Learn how to create a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix to identify and bridge gaps in stakeholder participation.
The Hidden Heroes of Project Management
In the dynamic world of project management, the unsung heroes often go unnoticed. While meticulous planning, resource allocation, and task management are undeniably crucial, one factor that can make or break a project’s success is the often underestimated role of stakeholders. I was asked once, do you ever have the right amount of engagement in a project, and that got me thinking, do you? Is there a line where there is too much? And how do we define that line?
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The Role of the Stakeholder in a Project
(Who is the Hero in a Project?)
These individuals or groups have a vested interest in the project’s outcome, standing to gain or lose based on its success. Thus, stakeholder happiness becomes a key metric for measuring the success of a project. Ensuring timely engagement with stakeholders is a critical component in project management, as they contribute significantly to meeting project objectives and supporting pivotal moments throughout its lifecycle.
How do we Establish the Hero?
Stakeholder mapping allows the project manager and team to identify and categorize stakeholders based on their authority level, influence, interests, and impact.
Prioritizing stakeholders is crucial as it guides resource allocation and pinpoints the key decision-makers at any given moment, ensuring that your engagement is directed toward the right individuals at the right time.
Defining the heroes should be done to establish:
- How much influence do your stakeholders hold?
- How much interest do your stakeholders have in the project?
This allows the project management team to determine the importance, rank, interest, and influence of the stakeholders, and how much effort and attention they require throughout the project’s duration.
- High Influence and High Interest: Top priority stakeholders should be managed closely.
- High Influence and Low Interest: Meet their needs and handle them with care.
- Low Influence and High Interest: Likely won’t participate but should be kept informed.
- Low Influence and Low Interest: Low-priority stakeholders that should be monitored. Ensure you don’t bother them with too much detail.
Recognizing key stakeholders and their ability and influence in decision-making helps with targeted engagement—ensuring everyone receives the information that is most relevant to them.
The Advantages of Stakeholder Engagement
- Stakeholders can provide the knowledge and expertise that assists in shaping the direction and goals of the project, while the PM has the plan in place and the processes to achieve those goals.
- Stakeholders can have a wealth of industry-specific information which can be shared with the project team. With industry-specific knowledge, stakeholders can provide valuable insights and early warnings about issues that might impact the project (risk mitigation).
- Active engagement by the stakeholders ensures that the expectations, concerns, and requirements of the stakeholders are all integrated into the project plan and ensures that everyone is moving in the same direction.
- Collaboration with stakeholders on a project provides a sense of ownership and contribution to the outcome and success of the project.
- Stakeholders actively involved in the project assist in the decision-making process to avoid potential delays.
- In organisations with a corporate governance framework, stakeholder engagement plays a crucial role in maintaining accountability and transparency.
However, what would be the effect if we had passive stakeholder engagement on a project? Let’s explore the hypothetical scenario where stakeholders take a backseat, handing over the project reins to the PM and stepping back. What would be the outcome of such passive involvement?
- Without active engagement, valuable insights, and perspectives from stakeholders, the knowledge that they could contribute to the project is forfeited, ultimately impacting the project’s success.
- Misunderstandings lead to misaligned expectations and dissatisfaction, increasing the likelihood of scope creep as stakeholders may have divergent interpretations of project requirements.
- Passive stakeholders can widen the gap between the project goal and the needs of the end user.
- Stakeholder disengagement diminishes the collaborative spirit between the project team and the stakeholder, transforming it from a collective experience to more of a to-do list.
Maximizing Stakeholder Impact
Stakeholders are the hidden heroes in project management, and their active engagement is paramount to project success. By recognizing their importance, prioritizing their involvement, and fostering collaboration, project managers can harness the full potential of their stakeholders, ensuring smoother project execution and achieving better outcomes.
With over a decade of experience designing and delivering online courses, OES thoroughly understands the importance of maximizing stakeholder engagement. Our teams are acutely aware of how constructive, active engagement enables us to meet milestone and project handover dates, so we’re constantly evaluating engagement and relevancy throughout the project.
And, if you’re a subject matter expert, the perfect follow-up article would be An SME’s Guide: Your Journey in the Successful Development of an Online Course.
This blog post is made available by the author for educational purposes only and to provide general information. All views expressed are the author’s own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever, to which they have been, are now, or will be affiliated. If you have a specific problem related to this topic and need advice, contact OES directly.
