, including their contact details and their requirements for the project.
C.
Incorrect: A Gardner grid classifies stakeholders by their levels of power and interest.
D.
Incorrect: The stakeholder management plan sets out how stakeholder engagement will be managed.
5.
Correct Answer: D
A.
Incorrect: The kick-off meeting does not occur as soon as the project is initiated.
B.
Incorrect: The kick-off meeting, as the name suggests, is not used to assist with project closure.
C.
Incorrect: You do not need to wait until all planning work has been completed to have a kick-off meeting.
D.
Correct: The kick-off meeting is held after enough planning work has been done to begin execution.
6.
Correct Answer: C
A.
Incorrect: Brainstorming is an information-gathering technique.
B.
Incorrect: The Delphi technique is used to gather information anonymously from experts without peer pressure affecting the outcome.
C.
Correct: Categorizing stakeholders in this manner is a sign of using analytical techniques such as a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix.
D.
Incorrect: Root-cause analysis is used during quality management activities.
7.
Correct Answer: B
A.
Incorrect: The project management plan includes the stakeholder management plan but is not the best answer presented.
B.
Correct: The stakeholder management plan contains a lot of information about the ways in which stakeholder engagement and expectations will be managed, including the planned timeframe and frequency for distribution of required information to stakeholders.
C.
Incorrect: The stakeholder register contains information identifying stakeholders and their requirements and is used as an input into the development of the stakeholder management plan.
D.
Incorrect: The issue log documents specific issues raised by stakeholders.
8.
Correct Answer: B
A.
Incorrect: The stakeholder management plan is an essential input into the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process because it sets out how stakeholders’ engagement and expectations will be managed.
B.
Correct: The issue log is an output from, not an input into, the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process.
C.
Incorrect: The communications management plan is an input into the Manage Stakeholders Engagement process because it records the communications methods and strategy to be used.
D.
Incorrect: The change log is used as an input into the Manage Stakeholders Engagement process because the impact of changes is communicated to stakeholders.
9.
Correct Answer: D
A.
Incorrect: E-mail is not an example of verbal communication.
B.
Incorrect: Because there is no two-way communication occurring, this is not an example of an interactive communication method.
C.
Incorrect: The method, e-mail, is pushing information to stakeholders, not pulling it from them.
D.
Correct: Sending out information without checking whether the receiver understands it is an example of push communication.
10.
Correct Answer: D
A.
Incorrect: Negotiation skills are an example of a project manager’s management skills.
B.
Incorrect: Public speaking skills are an example of a project manager’s management skills.
C.
Incorrect: Presentation skills are an example of a project manager’s management skills.
D.
Correct: Conflict-resolution skills are an example of leadership, not management skills.
11.
Correct Answer: B
A.
Incorrect: The change log records information about change requests and their status.
B.
Correct: The issue log records any issues that stakeholders may have and what is being done about them.
C.
Incorrect: The stakeholder register records specific information about each stakeholder but does not list any problems or issues they may have.
D.
Incorrect: The stakeholder management plan sets out how stakeholders’ expectations and engagement will be proactively influenced and managed.
12.
Correct Answer: D
A.
Incorrect: The Identify Stakeholders process does not use either work performance data or work performance information.
B.
Incorrect: The Plan Stakeholder Management process does not use either work performance data or work performance information.
C.
Incorrect: The Management Stakeholder Engagement process does not use either work performance data or work performance information.
D.
Correct: The Control Stakeholder Engagement process does use work performance data as an input and has work performance information as an output, as part of the monitoring and controlling activities.