It is surprisingly easy to forget about a minor project stakeholder who then exercises a disproportionately large influence on the project's success after they feel like they haven't been adequately consulted. It happens on countless projects every day. For this reason, project stakeholder management is used to obtain, or maintain, stakeholder support for the project. … [Read more...]
What, Exactly, is a Project Stakeholder?
In 2005, when Airbus was in the development phase of the A380 Superjumbo, they announced a delay in the delivery of the first jet due to internal software issues. One year later, another delivery delay was announced. This time, however, several executives lost their jobs as the share price tumbled 26%. Could the delay have been avoided? Maybe, but this demonstrates … [Read more...]
Fortune Favors the Bold
There's nothing more aggravating than cheering or the underdog and then watching the favorite team win with what seems like a complete stroke of luck. But ask anyone who has played a sport. The lucky bounces always seem to go to the better team. It seems to defy logic when a shot results in a lucky bounce that has very little to do with skill. You inspect and … [Read more...]
Who Decides if a Project is a Success?
Project success criteria are sometimes fickle and elusive things. On paper, the budget and schedule feature prominently in every project. After all, a project is defined as a temporary endeavor to create a unique product or service. But most projects have a host of other criteria, like product quality, third party stakeholders, or end user evaluation results. And to … [Read more...]
A Project Health Check
When a patient is first wheeled into the emergency room, the first priority of any doctor is their vital signs, that is, pulse, breathing, body temperature, and blood pressure. Regardless of the injury, if the vital signs are not stable the patient is dying and all efforts must be directed toward stabilizing them prior to treating the original injury. Project management … [Read more...]
The 3 Essential Parts of Stakeholder Communication
Projects are like trains rolling down the tracks - Once they are put in motion and then they are hard to stop. Stakeholder communication is one of the project manager's most important jobs because the stakeholders define the success of a project. The stakeholders must be identified, actively managed, and communicated with to ensure their buy-in to the final … [Read more...]
The PMBOK’s Monitor Stakeholder Engagement Process
Monitor Stakeholder Engagement is the 4th out of four processes within the Project Stakeholder Management knowledge area within the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). It occurs within the Monitoring & Controlling process group. The inputs, tools & techniques, and outputs are as follows: Monitor Stakeholder Engagement is the process … [Read more...]
How to Develop a Stakeholder Engagement Plan
A Stakeholder Engagement Plan is a formal strategy to communicate with project stakeholders to achieve their support for the project. It specifies the frequency and type of communications, media, contact persons, and locations of communication events. It is created at the beginning of the project and updated frequently as stakeholder communication needs … [Read more...]
Guide to Stakeholder Engagement
All projects have stakeholders. Like any area of life, no projects exist inside of a bubble. Although some come close, every project must have a project sponsor (as a minimum) who created the project and expects some sort of deliverables. But most projects have so many stakeholders that they must maintain a list in order to manage them all properly. In … [Read more...]
What is a Stakeholder in Project Management?
In project management, a stakeholder is anyone who is affected by the project. This can be a real or perceived effect. Some are supportive and some are opposed to the project. Some have alot of influence and some have a little. Some are easy to persuade and some are not. But they all have a "stake" therefore project success and stakeholder … [Read more...]