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Stakeholder Management

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How to use the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix
Project Management 7 min read

How to use the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix

Having trouble keeping all project stakeholders informed? You need the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix.

Stakeholder Management: 4 Strategies Proven to Work
Project Management 10 min read

Stakeholder Management: 4 Strategies Proven to Work

What do you know about stakeholder management? Discover four stakeholder management strategies to keep your projects running smoothly.

Project Plan Guide: 6 Steps to Foolproof Project Planning
Project Management 10 min read

Project Plan Guide: 6 Steps to Foolproof Project Planning

Follow these six steps on how to create a project plan and lead your team with confidence through every stage of the process.

Understanding Stakeholder Theory
Collaboration 7 min read

Understanding Stakeholder Theory

What is stakeholder theory? This management approach argues that anyone affected by a business is a stakeholder. Read on to discover more about stakeholder theory.

How To Create the Perfect Stakeholder Management Plan
Project Management 7 min read

How To Create the Perfect Stakeholder Management Plan

Create a stakeholder management plan that guarantees success. On-time and on-budget delivery meets an effective stakeholder management strategy with Wrike.

What Is a Steering Committee in Project Management?
Project Management 10 min read

What Is a Steering Committee in Project Management?

What is a steering committee? Discover how a steering committee can spark productivity, define clear milestones, and set your project team up for success.

7 Stakeholders To Consult Before Starting A New Project
Project Management 3 min read

7 Stakeholders To Consult Before Starting A New Project

When starting a project, there are plenty of things to do: planning your schedule, plotting dependencies and milestones, finding the right tools, setting up your budget and allocating recourses. But one of the most difficult (and important) tasks is finding the right people to work with. After all, the success of your project doesn't only depend on your funds, goals, and ideas. Consulting the right stakeholders from the very beginning can make your project run more smoothly and result in better outcomes. Here are 7 people you should work with to make your project a success. 1. Users Who could be more important to consult than the very people who will use the product of your project? Find out their expectations and requirements — the more details, the better. If you are aiming your project at a particular group of users, your top priority should be making sure your project delivers something of great value to them.  2. Subject Matter Experts In most cases, SMEs are either IT or engineering staff, but it can be anyone who possesses the skills or expertise you need: technicians, architects, data analysts, developers, business analysts, testers, IT team and more.  3. Finance Team Having a clear picture of your finances is a very important part of project management. A good finance team can review your budget plan, check your models, and help you with any issues that may arise, like staff rates, formulas, etc. Additionally, they can help you put together a business case for the project you are working on by reviewing your benefit assumptions.  4. Senior Management When you decide on your objectives and project strategy, always consult with senior management to make sure your project is in alignment with overall business goals and objectives. It's also a big step in securing project sponsors who will be engaged in your project's success.  5. Legal Team If you're working on a new feature or security upgrade, you need to be proactive in discussing potential legal issues. Even if you are informed on all the legalities for your project, there is always a chance that you are not aware of upcoming changes to codes of practice. Luckily, a legal team can not only inform you on what you should expect, but will also deal with compliance and issues of any legal kind. 6. PMO Resource allocation, estimates, templates, models — seasoned project managers can help you identify best practices and find similar projects whose success you can learn from. Project management offices typically have searchable databases that you can look into to find all the information you need.  7. Yourself Listen to your gut! Your experience is a valuable resource — along with that of your project team. Draw on all of it to create the best possible strategy to execute the project and achieve your goal.    Author Bio:  Kate Simpson is a professional writer and editor. She works for assignment help team where she is a senior content creator for various projects and also manages an editing team.

4 Keys to Getting Successful Project Sponsorship
Project Management 5 min read

4 Keys to Getting Successful Project Sponsorship

Good sponsorship is the #1 driver of project success.[1] Yet fewer than 2 in 3 projects have actively engaged project sponsors.[2] With fewer than 40% of all projects successfully being completed on time, within budget, and to specification/requirements,[3] good project sponsors are needed more than ever. How to Get Effective Project Sponsor Support 1. Make sure project sponsors understand how critical they are to project success. Project failure is costing businesses $109 million for every $1 billion invested.[2] So show execs and sponsors the stats, broken down into dollars and cents, to convince them that they need to be an active part of project leadership — not just a passive observer of the project manager’s efforts and results. 2. Clarify the project sponsor's role & responsibilities. Especially if they're new to the role, your project sponsor may not fully realize what’s expected of them, or what their relationship is to you as the project manager. And if they don't understand their role, there's no way they can fill it successfully. As Ron Rosenhead explains, the project sponsor's job is to monitor progress, help resolve issues, and champion the project to other executives — in general, to be the link between the project manager and higher-ups. A good sponsor smooths the way for timely decisions and access to resources so that the project manager can run the day-to-day without hitting a wall at every turn. But sponsors also maintain objectivity, keeping in mind the big picture of how the project fits into larger business goals and the overall direction of the company. 3. Meet regularly and establish good communication habits early on. Effective project sponsor-to-project manager relationships are like any other: good communication is the key. Whether it's weekly, biweekly, or monthly, set a regular meeting schedule at the start of the project. At the very first meeting, discuss your goals for the project and what each of you will need from the other in order to meet those goals. Use this Project Sponsorship Checklist to guide your discussions and clarify exactly what each of you is expecting from the other. 4. Help garner organizational support for project sponsors. 85% of organizations that responded to Peter Taylor's management survey said they have project sponsors, but then 83% admitted they do nothing to support, train, or guide those sponsors.[4] The result is project sponsors in name only — sponsors who are unclear about how important they are to project success and how they can best contribute to that success. Unlike project managers, there are very few outside resources to help new project sponsors learn the best practices of their new role. Good project sponsorship needs to be a priority across the entire organization, including ongoing training and a proactive approach to sharing best practices and lessons learned. So highlight your project sponsor's contributions when reporting on project success and emphasize how further developing good project sponsors is in the entire organization's best interest. Tips for Dealing with a Difficult Project Sponsor: Whether your project sponsor has too many demands on her time, is having issues navigating shifting business objectives, or simply doesn't make your project a priority, here are a few tips you can use to engage a difficult project sponsor. Communicate the effect on project success. Tell them, "This action (or inaction) is impacting the project in this way; these are our options for resolving it." Approach the conversation from the point of view that you both want the project to succeed and focus on how you can work together to achieve your shared goal. Help sponsors understand that they're the ones either hindering or enabling your access to executive support, sufficient resources, etc., and therefore are just as accountable for the project's success as you are. Look to the higher-ups. Knowing what your sponsor’s boss ultimately wants is the secret to keeping sponsors engaged and on your side. Remind your sponsor that your joint efforts will help keep their boss happy and reflect well on them. What's your advice for working with project sponsors? Share your experiences with fellow project managers in the comments below. Then check out the collective wisdom of the #PMChat community on keys to effective stakeholder management. Learn More About Project Management If you're looking for more resources around project management, then check out The Project Management Guide for Beginners. It's an online guide that takes you through the fundamentals of PM in layman's terms and it's totally free to browse, and bookmark. Sources:  1. PMI, Executive Sponsor Engagement: Top Driver of Project and Program Success. 2014 2. PMI, The High Cost of Low Performance. 2014 3. The Standish Group, CHAOS Manifesto. 2013 4. Peter Taylor, Project Sponsors are from Venus. LinkedIn Pulse 2014.  5. Strategies4Sponsors.com 6. Quickbase.Intuit.com 7. SensiblePM.com, Strategies for Project Sponsorship – #PMHangout21

Stakeholder Analysis: Definition, Benefits, and Tools
Collaboration 7 min read

Stakeholder Analysis: Definition, Benefits, and Tools

A stakeholder analysis is a process that helps identify, prioritize, and understand your stakeholders. Understanding your stakeholders can help you develop strategies that will work seamlessly with them as the project develops. It can also help you predict their reactions and actions as they develop, which is critical for getting approvals when needed. Keep reading to learn more about forming strategic partnerships and how to skillfully manage this critical business practice.  What is stakeholder analysis? When it comes to a project, all the people and teams affected by its outcome are called its stakeholders. A project stakeholder analysis involves identifying these individuals and groups and how to engage them throughout the project.  By approaching key players early in your project, you will be able to leverage their knowledge and expertise to guide the project to a successful conclusion. Your stakeholder analysis will help identify the people involved in the project and communicate your goals and plans. Without a stakeholder analysis, you could be well into a project before realizing how a key person in your organization values your initiative. This person could reject motions or have alternative ideas for how or what should be accomplished. Doing an analysis right at the beginning can improve communication and resolve potential issues later on.  Most stakeholder analyses are conducted by different teams or companies. They can also vary depending on the industry and the complexity of the task.   There are many types of stakeholder analysis exercises that organizations can do. These include product management, enterprise project management, and organizational development. Why is stakeholder analysis important? By gaining the support of powerful individuals, you can improve your chances of succeeding in projects. And if you’re not already familiar with the way your stakeholders think, then a stakeholder analysis is an absolute must.  Not only will conducting a stakeholder analysis make it easier to understand and forecast their needs, but it will also make it easier to communicate with them in a way they prefer throughout the project’s lifetime. This analysis will also help you spot competing interests, navigate potential roadblocks, and make sure that everyone involved is satisfied with the project outcome.  How to create a stakeholder matrix and map You can map out your stakeholders' power over your work and their interest using a power-interest grid. The power-interest grid is a conceptual framework that considers the interests of various stakeholder groups. It can be used to identify the potential influence of these groups on the system. Here’s how to create a stakeholder map. List potential stakeholders Brainstorm the people who are most affected by your work. This may include: Clients Senior managers Partners Suppliers Vendors Shareholders Lenders Analysts Press Potential customers Not sure who’s who? Add their name and title to a chart, then note how they may be affected by the project. You may also have a list of individuals and organizations that you are working with that have the power to affect your work. This step works by considering their power, influence, and interests in the project. After you identify your stakeholders, you can create a strategy to win their support. Rank by powerSome stakeholders hold more weight than others. Prioritize individuals or groups by how much they’ve invested in the project or what the project means to them. The position that you assign to a stakeholder shows the actions that you need to take with them in the future.  Strategize by interestFor example, a highly ranked stakeholder group may need to be hands-on or receive a daily update. These are often referred to highly informed people. Your goal is to keep them calm. Talk to them about the project and make sure that they are not worried about any issues. On the other hand, if a stakeholder is at the bottom of the ranking, they may just want the highlights of the project once deliverables are drafted. These secondary stakeholders simply need monitoring and to have their questions (if any) answered. Their hands-off approach makes overloading them with communication counterproductive.  How to conduct a stakeholder analysis As your work and projects become more important, you will affect more and more people. This process helps identify and win the support of your key stakeholders. Step 1: Research You need to find out how each stakeholder feels about the project. This is where you can start to work out how to engage them. Informational interviews or a simple email works well for this step.  You can also ask questions to get a better understanding of your stakeholders. They'll provide valuable insight into how your work is being perceived by them. Step 2: Define After you’ve identified the people and teams that will be key players in your project, it is time to start defining their roles and responsibilities. Stakeholders are often put into one of the following four self-explanatory groups:  High power and high interest High power and low interest Low power and high interest Low power and low interest Step 3: Communicate Plan out how you’ll communicate with members of each group. Include what medium you’ll use to reach them, such as weekly check-in calls or email updates. Also, make a note of how frequently you’ll check in. Communication strategies set early on make a big impact on the outcome. Step 4: Influence The goal of this step is to understand what motivates them and how you can win their approval. If they aren't likely to be positive, ask yourself how you will win them over. If they do turn out to be negative, make a plan for how you will manage their objections.  Step 5: Organize To summarize your supporters' backing, color-code them. For example, show supporters in green, blockers in red, and neutrals in orange. Stakeholder analysis example There are a few different ways to conduct a stakeholder analysis. But the most popular and streamlined one is with a simple graph. On the X-axis, put Interest going from low to high. On the Y-axis, put Power going from low to high. Then, divide the graph into four quadrants representing the four main sections: Low Low, Low High, High Low, and High High. The graph will determine what level of communication you provide for each person or group based on the stakeholder information. How to use Wrike as your stakeholder analysis tool Wrike is a work management tool that makes it easy to manage relationships. Use Wrike’s graph feature to create your own stakeholder analysis tool. After you have your relationship communication plan in place, give high-power and high-interest stakeholders access to their own personalized and transparent view of the project plan. You can also give approval power and regular updates with custom reporting right within Wrike.  Ready to create your own stakeholder management plan? Start your two-week free trial today. 

How to Get Stakeholders on Your Side With Campaign Transparency
Project Management 7 min read

How to Get Stakeholders on Your Side With Campaign Transparency

Project transparency is key for keeping clients up-to-date with project and campaign progress. Find out the importance of stakeholders in a project and how to get them on your side with Wrike.

7 Keys to Project Stakeholder Management from the #PMChat Community
Project Management 5 min read

7 Keys to Project Stakeholder Management from the #PMChat Community

Two Wrikers helped host a #PMChat discussion on Twitter last Friday, where a community of project managers comes together once a week to discuss and share knowledge on various topics related to project management. Our team asked everyone to share advice on best practices and common roadblocks in a challenging project management area: stakeholder management. Experienced project managers from around the world shared their wisdom with us, and now we've collected their thoughts here for you. Implement their advice and improve stakeholder management for your next project. 7 Important Lessons in Project Stakeholder Management You can read many of the best tweets from the #PMChat on stakeholder management here, but if you don't have time to scroll through them all, we've summarized the key takeaways below. 1. Different project stakeholders to keep on your radar Your project stakeholders include EVERYONE who has an interest in the project outcome, including team members, sponsors, and end users. The stakeholders most often neglected: people impacted by your project. This includes (but is not limited to) customers, employees not on the project team, contractors, suppliers, unions, shareholders, financiers, government, special interest groups, community, the general public, and future generations. Keep a close eye on stakeholders who approve deliverables, and those who can stop or pull funding from your project. And their influencers. Suggestion to keep them all straight: identify and rank your stakeholders according to their level of influence and how much they will be impacted by the outcome. 2. Tips to motivate and lead project members who don't report to you Highlight the purpose of your project at the very beginning. Seek project stakeholders' input in the early planning stages. Find out what they think is important. Get them to buy in early. Take advice seriously to make sure everyone feels respected. Treat others the way they want to be treated, not the way you'd want to be treated. Praise when someone has improved and made a difference in the project. Give credit where credit is due. Good project managers need to be behavioral scientists; learn what makes people tick and use it to motivate them! Bribe them with candy. ;) 3. Getting stakeholders to dedicate time to your project Build a good relationship with stakeholders before you need it. When the time to make requests comes, have a one-on-one conversation (in person ideally). Talk with key stakeholders early to understand their perspective. Make the project about the customer and the business, not you or the individual stakeholder. Clearly outline the project outcome, everyone's roles on the road to project success, and the benefits for their party. Ensure they've bought in to your project by highlighting shared objectives and how your visions align. Ask the most reliable people (and main stakeholders) for a short period of time, rather than asking more people for more time. Give reasonable time estimates, so they know exactly what they are getting themselves into. Respect that they have other priorities, and learn how your project can fit into that bigger picture. 4. Keep project sponsors engaged Meet your project sponsors in person, show your passion for success, and be the enthusiastic cheerleader for your project. Set clear expectations and build a sponsor roadmap with each project sponsor. Include what they should do with the project team, managers, etc. Get them actively involved in the project and its outcome. Give consistent updates, with real numbers and results, geared toward their interests in the project. When there is good news or press, point the spotlight at your champions, instead of at yourself. 5. Ways to manage and avoid negative scope creep Make your project plans clear and accessible. When new requests come in, highlight the impact of those requests on your project schedule. Have your stakeholders share their project goals with each other. Bring everyone together to discuss competing or creeping requests. As a project manager, your role is to unify and clarify. Get everyone to sign off on the project plan. Once in the beginning with your project charter, and throughout the project when requirements change. Write your initial project plan in terms of problems being tackled (and what is not being tackled), instead of just stating what work is being done. Invest in expectations management, requirements management, and — most importantly — change management. 6. Proactively identifying and preventing potential issues Study proper risk management: imagine worst-case scenarios and their solutions. Provide risk management workshops, lessons learned, and historical data if possible. Solicit feedback on potential issues from current team members, and people who have worked on similar projects. Trust your gut. If something feels off, investigate and act immediately. 7. Best ways to communicate with stakeholders during the project Early and often! Informally, as well as formal status updates. Repeat your reports and communicate even if you have "nothing new" to say. Communicate with people in the way that best suits their style, not your style: face-to-face and phone calls, or virtually communicate through email, weekly reports, monthly bulletins. Don't assume everyone wants to communicate in the same way. Tailor reports to suit the project stakeholders' interests. When they give feedback, listen to what they have to say. Avoid status update meetings that waste everyone's time. Bring the group together to discuss the project, and "don't be lame." More Advice on Stakeholder Management What did you learn about project stakeholder management from our #PMChat? What did everyone fail to mention? Share more advice in the comments below, so everyone can learn from your expertise. If you're interested in reading the entire #PMChat on stakeholder management, funny asides and all, we organized the great stakeholder management insights and advice from project managers for your easy reading on Storify. Related Reads: 4 Strategies for Dealing with Difficult Stakeholders Why You Need to Record Your Project Management Lessons Learned 23 Project Management Books for All Experience Levels

Shareholder vs. Stakeholder: What Is the Difference?
Project Management 5 min read

Shareholder vs. Stakeholder: What Is the Difference?

Though the words look similar, there’s actually a big difference between shareholder and stakeholder. Read on to learn more about shareholder vs. stakeholder.

#PMChat: Join the Conversation About Project Stakeholder Management
Project Management 5 min read

#PMChat: Join the Conversation About Project Stakeholder Management

The success or failure of a project can depend on efficient stakeholder management. Stakeholders include the project team getting work done, the project team's managers providing resources and directions to the team, and anyone and everyone who could be impacted by the outcome of the project — whether they are the client, or a different team whose work depends on successful project completion. If these people aren't in constant communication, the entire project could be delayed weeks or even months. A project manager is the glue bringing all the different stakeholders together. Their greatest challenge is efficiently juggling all these people without the power to "lay down the law". They manage everything laterally, and that means they're asking instead of telling. Sometimes projects go off without a hitch. Sometimes it seems different stakeholders live to make project managers go crazy. We want to have an open discussion with the project manager community (and anyone else who is interested) around the challenges about working with project stakeholders, and some best practices for managing those relationships. This Friday, March 13th, two members of the Wrike team will be hosting #PMChat, run by Robert Kelly. Our two hosts bring a wealth of experience working with various project stakeholders: Errette Dunn, Productivity Coach at Wrike (previously with Airbus and Toyota) and Tom Treanor, Director of Content Marketing at Wrike (previously in project management at HP and PwC Consulting). Accredited and accidental project managers from around the world join in the #PMChat every week, so take this opportunity to get ideas and feedback from your community. Jump in to talk about challenges, successes, and suggestions related to project stakeholder management. How to participate in our #PMChat: Join our #PMChat on Twitter on Friday, March 13, 2015 at 9AM PST (12PM EST).  Never participated in a Twitter chat before? It's easy — and you don't have to sign up in advance. Enter #PMChat on TweetChat, and authorize the app for your Twitter handle. This tool will help you follow along with live conversation in a chatroom format. You can easily respond to our questions, retweet others' answers, and talk to your fellow PMchat-ers. Every time we ask a question, we'll start with Q1), Q2), etc. That's your cue to share your thoughts. Questions we plan to cover and learn about during our #PMChat (subject to change): Q1) Who are the different stakeholders that project managers need to keep on the radar during a project? Questions about project team members: Q2) How do you motivate or lead project team members who don’t report to you? Q3) How do you get the managers of those people to provide enough of their time for your project? Questions about project sponsors: Q4) How do you keep sponsors championing the project vs. being passive observers? Q5) If you have multiple sponsors, how do you avoid scope creep? Questions about people impacted by the project: Q6) How do we identify those people who might be impacted by the project? Q7) How do you proactively identify potential issues that will come up and diffuse them early? Q8) What are the best ways to communicate with these people regularly during the project? Q9) What other stakeholder issues do you see in projects? How do you address those? When you're sharing, start your response with A1), A2), etc. to match our question. If you use Tweetchat, it will automatically add #PMChat to the end of your response so that it shows up in the #PMChat feed. Otherwise, if you're adding a tool like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck or the Twitter app, add the #PMChat hashtag on your own, so everyone can see your response. Check out this blog post for more general information and an example of how to use Twitter chats. Looking forward to talking with you on 3/13! Image credits: Designed by Freepik

How to Respond to a Frustrated Project Customer
Project Management 5 min read

How to Respond to a Frustrated Project Customer

I'd like to say I never experience customer frustrations on any of my projects, but the truth is I've experienced some degree of customer frustration on nearly every project at some point during the process.  It may be a big issue or it may be something miniscule, but at some point it usually happens.   Customer frustrations can arise from any one of a number of things.  From unanticipated change orders, to error-filled deliverables, to rude project team members, to project budget issues, to just conflicting personalities.  Anything – literally – can set it off and it may not be a showstopper, but it should be addressed.  The potential issues can be endless – so I definitely can't address all the possibilities here.  But we can take the time to understand what is client relationship management. Let's discuss a few possible proactive or responsive measures we can take to try to alleviate customer frustrations if we sense that things aren't going as well as hoped…at least from the customer's point of view….   Step up communication practices   Effective, efficient, and timely communication remains, in my mind, the number one responsibility of the project manager.  All task assignments, all feedback, all customer interaction, all issues resolution, and all collaboration in general, begins and ends with good communication.  In fact, with more than 50% of all projects failing, one survey showed that project managers cite 'poor communication' as the second biggest contributor to project failure – right behind 'bad or incomplete requirements.'   If a failure point at the beginning of the project was to skip the creation of a project communications plan and now you're seeing communication breakdown, it may be the right time to go back and create the plan so everyone has the same communication expectations going forward for the rest of the project.  Revisit weak areas   There may be weak areas of the project that are causing the customer concern like how risk is being handled or possibly the delivery of error-prone deliverables.  Revisit those weak areas and add more effort where needed. For example, begin reviewing risk topics and issues regularly on a weekly basis as part of the weekly status call or meeting with the customer.  If deliverables have been a problem area, incorporate peer reviews on every future deliverable.  Having the entire team review every deliverable will greatly reduce the likelihood of presenting the customer with a document or deliverable with issues or errors.    React to team member concerns   If the customer is frustrated with someone on the team, meet with the customer to find out why, meet with the team member to work out some corrective action, and then jointly meet with the customer to discuss.  Personnel issues rarely work themselves out on their own and if there is friction between the customer and one of your team members it may not even be obvious to your team member.  Bring it to the forefront and take the necessary corrective action BEFORE your customer has to request a replacement.  If you let it get to that point, then your leadership will definitely be called into question as well.  Circle back   If necessary, go back to the kickoff presentation and notes to analyze where you are vs. where you should be in terms of process and promises and assumptions.  It's never too late to try to get the project back on track and make the customer feel comfortable again.  It's possible that you discussed processes, actions and policies that would be implemented or followed and they never happened or were never implemented.  If that is the case, it may be frustration point for the customer to see that it was an expectation that was never fulfilled.  Often the customer sees it as something they paid for but never received.   Call for input   Customer satisfaction is one of the three key indicators of project success, so responding to and resolving customer frustration should always be a top priority.  When you've experienced customer frustration, how have you responded?  What actions have you taken to resolve these issues?  What general approaches have worked the best for you?  Thanks – we'd love to see your feedback!

What Gilmore Girls Can Teach You About Project Stakeholder Management
Project Management 7 min read

What Gilmore Girls Can Teach You About Project Stakeholder Management

Gilmore Girls is a feel-good, American TV show known for its rapid-fire dialogue. And yet its revival on Netflix can teach us valuable lessons in project stakeholder management. Grab a cup of coffee and read on.