The term itself is the first clue to understanding the importance and importance of stakeholder management. While there may be a few people doing the project’s daily work, there are many people who have stakes in its success. These stakes can be very high for some. Each stakeholder has their own definition of success. This blog will discuss how to measure success and how to keep stakeholders happy throughout the project.
Stakeholder engagement definitions
You will be dealing with many stakeholders as a project manager. These are just a few of the stakeholders that make a project successful.
General Managers and Program Directors: The success of a project is determined by how it contributes to the organization’s long-term goals.
Functional Managers: The success of a project is dependent on the efficient and economical use of specialized resources, such as software or subject-matter experts.
Owner-Users: The success of a project is determined by whether the end product meets their needs. They will use the final product or services in their business as usual.
Project Sponsors: The success of a project is determined by how well the team sticks to budget and if the project achieves the goals they have funded.
There are many ways to measure engagement
Petra Kuenkel outlines two main ways that a company can engage stakeholders in her guide to stakeholder management.
A consultative approach where the company consults with stakeholders, but has final say on how the project will proceed.
A “co-operative” approach is one in which both the stakeholders and the project team take joint action.
These best practices tips will help you retain and measure stakeholder engagement, no matter what your approach.
Centralize stakeholder information: Think of the largest project you have ever worked on. Think about how many people had a stake in the success of that project, especially if scope creep was involved. It is easy to lose sight of the important task of keeping everyone happy, when all you care about is keeping your project afloat. Each stakeholder should be identified and documented, regardless of whether it’s a spreadsheet. Keep track of the ways you plan to reach each stakeholder. Some stakeholders prefer to respond to engagement surveys via email, while others prefer open-ended monthly conversations.
Reexamine how you prioritize stakeholders regularly. This is more a matter of relevance than importance, though each stakeholder may feel their needs are most pressing. As you go through each phase of the project’s lifecycle, make sure to review your knowledge base to determine how that phase applies to specific stakeholders. This will ensure that you are focusing on the right needs at exactly the right time.
Stakeholder communication is essential for keeping stakeholders engaged. Update your stakeholders every time you complete a phase of your project’s lifecycle. This shows that you care about everyone’s needs. It is important to inform your stakeholders about any major issues or changes in project scope. Keep in mind that bad news does not get better over time.
According to the Project Management Institute Pulse of the Profession 2015 (r), 47% of failed projects fail to meet their original business goals or business intent because of poor requirements management.
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