todolist # 6 - Identify the key stakeholders

" Anyone who is affected positively or negatively, by doing a project or by not doing a project is a stakeholder". Identifying and understanding the stakeholders and their needs is a smart thing to do at the beginning of the project and throughout the project. At the same time, it is humanly impossible to give the same treatment for all stakeholders.

Let us assume that we are developing a very easy to use project management software. Who are all the stakeholders to this;

• The sponsor (who funds this project)
• The project manager
• The team members
• The end users
• The competitors
• The customer's PMOs

This list can go on and on. We cannot give the same weightage to all stakeholders. A smart way of prioritization of the stakeholders can be based on their interest on this project and based on their ability to influence this project.

• The sponsor is definitely highly interested in this project and he is highly powerful. He should get prefrential treatment. he should get atleast a weekly update of the project.
• The project manager is also higly interested and is highly powerful. His professional success is dependent on the success and failure of this project.
• The team members are highly interested and very often not very powerful within the organization
• The end users are again highly interested in the project and at the same time less powerful
• The competitors - dont under estimate them. Very often they can be highly powerful and highly interested in your project (may be negatively) and are not that visible. If you dont insulate your project from their tactics, your project can fail.
• The customer's PMOs - They are highly interested
• There can be a segment who are neither interested nor powerful. Just ignore them
• The high power low interest segment cannot be ignored. They should get atleast a monthly update of your project

The most important thing is to devote some time to do the stakeholder analysis and to develop stretegies to cope up with the pressures and demands posed by them. Include your key team members as well.

In fact this is a great opportunity for any manager and if it is not utilized it can be a big diasaster. When I say opportunity - this is an opportunity to create a common enemy outside the team and automatically the teaming can improve.

Think of situation where your team is provided with the right training, the best of the best boots, uniforms etc...and you ask them to score at an empty goal post. Having a common enemy against which the team can score is a very important factor for better teaming and productivity. Stakeholder analysis is a great opportunity for it.

Dont think that it is a nice to have exercise. Look at TATAs car manufacturing project at Calcutta (India). The underestimated the power of the villagers who lost land becuase of this project and unfortunately collectively they happened to be high power and high interest, jeopardising the project. If we fail to include the terrorist groups as a high power and high interest stakeholder, while building the tallest building in the world - what can happen?

Here is the fact file of the People's car project by TATA

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Automobiles/Pros_and_cons_of_Tatas_2500_Peoples_Car/articleshow/2682263.cms