Page 77 - Project+

Remember from Chapter 1 that identifying and analyzing stakeholders is
one of the steps in validating a project, along with preparing a business case.

A stakeholder is a person or an organization that has a vested interest in your project.
In other words, they have something to gain or lose as a result of performing the
project. They typically have a lot of influence. As you would expect, most of your
stakeholders are concerned about the needs of their own departments (or

organizations) first. They’ll be looking to you as the project manager to help them
understand how they’ll benefit as a result of this project. If you are successful at
winning the confidence and support of the project’s key stakeholders, it will go a long
way toward assuring the success of the project overall.

The general management skills discussed in Chapter 1 will come in handy when
dealing with your stakeholders, particularly your communication and negotiation
skills. Individual stakeholders may have different priorities regarding your project, and

you may have to do some negotiating with your stakeholder groups to bring them to a
consensus regarding the end goal of the project. Building consensus among a group
with diverse viewpoints starts with up-front negotiation during the initial phases of the
project and continues with ongoing communication throughout the life of the project.
In Chapter 8 you will learn about communications in detail, including how you define
and implement a communications plan geared to the needs of individual stakeholders.

Stakeholders are the people and organizations you will work with to determine project

requirements. The expertise they bring from their respective business areas helps the
project manager and project team when defining requirements, reviewing deliverables,
and assuring the end product or result meets quality standards. Stakeholders provide
direction throughout the life of the project and review and approve the final end
product, service, or result.

The Customer

Your customer is also a stakeholder. The customer is the recipient of the product or
service created by the project. In some organizations this stakeholder may also be
referred to as the client. A customer is often a group or an organization rather than a
single person. Customers can be internal or external to the organization.

Unfortunately, some stakeholders may not support your project, for any number of
reasons. They may not like the person who requested the project, they may not like the

goal of the project, it might create major change in their business unit, it might change
their operational procedures, and so on. A project that creates a major impact on
operational procedures may be viewed as a threat. In fact, any project that brings about
a major change in the organization can cause fear and generate resistance.

The key is to get to know your stakeholders as soon as possible. Set up individual
meetings or interviews early on to understand their perspectives and concerns about

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