Chapter 4
Knowing Your Project’s Stakeholders
In This Chapter
Understanding that it’s people who can often make or break your project
Identifying your project’s stakeholders and making a list
Analysing stakeholders; seeing who can affect the project and how
Deciding how to manage stakeholders
Often a project is like an iceberg: nine-tenths of it lurks below the surface. You receive an assignment and you think you know what it entails and who needs to be involved. Then, as the project unfolds, new people emerge who may affect your goals and your approach to the project.
Dick Parris, an experienced Project Manager and trainer, has a favourite expression: ‘Projects are about people.’ Dick’s right. You can have a great project idea, be implementing the latest whiz-bang technology, and use a great project methodology, but if you don’t get the people side right, you run a very real risk of failure.
On the inside of the project are the people involved in project management and then the teams that are actually doing the work. You need these people to be enthusiastic and empowered (check out Chapters 12 and 13 for more). Then, on the outside, you have a wide array of people with an interest in the project, and who can sometimes make or break it.
Unless your project is one of a small minority that only really affects you and your immediate staff, you need to carefully consider the various stakeholders. This chapter helps you establish who the stakeholders are, what their view of the project ...
