On Understanding Your Stakeholders

Posted on 13 December, 2007 by duardo
This is your opportunity to intimately understand the type of relationships you are going to have with your stakeholders and which stakeholder will (and should) take up more of your time.  Will they support you? Will they block you? Will they just be a thorn in your side? You need to know how they are likely to feel about and react to your project. You also need to know how best to engage them and how best to communicate with them.
Comms Plan Series
 1. On the Communications Plan
 2. On Identifying Stakeholders
 3. On Understanding Stakeholders
 4. On Prioritising Stakeholders
 5. On SH Info Requirements
 6. On Communication Planning
Tool Downloads
 > Communication Plan (Blank)
 > Stakeholder Register

All stakeholders are equal, some stakeholders are more equal than others

Remember: Some stakeholders may initially seem to lack interest in your project but then have a habit of sitting up and taking notice of your project the nearer you get to implementation.  Stakeholder Management is an ongoing process throughout the project life-cycle so keep abreast of your stakeholder analysis, update it, and change your communications techniques as necessary to ensure that your stakeholders are kept informed to the right level.

Facilitation Methods 

There are a number of facilitation methods that can be employed here when engaging your stakeholders for example:

  • Public media broadcasts
  • One-on-one interviews
  • Small focus groups
  • Community / ‘Town Hall’ meetings

Select the most appropriate method (or a combination thereof) for the individual/group you are wishing to engage with and try to cover off on the following key topic areas and make your notes in the stakeholder register:

  • About the individual and/or group
  • Special Interests
  • Influence on and around your project environment
  • Dependencies they have on their environment
  • Critical Time-lines / Risks
  • Actions required

Note: Meet as many times are you need to and make sure your stakeholder feels he/she/they have been heard and understood.  The time taken to understand your stakeholders will pay dividends further down the track.

In the next post in this Communications Plan series we will look at Prioritising your Stakeholders.

Filed under: PMO, PRINCE2, Templates | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

On Identifying Your Stakeholders

Posted on 12 December, 2007 by duardo
Your first priority in a Stakeholder Analysis as part of the Communication Plan is to identify and list the stakeholders in your project – who stands to be impacted by the operations and deliverables of your project? As illustrated below, stakeholders can take any shape or form, for example, they can be individuals, groups of individuals, companies and government.  
Comms Plan Series
  1. On the Communications Plan
  2. On Identifying Stakeholders
  3. On Understanding Stakeholders
  4. On Prioritising Stakeholders
  5. On SH Info Requirements
  6. On Communication Planning
Tool Downloads
  > Communication Plan (Blank)
  > Stakeholder Register

PRINCE2 Communications Plan - Stakeholder Analysis

Depending on the size and the context in which the project exists (IT&T, construction, humanitarian) it can be difficult ensure you have capture all stakeholders.  So you need to be proactive in your analysis.  The checklist in the Stakeholder Register Template is a good place to start but you will need to refine it and learn more about your stakeholders.  To do this you can use a number of investigation methods:

Method Description
Engaging Experts There are always key people who are in a good position to identify potential stakeholders.  Consider approaching researchers, academics, advisers, local councilors and their staff.
Self-Selection Invite potential stakeholders to join in the dialogue through the local media (newspapers, radio, TV).  This mechanism is a good tool to demonstrate how you have provided potential stakeholders an opportunity to identify themselves.
Engaging Other Stakeholders Similar to “engaging experts” you will find that the stakeholders themselves may have a unique perspective on who else should be considered as a stakeholders.  It’s important to realise that this opinion comes with baggage and may only introduce ”supporters” to the stakeholders stance as opposed to stakeholders with a different opinion/perspective. 
Written Reports / Data You can find stakeholders by researching written reports and hard data such as surveys like a population and housing census or directories / organisation charts or even report developed by business or community advocacy groups.
Oral History The oral traditions of modern and traditional societies contain a wealth of information that may help you identify other key stakeholders. Take the time to listen and ask question to elaborate on the key players in a major event.

The Stakeholder Register

As you identify your stakeholders, meet with them and learn more about them, you will need to consolidate your notes in preparation for performing the stakeholder analysis.  I’ve used the Stakeholder Register Template and works well although you can put it in landscape if it suits you.

In the next post in this Communications Plan series we will look at Understanding your Stakeholders.

Related Articles

Filed under: PMO, PRINCE2, Templates | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

On the Communication Plan

Posted on 11 December, 2007 by duardo
Project Management is 80% communication, 20% perspiration which is why the Communication Planis one of the most important sections of your PRINCE2 Project Initiation Document (PID).The following series of posts will take you through the communication planning process and provide you with a professional communication plan template for either inclusion into your Project Initiation Document or for delivery as a standalone document.
Comms Plan Series
  1. On the Communications Plan
  2. On Identifying Stakeholders
  3. On Understanding Stakeholders
  4. On Prioritising Stakeholders
  5. On SH Info Requirements
  6. On Communication Planning
Tool Downloads
  > Communication Plan (Blank)
  > Stakeholder Register

We’ve broken out the communications plan product into its own template for large scale projects but this is easily condensed into your PID for smaller projects.

Note: You can download a blank above.  The value added template will be posted at the end of this series.

Two monologues do not make a dialogue  

What is Communication Planning

Communication planning involves identifying and meeting the information needs of the project stakeholders.  Specifically, identifying which people need what information, when the information is needed, and how the information is collected and communicated.  Communication planning strives to simplify and document effective communication within the project organisation.

The culmination of this planning is the Communications Plan and should include:

  • Identification of stakeholders with information needs
  • Stakeholder information requirements
  • Time frame or period the stakeholder needs the information
  • Detailed description of the information need
  • Description of when and how information is collected and who collects it
  • Description of document distribution methods and frequency of distribution
  • Definition of the handling procedures for temporary storage and final disposition of project documents

Successful Communication Planning: It’s all about Execution… 

The best laid communication plan is useless without follow-through and without follow-through your Project will be diminished in eyes of your stakeholders.  So many problems in managing projects can be overcome with regular and honest communication with your stakeholders.

So let’s begin the communication planning process… Step 1: Identifying your stakeholders

Filed under: PMO, PRINCE2, Templates | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.