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Controlling Project Stakeholders Influence

May 21, 2010 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Project Stakeholder Management

Controlling Project Stakeholders Influence
By Kathlika Thomas

Every PM has had to deal with a pesky project stakeholder or two. Your stakeholders are those who have a vested interest (stake) in whether your project succeeds or fails. As a project manager, actively managing the successful delivery of your project cannot be done without carefully managing the project-to-stakeholder relationship. In turn, managing this relationship can’t possibly be done well if you don’t know who your stakeholders are. So, let’s ask who your project’s stakeholders are to begin the important process of stakeholder identification.

Your project’s executive sponsors, those who provide funding, the end users, support, operations, program managers, vendors, etc. all will have expectations of when/what/how your project will deliver. Identifying and managing stakeholder influence will increase the likelihood of your project’s acceptance and delivery. Here are some tips on how best to do that:

Draw a project stakeholder power/interest grid.

During stakeholder identification, understanding how to interact with project stakeholders is just as important to your communication management plan as identifying who they are. For example, depending on your stakeholder’s level of power (read: funding), the effort you expend in keeping them satisfied will fluctuate. Likewise, their level of interest will also dictate how often and how detailed your project updates will be. Your grid should look something like this:

Stakeholder Power vs. Interest Grid

Stakeholder Power vs. Interest Grid

Let’s talk a little about the characteristics of each of the project stakeholders marked by an orange circle on the grid.

  1. Mary Fairweather, marked by high power and low interest, doesn’t need to be bombarded with too many project details. Instead, put just enough work in and provide just enough information to keep her satisfied, lest she get bored with too many project updates.

  2. Bob Needy, on the other hand, is a high power/high interest stakeholder. Be sure to focus your efforts on keeping him engaged and informed. Not doing so could lead to a dissatisfied client and an end to your project.

  3. Sue Curious is a high interest and low power player. Keep her informed (as you would Bob) but realize that, since she is lower down on the corporate ladder, she can serve as a great resource to spot potential issues or to provide some insight into the business process details relevant to your project. Her high interest means that she wants to be involved, so keep her engaged.

  4. Donald Small’s position on the grid means that he doesn’t need the details (disinterested like Mary). Don’t pressure yourself to engage him with information that he’s not interested in receiving in the first place.

Encourage high-interest and high-power stakeholders to write their own high-level requirements.

Engaging project stakeholders in drafting project charter and high-level requirements documents will establish a pattern of transparency between scope requestors and the delivery team, helping to decrease confusion and control stakeholder influence.

Make project benefits and risks clear as early as possible.

The best way to manage cost/benefit concerns is to address them early, before they become issues. Focusing on conveying positive ROI facts (check the ROI Calculator (PDF)) will prove useful in maintaining the project’s momentum. Taking the time to work out the return on investment for implementing new IT software or new business process solutions will pay off with stakeholders and project team members who are fully convinced of the benefits of your work.

Using the tips above to understand and manage your stakeholder’s influence and level of interest in the project’s success can help you to keep the project on its intended course. The relationship between you and your project stakeholders should be very carefully managed to ensure the project is a win and to avoid derailment due to a lack of confidence. While the task may seem daunting at first, rest assured that stakeholder management pays out in the end!

Have you dealt with pesky project stakeholders? What is your strategy? Share your experiences with us!

Kathlika Thomas has over a decade of business analysis and project management experience. She has roots at Accenture, one of the “Big Five” consulting firm and has managed numerous international projects. Kathlika has also developed a number of workshops and training programs related to business analysis, business intelligence and project management. You can read more from Kathlika at the IT Project Blog.

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 21st, 2010 and is filed under Project Stakeholder Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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