Stakeholder management involves establishing and maintaining support from stakeholders throughout a project or change within an organisation. Why is this important? Stakeholder management helps to keep clients feel informed and happy, can ensure project requirements are aligned, and minimise scope creep. Stakeholder management essentially involves maintaining relationships through communicating with stakeholders, and navigating issues if they arise. This means keeping them informed and listening to their input.
Two main questions to help with this are
- What is the communications plan (how is information shared)?
Communication plans aim to manage expectations and minimises surprises. The plan should include what must be communicated, when (how often), and how (format). - What is your project governance structure (how are decisions made)?
There should be a core team, and some level of leadership. Roles and responsibilities should be identified and shared, and a clear method for scope changes and issues are dealt with.