« Why Do Most Projects Fail To Set Guiding Principles?
Fatal Assumptions and Change Management »

Engaging Your Stakeholders

July 27, 2010 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Project Stakeholder Management

Engaging Your Stakeholders
By Jennifer Doyle

Although this article is primarily aimed at Business Analysts, it can easily apply to Project Managers…

One of the most common things I hear from analysts is that they cannot get all of their stakeholders to provide their sign-offs in a timely way. Some stakeholders see sign-off as a lower priority task – after all, the requirements are written, what does sign-off buy them?

Sign-off on a deliverable is more than a “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s” task. It shows that there is acceptance of what has been agreed upon. The changes being made to a system or process, as depicted in requirements, do not typically only impact a single person. They impact a work group or more likely, multiple work groups. After all, most processes feed other processes or create an output that goes to another group. It is important that at points along the way on a project, there is an agreement by the stakeholders to certain details on the project. Requirements is really just one document that should be approved. I believe project plans, interface documents (occasionally the entire design document) and test cases should also be agreed to by most, if not all stakeholders. But that’s another post…..

Now… how do you get your stakeholders to agree. Here are some techniques I’ve used or seen used successfully.

  1. Set clear expectations up front. In your first meeting, establish the plan. Tell your stakeholders that after you publish your documentation, that you’ll expect sign-off via whatever method by whatever date/time. Be specific (after all, you are an analyst – aren’t you always specific?).

  2. Truth or Consequences. Depending on how seriously your organization takes it’s sign-offs, you should make sure your stakeholders know it. If you are going to hold-up the project unless you receive all sign-offs, your stakeholders should know it. Also make it clear to your stakeholders what your next step will be. Will you escalate to the next level of management? Don’t threaten this unless #1 you know the management team will support your, and #2 you are really willing to call a VP or someone else with a longer title to get sign-off.

  3. Over & Over & Over. Don’t back-off. Tell your stakeholders every chance you get what the pattern is. Elicit, Document, Sign-off, Move on. I was talking to an analyst today who had her stakeholders cheering “Monday, Monday Monday” like an announcer talking about an upcoming Wrestling event. In this case, it worked. Those stakeholders knew when their approvals were needed.

  4. Buddy System. The same analyst had another great technique – the Buddy System. She assigned each stakeholder a buddy from another organization at the start of the project. Each person was responsible for making sure their “buddy” approved the documentation on time. She was working with teams spread across multiple locations so each “buddy” was located in the same location. So instead of her hunting people down when sign-offs are past due, she let the “buddy” do the work.

  5. Pick the Right People. Make sure that from the start you have the right people identified as required approvers. There can be some stakeholders who only need to be informed – not approvers. Make sure that everyone on the team knows their designation (informed or approver). Why hunt down 30 people for sign-off instead of the 10 you really need?

  6. Hunt Them Down. I would only use this technique in a dire situation. I have and have known other analysts who have stooped to finding a person as they leave another meeting. It is a bit childish but if you really have to get the approvals to move forward, do what you have to.

  7. Multiple Avenues of Attack. Some people do well at communicating via email. But not everyone. If you have a stakeholder who just isn’t responding, try IM, phone, carrier pigeon, maybe even another analyst who has a relationship with the stakeholder. One analyst on my team needed an approval from a guy who happened to go to church with another analyst on my team. She did not hit him up at church, but she did make sure that he remembered that his approval was past due.

Hopefully these tips are helpful. I would love to know what other techniques you have tried. Add a comment and help the BA’s/Project Managers of the world get their projects done faster!

Jennifer Doyle is an IT leader with diverse experience and proven techniques for leading successful organizations. She has a strong background in project management, requirements management, application development, vendor solution selection, implementation, and operational management. Jennifer is a true believer in the power of Business Analysis and Project Management. You can read more from Jennifer on her blog, and you can follower her updates via twitter @jenni_doyle

Share this article:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • blogmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • TwitThis
  • Yahoo! Buzz

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 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.

No comments yet.

feel free to leave a comment

Comment Guidelines: Basic XHTML is allowed (a href, strong, em, code). All line breaks and paragraphs are automatically generated. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Email addresses will never be published. Keep it PG-13 people!

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

All fields marked with " * " are required.

Project Management Categories