To download template, click here: Stakeholder Analysis Template.docx
To see a completed example, click here: Stakeholder Analysis Example(s)
Why do Stakeholder identification, analysis and engagement?
A stakeholder analysis can help a project identify:
- Interests of all stakeholders who may affect or be affected by the project
- Potential conflicts or risks that could jeopardize the project
- Opportunities and relationships that can be built on during implementation
- Groups that should be encouraged to participate in different stages of the project
- Appropriate strategies and approaches for engagement
Remember: A stakeholder is any entity, internal or external, who could directly or indirectly affect your project or be affected by your project.
Steps:
- Identify: Facilitate interviews of project sponsor, business owner and users using checklist below
- Analyze and Understand: Document the information and analyze stakeholders based on role and desired level of involvement
- Engage: Develop and execute communication strategy for each type of stakeholder based on level of involvement
Checklist: Questions for the Interview
A checklist of questions to ask interviewees in order to identify project stakeholders and their interests. It’s important to ask all potential stakeholders the relevant questions so you can better analyze their level of interest.
- Who will be affected by the success or failure of the solution?
- Who is the sponsor---the funder of the project?
- Who will receive reports and other output from the solution?
- Who is the customer---the user of the end product or service?
- What regulatory bodies and standards must the solution and project comply with?
- Who will test the solution?
- Who will maintain the solution once it is deployed?
- Who will build and maintain the hardware and server environments?
- Who will support the users and the solution once it is installed (Service Desk, DITR, etc.)?
- Who will train on the solution?
- Who will be adversely affected by in the project’s area of influence?
- Who can best assist with the early scoping of issues and impacts
- Who strongly supports the changes that the project will bring?
- Whose opposition could be detrimental to the success of the project?
- Who is it critical to engage with first, and why?
- What is each stakeholder's interest (addressed need or opportunity) in the solution? (see more info in stakeholder interests section below)
- What constraints (policies, standards etc.) does the stakeholder place on the system? (see more info in stakeholder interests section below)
Generic Examples of Stakeholders
Stakeholder Type |
Examples and Roles |
|---|---|
Business Analyst |
Liaison with stakeholders, identifies business problems, elicits and validates requirements and use cases, evaluates and proposes solutions |
End User |
Interacts directly with the solution, can be multiple groups |
Subject Matter Expert |
Has in depth knowledge of one or more pieces of the business process or solution (internal or external) |
Project Manager |
Team Leader for the project |
Business Owner |
Project advocate and business representative, responsible for implementation on the business side, and subject matter expert |
Tester |
Both QA (unit ad regression testing) and end users (acceptance testing) |
Sponsor |
Project champion, responsible for the benefits of the project, possibly funding, removal of obstacles, approval of scope, project plan and changes |
Developer |
Responsible for coding, user interface and system integration, unit testing, data base feeds |
Trainer |
Provide assistance to users on how to use the application or service |
Server Operations and Network Infrastructure |
Maintain and monitor the hardware and operating environments for the service or solution |
Help Desk Support |
Provide assistance to users on how to access and use the application or service |
Data Base Administrator |
Help a project design and implement the database, and provide support in the form of maintenance and repair of the database |
Usability and Accessibility Consultants |
Consult to help project create efficient and usable solutions and ensure that end users can access the service |
Data Modeler |
Works with project team and business to manage data as a resource and allow for integration of other information systems (designing databases/data warehouses) |
Regulatory Agency |
Mandates adherence to certain policies or legal constraints |
Assessing Stakeholder Interests
- List stakeholders (by name) that suffer from the problem, will be affected by the solution, or whose needs constrain the solution, for example, by imposing regulatory restrictions.
- Note the stakeholder's title, if an individual. This is the person's position title. e.g. Gerard O'Toole, Director of Financial Operations, VPF
- Assign a stakeholder role to describe how the stakeholder will interact with the project. Stakeholder roles might include Sponsor, Business Owner, Primary User, downstream and/or upstream user and Subject Matter Expert.
- Describe each stakeholder’s main responsibilities with respect to the project. These might include Monitor Progress, Development, System Testing, Usability Testing, Support and Approve Funding.
- Summarize each stakeholder’s interest in the project by describing the need or opportunity addressed by the project from the stakeholder’s perspective. Please note that this can be positive or negative, depending on the perception of the stakeholder.
Stakeholder |
Stakeholder Title |
Project Role |
Project Responsibilities |
Interests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gerard O'Toole |
Director of Financial Operations, VPF |
Sponsor |
Oversee project, remove roadblocks |
Automate manual process, improved customer satisfaction |
Note: a similar analysis can also be done for stakeholder groups (groups of individuals impacted by the project), e.g. student administrators, students, HR-Payroll Service Center, Facilities, Registrar's Office
Addressing Stakeholder Needs
- Once you have completed the stakeholder interest assessment, determine which of the below categories applies to each stakeholder.
- The following table provides suggestions for engaging each type of stakeholder
Primary |
Key Player |
Impacted |
Interested, but not directly impacted |
|---|---|---|---|
Meet their needs |
Focus efforts on this group |
Engage as potential supporter/good will ambassador |
Minimal outreach |
|
|
|
Inform via general communications (newsletters, website, wiki, mail shots) |
Other Tips
- Use past stakeholder information – referring to previous similar projects can save time and flag stakeholders risks, liabilities, or unresolved issues that can then be included in the analysis.
- Consider the entire project lifecycle – it is important to remember that both stakeholders and their interests may change as the project progresses. As a Project Manager you should involve stakeholders at all stages of your project.
- People matter - although stakeholders may be both organizations and people, ultimately you can only communicate with individual people. Make sure that you identify the correct individual stakeholders within each stakeholder group.
- Communication to particular groups – two groups on campus that may be particularly useful to communicate with when leading a community wide project are the departmental Administrative Officers (aos@mit.edu) and the Financial Officers (ao-fo@mit.edu).
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