Stakeholder Management in Project Management

Stakeholder management in project management is a vital part of any project because it helps project managers to ensure project success. Therefore, in this article, we will guide you about project stakeholders, including how to identify them and tips for effectively managing them.

Stakeholder management in project management is crucial for any project. Every project has various stakeholders. They have unique roles to perform for the project’s success. Therefore, project managers should manage stakeholders effectively and efficiently to achieve desired project outcomes. As well as project managers can use various tools and techniques for managing the project’s primary and secondary stakeholders.

Who Are the Project Stakeholders?

Every project has various people who directly or indirectly impact the project’s success. Project stakeholders are vital resources of your project because they play a crucial role throughout the project life cycle. Therefore, you should establish effective communication channels with them to get valuable feedback and prioritize their satisfaction with the project’s deliverables or outcomes. So, every project stakeholder involvement and engagement are crucial for the project’s success and alignment with your company goals.

By identifying the significance of project stakeholders and actively involving them during each project phase, project managers can build strong collaboration, gather diverse perspectives, and achieve mutually advantageous outcomes. So, every project stakeholder involvement and engagement are crucial for the project’s success and alignment with your company goals.

Simply put, stakeholders are groups of people or individuals that can have an influence or can be influenced by the project. Furthermore, they can have different levels of influence or interest in the project. So, everything depends on the nature of the project. Stakeholder management in project management is vital for the project’s success because it can provide valuable resources, support, input, or feedback.

Types of Stakeholders in Project Management

Every project stakeholder can be divided into two types. It involves internal stakeholders ( primary stakeholders) and external stakeholders ( secondary stakeholders). However, internal and external stakeholders help the project managers define project goals and outcomes.

Internal Stakeholders

Internal stakeholders are groups of people or individuals within the company or organization who have a direct influence and interest in the project. Furthermore, they are directly involved in the project execution phase. Internal or primary stakeholders may include project managers, team members, employees, executives, or department heads. As well as they will help achieve the project’s acceptable outcomes. Furthermore, they have the following powers,

Decision-making authority
Create project budgets
Create project timelines
Influence project strategies

External Stakeholders

External stakeholders are individuals or groups outside the company or organization. They have an indirect interest in the project. Therefore, they have an indirect impact on the project’s outcomes. External or secondary stakeholders may include clients, customers, suppliers, community groups, the general public, or regulatory bodies. However, they will help project managers to succeed in their projects.

Further, external stakeholders’ involvement may vary depending on the nature of the project. But, their expectations, perspectives, and requirements will help project managers to ensure project success.

As a project manager, you should have the ability to understand and manage both primary and secondary stakeholders for effective stakeholder management in project management. By maintaining effective communication with stakeholders throughout the project life cycle, project managers can build trust, minimize risks, and increase project outcomes.

Read More: How to become an effective project manager

Ways to Identify Stakeholders in a Project

Stakeholder management in project management is a crucial step among project managers. The following are some vital steps to help project managers identify stakeholders.

Stakeholder analysis – By conducting a stakeholder analysis, project managers can access the level of interest, power, and influence of every identified stakeholder. As well as categorize stakeholders into internal and external stakeholders because it helps avoid confusion when working with them.

Brainstorming – To conduct brainstorming sessions, the following parties may involve project managers, project team members, subject-exert matters, and other selected stakeholders. During the brainstorming session, consider the perspectives and other areas of influence within and outside the company.

Review project documentation – As a project manager, you should review project documentation such as the project plan, project charter, communication plan, and other documentation. By reviewing this documentation, project managers can identify project stakeholders. Through that, you can determine who is directly and indirectly involved in or impacted by the project.

Stakeholder mapping – By creating a stakeholder map or matrix, project managers can visually represent the stakeholders based on their level of interest and influence in your project. On the other hand, this helps project managers prioritize stakeholder engagement and communication efforts effectively and efficiently.

Project updates and regular reviews – As a project manager, you should regularly review and update the stakeholder list throughout the project phases. It can help identify new stakeholders if necessary, and existing stakeholders’ interests or roles may change over time.

External research – By conducting external research, project managers can identify stakeholders who may be affected by the project.

Project interviews – As a project manager, you can conduct interviews or surveys with your team members, sponsors, clients, suppliers, and other necessary parties. It will help you identify additional stakeholders and gather their expectations and insights.

Furthermore, project managers can use a stakeholder identification tool to identify the project’s stakeholders and assess their level of influence.

Tips for Effectively Managing Project Stakeholders

By effectively managing project stakeholders, project managers can ensure project success. Furthermore, with these tips, you can establish positive relationships with your stakeholders, build trust, and create a better environment for your project. Therefore, the following are some tips for managing project stakeholders effectively.

Conduct Effective Communication Regularly

An effective communication channel will help project managers to build strong relationships with their stakeholders. Through that, they can provide information to the stakeholders as follows,

Informed project progress
Informed project milestones
Informed project risks and changes

To maintain better communication with stakeholders, project managers should use clear and concise language and select the communication methods for the stakeholders’ preferences.

Identify and Prioritize Project Stakeholders

Before prioritizing project stakeholders, you should identify all relevant stakeholders of your project. It includes primary and secondary stakeholders. Afterward, you can prioritize stakeholders based on their level of influence and interest. So, you can use a stakeholder analysis to categorize your stakeholders as necessary.

Understand Stakeholder Expectations and Needs

As a project manager, you must take the time to understand your stakeholders’ needs, expectations, and objectives because it will help you tailor your project approach and meet project deliverables. Therefore, you can conduct interviews, meetings, or online surveys to collect their input and insights.

Manage Stakeholder Conflicts

Every project may have various conflicts. Furthermore, project conflicts may arise throughout the project life cycle. By managing stakeholders’ conflicts, project managers can focus on the project objectives and seek win-win outcomes. To address project conflicts, project managers can use various ways such as open dialogs, finding mutually beneficial solutions, or negotiation.

Create a Stakeholder Management Plan

By creating a stakeholder management plan, project managers can effectively maintain their relationship with stakeholders. Therefore, when you create a stakeholder management plan, you should include the information as follows,

How you will communicate with and engage stakeholders
Communication goals
Communication methods
Communication frequency
Stakeholders responsibilities

Furthermore, you can use a RACI matrix to assign and designate stakeholders by their level of interest and influence.

Create a Stakeholder Register

The stakeholder register is another vital document because it will help you keep track of your stakeholders and their involvement in the project. Therefore, you should document all relevant information about your stakeholders, such as conduct details, needs, expectations, etc.

Common Challenges in Stakeholder Management

Stakeholder management in project management is a vital part of the project because it helps ensure project success. However, various challenges and difficulties may occur that can affect the project’s success. Here are some of the common challenges in stakeholder management in project management.

Failure to identify or engage all relevant stakeholders due to missing valuable input, feedback, resources, or support

Assume all stakeholders have the same needs and expectations due to misunderstanding or miscommunication.

Overlooking changes in stakeholder influence or expectations due to disappointment, misalignment, or dissatisfaction among stakeholders

Ignoring or dismissing stakeholder feedback due to anger, resentment, or alienation among stakeholders

Conclusion

Stakeholder management in project management is a crucial part of any project because it helps the project’s success. To identify both primary and secondary stakeholders, you can use various methods, such as stakeholder analysis, project documentation, or brainstorming. Furthermore, project managers can use numerous tips for effectively managing project stakeholders. However, project managers face many challenges in managing stakeholders. But they can prevent them by making the right decision at the right time.