13 - Stakeholder Management - 11 PDF

Stakeholder Management
Some topics on the exam might seem easy to you— so

much so that you might be inclined to skip studying
QUICKTEST
them. Does the topic of stakeholders fall into this • Stakeholder definition Stakeholder engag em ent
category for you? Before you dismiss the importance • Stakeholder m an agem ent Stakeholder e ngagem ent
of this knowledge area, take note of an example of one process plan
person who failed the exam because he did not • Stakeholder involvem ent Stakeholder engag em ent
understand proper project management. His method • Stakeholder analysis assessm ent matrix
of managing projects was simply to tell people what to • Stakeholder register Stakes
do. And because he always worked with the same four • Stakeholder expectations
people, he didn’t think in terms of large projects
(those that include hundreds or thousands of
stakeholders) and how having so many stakeholders involved would significantly impact a project. In his
job, he acted as both a project manager and a subject matter expert, assigning work to a small group of
people as well as to himself. During the exam, he thought only in terms of his personal experience, rather
than the best practices of project management.
In reality, the project manager needs to be the expert in project management, while relying on certain
stakeholders to serve as experts in what needs to be done and how it should be accomplished. A project
manager is much like an orchestra conductor in that regard. As the leader of the orchestra, the conductor
doesn’t play any of the instruments, but rather provides the sheet music and the guidance to help the
musicians put on a great performance. Similarly, a project manager does not do all the work activities within
a project that is the job of the project team. The project manager facilitates, motivates, coordinates, and
integrates all of those work activities into a successful outcome. Because he didn’t think in this way, the
person described in the previous paragraph answered questions incorrectly across all knowledge areas on
the exam. His failure to understand the importance of planning, managing, and continuously evaluating
stakeholder engagement had a huge impact on his understanding of project management.
What about you? Do you properly involve stakeholders on your projects? Have you had any complaints
from key stakeholders about your projects? Have you ever delivered a product, only to discover the
stakeholders are not using it? Your projects won’t be successful without significant, continuous interactions
with stakeholders. Your team can build a great product or service, but if you are not in close contact with
the stakeholders who will use it, you may not realize you have missed the mark until it is too late.
Let s think about another scenario. Imagine you are assigned as the project manager for a new project. The
director of your department provides you with a 200-page scope of work and a charter, and tells you to get
started. What do you do next?
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INITIATING PLANNING EXECUTING MONITORING & CLOSING
(This is the only process group CONTROLLING Confirm work is done to
Select project manager Execute work according to the
with a set order.) requirements
project management plan
Take action to monitor and
Determine company culture control the project Complete final procurement
and existing systems Produce product deliverables
(product scope) closure
Measure performance against
Collect processes, procedures, performance measurement Gain final acceptance of
and historical information Gather work performance data
baseline product
Request changes
Divide large projects into Measure performance against Complete financial closure
phases or smaller projects other metrics in the project
Implement only approved
management plan Hand off completed product
Understand business case and changes
benefits management plan Analyze and evaluate data and Solicit customer’s feedback
Continuously improve;
performance about the project
Uncover initial requirements, perform progressive
assumptions, risks, constraints, elaboration Determine if variances Complete final performance
and existing agreements warrant a corrective action or
Follow processes reporting
other change request(s)
Assess project and product Index and archive records
Determine whether quality Influence factors that cause
feasibility within the given
plan and processes are correct change
constraints Gather final lessons learned
and effective
Request changes and update knowledge bases
Create measurable objectives
Perform quality audits and
and success criteria Perform integrated change
issue quality report
control
Develop project charter
Acquire final team and physical
resources Approve or reject changes
Identify stakeholders and
determine their expectations,
Manage people Update project management
interest, influence, and impact
plan and project documents
Evaluate team and individual
Request changes performance; provide training Inform stakeholders of all
change request results
Develop assumption log
Determine quality standards, Monitor stakeholder
Develop stakeholder register processes, and metrics engagement
Determine team charter and Confirm configuration

all roles and responsibilities compliance
Plan communications and Create forecasts

stakeholder engagement
Gain customer s acceptance of
Perform risk identification, interim deliverables
qualitative and quantitative
risk analysis, and risk response Perform quality control
planning
Perform risk reviews,
Go back— iterations reassessments, and audits
Finalize procurement strategy Manage reserves

and documents
Manage, evaluate, and close
Create change and procurements
configuration management
Evaluate use of physical
plans
resources
Finalize all management plans
Develop realistic and

sufficient project management
plan and baselines
Gain formal approval of the

plan ________
Hold kickoff meeting
Request changes Rita’s Process Chart™

Where are we in the project
management process?
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Before you answer that question— and before you take the exam—you need to make sure you understand
a simple concept: proper project management requires you to identify all stakeholders, analyze their power,
interest, and level of engagement, elicit their requirements and expectations (for product, project, project
management, quality, communications, etc.), and then evaluate and incorporate all of that information into
the product and project scope as needed. You cannot simply accept a scope of work or project charter
without considering the projects stakeholders and their requirements. And stakeholder involvement
doesnt end there: engaging stakeholders should take place throughout the life of the project. This means
you need to build and maintain positive relationships with stakeholders, and make sure they continue to be
involved in the project at the level necessary to make it a success.
If you have access to the P M B O K ®G u i d e , review it for the word “stakeholders,” and you will see
H just how many references occur. Think about whether the requisite involvement of stakeholders
is different from what happens on your projects, and make note of your gaps.
The following should help you understand how each part of stakeholder management fits into the overall
project management process:
The Stakeholder Management Process Done During

Identify Stakeholders Initiating process group
Plan Stakeholder Engagement Planning process group
Manage Stakeholder Engagement Executing process group
Monitor Stakeholder Engagement Monitoring and controlling process group
Stakeholder Involvement in Projects Let slookat howyoushouldinvolvestakeholders

throughout the life of a project. Some of this discussion touches on processes that fall outside the
stakeholder management process, such as Collect Requirements, Plan Communications Management,
Manage Communications, and Plan Resource Management. This demonstrates the important role
stakeholders play in all aspects of projects.
So, what should you do with stakeholders throughout a project?

* Mentify all of them. The first step in working with stakeholders is identifying all of them as early as
possible. Stakeholders discovered later in the project will likely request changes, which can impact the
project and lead to delays.
* Determine their requirements. This is neither easy nor fast, but the project manager must make
every effort to obtain as many requirements as possible before work begins. This applies to plan-
driven projects as well as change-driven ones. The level of detail of the requirements may differ
between plan-driven and change-driven projects, but it’s still essential to determine as many require
ments as possible up front for both. Do you try to do this? Many project managers do not even
attempt it.
To understand why this is important, think about the effects of starting a project without all the
requirements. Those effects would likely include changes, delays, and possible failure. How would it
look ifyou had to say to your sponsor, I did not know about that stakeholder s requirement. Now that
I know, I need to extend the schedule to accommodate their needs or cut another stakeholder’s needs
out of the project. This is just bad project management, and it can be avoided with proper
stakeholder management.
There are many ways to make sure you have the requirements— from just asking if you do, to
conducting requirements reviews, to explaining to people what the negative consequences to the
company and the project will be if a requirement is found later.
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• Determine their expectations. What are expectations? They are beliefs about (or mental pictures
of) the future. These expectations include what stakeholders think will happen to them, their depart
ment, and the company as a whole as a result of the project. Expectations tend to be much more
ambiguous than stated requirements, or they maybe undefined requirements. They may be intention
ally or unintentionally hidden. For example, expectations that your project will not interrupt other
work, or that your project will produce dramatic improvements could affect project success. Naturally,
expectations that go unidentified will have major impacts across all constraints. Once captured,
expectations are analyzed and maybe converted to requirements and become part of the project.
A difference between what a stakeholder thinks will happen and what actually happens might cause
conflicts, rework, and changes. Why wait for a change? Why not prevent as many changes as possible
by asking stakeholders what they expect and clarifying any expectations that are not accurate or that
are poorly defined? This might involve walking stakeholders through what will occur to make sure
there are no undiscovered expectations or requirements that could be unrealistic.
• Determine their interest. It’s important to determine the level of interest each stakeholder has in the
project. Does the stakeholder care about the project? Are they likely to be engaged? Once you gather
and analyze that information, you can use it to plan out a strategy for maintaining or increasing that
stakeholder’s interest and level of engagement. You may also find that certain stakeholders are espe
cially interested in working on a particular part of the project— to learn new skills or prove their
skills— or that you need attention and support from a key stakeholder for deliverable reviews and
acceptance. A great project manager will determine each stakeholder’s interests and engagement
related to the project, and will structure the work, roles, and responsibilities to maximize engagement.
• Determine their level of influence. To some degree, each stakeholder will be able to negatively or
positively affect a project. This is their level of influence, and it should be identified and managed.
• Determine their level of authority Each stakeholder’s level of authority will impact their effect on
the work and outcome of the project.
• Plan to engage stakeholders. Project management focuses on planning before taking action. You
need to plan ahead! How will you keep stakeholders involved in the project? How will you engage
with them about their interests, influence, and expectations? How will you include them in project
decision-making?
• Plan how you will communicate with them. Planning communications with your stakeholders is
critical and is related to stakeholder engagement. How can you keep stakeholders involved and get
them to communicate their thoughts and concerns if you haven’t planned out how information will
be shared on the project? Remember that poor communications are the most frequent cause of prob
lems on projects, so careful communication planning can help prevent problems.
• Manage their expectations, influence, and engagement. Involving stakeholders doesn t end during
initiating or planning. You need to work with them and manage relationships throughout the life of
the project.
• Communicate with them. Stakeholders are included in project presentations and receive project
information, including progress reports, updates, changes to the project management plan, and
changes to the project documents, when appropriate.
• Monitor communications and stakeholder engagement. Good communication and relationships
with stakeholders are critical to success, so it’s essential to monitor these two areas on the project. You
need to determine if and where communication and/or relationships are breaking down, and then
adjust your approach as necessary.
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A key to your success as a project manager is how you handle stakeholder relationships.
/‘1HS ^ta^e^ ° ^ ers must be involved, and their involvement must be managed by the project manager.
That involvement may range from minor to extensive, depending on the needs of the project
and the performing organization. In preparing for the exam, use the following list to help you evaluate
your understanding of stakeholder involvement and identify any gaps that may impact how you answer
questions. If you are unable to check two or more of the following items, you should spend more time
researching this topic.
Place / Here If
How the Project Manager Should You Do It; Study
Involve Stakeholders on the Project Areas Unchecked
1 List all stakeholders by name; this can include individuals as well as groups.
2 Determine all the stakeholders’ requirements.
3 Determine stakeholders’ interest in being involved in the project and in the
outcomes of the project.
4 Determine stakeholders’ level of influence on the project.
5 Determine stakeholders’ expectations, and turn them into requirements as
appropriate.
6 Determine when stakeholders will be involved in the project and to what
extent.
7 Get stakeholders to sign off that the requirements are finalized.
8 Assess stakeholders’ knowledge and skills.
9 Analyze the project to evaluate whether stakeholders’ needs will be met.
10 Let stakeholders know which requirements will be met, which requirements
and expectations will not be met, and why.
11 Get and keep stakeholders involved in the project by assigning them project
work or responsibilities, such as the role of risk response owner.
12 Manage and influence the stakeholders’ involvement, engagement, and
expectations.
13 Make the best use of stakeholders’ expertise.
14 Communicate to stakeholders what they need to know (when they need to
know it).
15 Make sure stakeholders know what they need to communicate to the project
manager and other stakeholders.
16 Involve stakeholders, as necessary, in change management and approval.
17 Involve stakeholders in the creation of lessons learned.
18 Get stakeholders’ sign-off and formal acceptance of interim deliverables
during the project and at project or phase closing.
19 Reassess stakeholders’ involvement, and make changes throughout the
project as needed.
20 Ensure a common understanding of the project objectives, deliverables,
work, and acceptance criteria.
21 Ask stakeholders to let you know about problems in project
communications and relationships.
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Identify Stakeholders PAGE 507 Process Identify Stakeholders

Process Group Initiating
Knowledge Area Stakeholder Management
The first stakeholders are likely those who identify a problem or
need. They may be involved in developing business documents for
a project to provide a solution. The business case and benefits management plan, created before project
initiating, may include lists of stakeholders who will benefit from or be affected by the project. An ongoing,
focused effort to identify stakeholders should continue from this point throughout the project.
Why is it so essential to identify all stakeholders? (if you get the answer right, you could answer two more
questions correctly on the exam.) Any stakeholders who are missed will likely be found later. When they
are discovered, they will probably request changes, which may cause delays. Changes made later in the
project are much more costly and harder to integrate than those made earlier. Identifying all stakeholders
helps to create a project that considers all the interests, influence, and interdependencies of stakeholders.
That said, changes within a project or organization may introduce new stakeholders, or a project manager
may simply miss stakeholders in the initial identification. It’s important, therefore, to reassess the list of
stakeholders throughout the project to determine whether new ones should be added and, if so, what that
will mean for the project.
Many project managers fail to consider the broad range of potential stakeholders. Remember, stakeholders
are any people or organizations whose interests maybe positively or negatively impacted by the project or
its product, as well as anyone who can exert positive or negative influence over the project. This diverse
group can include the sponsor, team members, senior management, subject matter experts, end users of the
product or service, other departments or groups within the organization, functional or operational
managers, vendors, consultants, regulatory agencies, customers, financial institutions, and many more. If
the project includes procurements, the parties to the contract(s) are also stakeholders.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to do the work of identifying stakeholders alone! The project team should
be involved in this process. You can also consult subject matter experts, project managers in the organization
who have worked on similar projects, and professional associations. And as new stakeholders are identified,
they may be able to suggest other stakeholders to add to the list.
The following tools and techniques can be used during the Identify Stakeholders process.
Questionnaires and Surveys PAGE 51 1 Stakeholders, team members, and subject matter
experts may be asked to name other potential stakeholders and to provide input regarding management of
particular stakeholders or stakeholder groups.
1
Brainstorming and Brain Writing PAGE 511 Participants may take part in brainstorm
ing sessions to help identify additional stakeholders. Brain writing is an individual effort, while brainstorm
ing involves a group of people interacting and working together.
Stakeholder Analysis PAGE 512 There are many factors to consider when analyzing stake
holders. Consider their roles and responsibilities on the project, as well as their level of authority and influ
ence within the organization. Every stakeholder has expectations and attitudes toward the project that
must be uncovered. You must also determine how interested they are in the project. What is at stake
for them?
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Examples of stakes include the following:
® Ownership The stakeholder may have to sell property for the new freeway expansion that is proposed.
® Knowledge The stakeholder may be the expert who designed a legacy inventory management
system that is being replaced.
* Rights The stakeholder may be concerned that the new development will endanger the community
by destroying the watershed.
® Rights A government official may be responsible for ensuring that the safety practices on the con
struction site comply with state and federal laws.
® Interest The community may be concerned that additional traffic will come into their residential
neighborhood if the new commuter rail stop does not have adequate parking facilities.
® Contribution The resource manager may be concerned that team members they must provide to the
project will not be able to complete their normal operational work with the addition of project work.
Document Analysis PAGE 512 Using this technique involves assessing all project documents
and reviewing any lessons learned as well as other historical information (organizational process assets)
from past projects. This analysis can be used to identify stakeholders and to collect information about the
stakeholders and their stakes in the project.
Stakeholder Mappiny PAGE 512 In addition to analyzing each stakeholders potential

impact and influence; you need to identify ways to manage them effectively. Stakeholder mapping, which
groups stakeholders into categories, is a data representation technique that project managers use to analyze
and plan how the project team will build relationships with stakeholders. Creating a stakeholder map with
categories and classifications can help you determine how to prioritize your efforts to engage stakeholders
on the project.
The following are examples of stakeholder mapping:

• Power/interest grid2 This grid is used to group stakeholders based on their level of power and their
interest in the project s outcome. Variations of this tool emphasize other stakeholder attributes, such
as power/influence or impact/influence.
• Stakeholder cube3 This three-dimensional model is used to represent aspects or dimensions of a
stakeholder group.
• Salience model4 This model is used to group stakeholders based on need for attention, authority
level, or level of involvement.
Stakeholders can also be grouped by directions of influence (upward, downward, outward, and sideward).
Outputs of Identify Stakeholders PAGE 514 The Identify Stakeholders process results in
a stakeholder register, change requests, and updates to the project management plan and project docu
ments such as the assumption log, issue log, and the risk register. These outputs are outlined in the follow
ing sections.
Stakeholder Reyister Information about stakeholders is compiled in the stakeholder register, a key
output of the Identify Stakeholders process. The stakeholder register may include each stakeholder s name,
title, supervisor, project role, contact information, major requirements and expectations, assessment infor
mation, impact and influence, attitude about the project, stakeholder classification, and other relevant
information. Figure 13.1 shows an example of a stakeholder register.
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Stakeholder Register
Project Title: _________________ ______________ __ ______________________________ _________ _ Project Number:
Assessment Data Results
Contact Major Main Roles/ Influence Power Interest

ID Name Title Information Requirements Expectations Responsibilities (1 to 5) (1 to 5) (1 to 5) Classifications
FIGURE 13.1 S a m p le s t a k e h o ld e r reg ister
The stakeholder register is an important input to the Plan Stakeholder Engagement process, as well as to
several other planning processes, including Plan Communications Management. Remember that the
register will be added to and updated throughout the life of the project.
Change Requests As additional stakeholders are identified after the first iteration of stakeholder iden
tification, changes to the project management plan and/or project documents may be required to reflect
plans to manage their involvement and meet their needs. Project plans that may be impacted include the
requirements, communications, risk, and stakeholder engagement plans.
Project Management Plan Updates The identification of new stakeholders, or new information
about known stakeholders, may prompt changes in the project s approach to stakeholder engagement, or
risk, requirements, or communications management.
Project Documents Updates Assumptions about stakeholders may be updated in the assumption
log. The issue log and risk register may also be updated to include issues or risks associated with project
stakeholders.
Plan Stakeholder Enqagement PAGE516 Process Plan Stakeholder Engagement

Process Group Planning
Managing the impact, relationships, and engagement of the stake
holders identified and analyzed during the previous process is essential to project success, but it can take a
lot of time. That’s why it’s so important, as is the case with much of project management, to think and plan
ahead before taking action.
Stakeholders can be an asset or a problem on the project, depending on how well the project is planned. To
effectively manage relationships with this many people, you need to develop a stakeholder engagement
plan. You need to think ahead about how the project will impact stakeholders, how you and the project
team will interact with stakeholders, how you will involve stakeholders in making decisions, how you will
manage their expectations, and how you can keep them satisfied— to ensure they are an asset on the project.
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Planning stakeholder engagement requires you to strategize about your approach to stakeholder
involvement, and develop actionable plans. This means you should schedule time to get to know your
stakeholders and to check in with them throughout the project. If you know your stakeholders well, you’ll
have more success managing their engagement and will be better able to predict what engagement will look
like throughout the project.
Now you may be thinking, “I have hundreds of stakeholders on my project, located all over the world. How
can I possibly build and maintain relationships with them?” This is exactly why you need a plan. You may
not be able to have a close relationship with every stakeholder, but you can’t afford not to have relationships
with key stakeholders and as many project team members as you are able. It’s also important for you to plan
ways in which you and your team members can develop relationships with stakeholders who are not a part
of the project team.
Keep in mind, the closer you are to stakeholders, the more comfortable they will be coming to you with
problems and concerns, and the easier it will be for you to pick up on verbal and nonverbal cues that can tell
you when something might be wrong. This can be an early warning system for problems on your project.
How do you build positive and powerful relationships with your stakeholders? The same way you have built
them with your friends and family: by spending time getting to know them and allowing them to get to
know you. The more time you spend with someone, the better you’ll be able to ascertain their impressions
and concerns.
Exercise What are the characteristics that define a good relationship? Take a few minutes to
think about this. Draw on your experience with your family, friends, coworkers, and others.
Characteristics of a Good Relationship
Answer Some possible answers are listed here. You may have come up with different or
additional characteristics.
Characteristics of a Good Relationship

Trust Sincerity
Honesty Respect
Good communication Concern
Interest Empathy
As you plan how you will get to know your stakeholders, remember that these are the qualities you
want to nurture in your relationships with them. i
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Stakeholder Management t
During planning, you need to determine which stakeholders will require most of your time and effort.
These decisions require you to think about the role of each stakeholder, the environment within which they
operate, and the specific needs of your project. If there are any procurements in place, you will need to
coordinate with the procurement department to plan stakeholder engagement efforts related to parties of
the contract.
To plan stakeholder engagement, you will need the details ofwhat has already been planned and documented
in plans including resource and communications management, information from the stakeholder register,
and any relevant information from past similar projects.
Let’s consider an example. Imagine you are managing a project to replace the online application process for
open positions in your company. Your sponsor is the human resources director, who wants to streamline
the process and encourage candidates with advanced technical experience to apply for jobs. Even though
your stakeholders include anyone who is a potential job candidate (possibly millions of people), there are
a few key stakeholders with whom you will plan to spend most of your time: your sponsor and the managers
in the company who evaluate candidates. As the project team is designing and building the new website to
satisfy stakeholder requirements, you will want to receive frequent feedback from your key stakeholders
about how the design meets their expectations. You might also identify a few newly hired employees who
could help the team understand problems with the existing application process. Your stakeholder
engagement plan might include formal review meetings where you discuss progress and get feedback on
the progress of the website development.
Your experience on other projects and historical records of similar projects can help you anticipate and plan
to meet stakeholder needs on the project. However, you should make use of the expertise of others as well.
If youTl be working with a stakeholder for the first time, talk to another project manager or team member
who knows this person. Meet with professional organizations, consultants, and subject matter experts to
hear valuable insight on working with various stakeholders and stakeholder groups. Ask questions about
how best to work with the stakeholders, and then meet with them as soon as possible to initiate these
important relationships. Make sure the stakeholders themselves understand how important it is for you to
meet their needs, and encourage them to communicate frequently as the planning and project work
proceed. These preliminary meetings and conversations are critical for you to get an impression of how best
to work with each stakeholder.
Not every stakeholder will be as engaged in the project as you might like, and some might be more engaged
than you would wish. Stakeholder engagement can range from unaware of or resistant to the project to
neutral to supportive or even interested in taking a leading role on the proj ect. Think about each stakeholder’s
attitude and interest in the project, as this will help you determine the level of engagement required to make
the project successful. You should also consider how much engagement you require from stakeholders
during each phase of the project. You may require some stakeholders to be more involved during planning,
for example, while others will take on a more prominent role during executing. Identify and analyze
variances between the current and desired level of engagement, and work with the team to identify ways to
achieve the right engagement level.
The project manager will need to choose tools and techniques to plan stakeholder engagement that are
appropriate for the project.
Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix PAGE 521 A stakeholder engage5

ment assessment matrix is a data representation tool used to compare stakeholders’ current and desired
level of engagement (see fig. 13.2). The stakeholder engagement plan documents how adjustments to
stakeholders’ level of engagement will be achieved. This matrix is revisited as the project progresses, to
evaluate ongoing stakeholder engagement. Analysis of updates to this matrix may indicate the need to fur
ther plan or alter the stakeholder engagement strategy.
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Stakeholder Manaaement
Highly engaged
Moderately engaged
No engagement
Name 1 Name 2 Name 3
Current engagement level

Optimal engagement level
FIGURE 1 3 .2 S ta k eh o ld e r en g a g e m e n t a ssessm en t m a trix
Assumption and Constraint Analysis and Root Cause Analysis page 521 Evaiu
ating assumptions about stakeholders’ attitudes toward the project enables the team to determine actions
necessary to adjust stakeholders’ levels of engagement to benefit the project. Analysis of project constraints
can provide insight into determining strategies to adjust stakeholders’ levels of engagement.
Root cause analysis is a way for the project manager and team to analyze the cause of the current level of
stakeholder support and engagement. Doing so will help them determine how best to facilitate a change to
bring the stakeholders’ engagement level to what is desired.
Exercise If you’ve never planned stakeholder involvement on a project before, it can be

difficult to imagine how you would go about doing this on an individual level. Ihink about the
various stakeholders involved on a large project. How would you plan to manage the involvement
of the stakeholders listed here?
Options for Managing

Stakeholder Description Stakeholder Involvement
High interest in the project, low influence,
highly knowledgeable expert on high-risk areas
Low interest, the source of major requirements
on the project (high influence), not easy to
work with
High interest, high influence, not a supporter
of the project
High interest, high influence, a supporter of the
project
Moderate interest, high influence, completing
many activities on the project, a supporter of
the project
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Moderate interest, high influence because the
stakeholder has identified a large number of
potential risks for the project, a supporter of
the project
Moderate interest, nervous about completing
assigned activities
Answer Listed here are some suggestions for how you might plan to manage the involvement
of these stakeholders. These are generalized descriptions and answers, but if you do not work on
large projects in your real world, reviewing the following information will help you better understand
the work that needs to be done for large projects.

High interest in the project, low influence, Invite the stakeholder to participate in
highly knowledgeable expert on high-risk areas analyzing the risks on the project.
Low interest, the source of major requirements Determine why the interest is low. Ask the
on the project (high influence), not easy to stakeholder about their engagement
work with preferences and how they would like to be
involved with the project.
Identify ways to elicit requirements as
efficiently as possible.
Make sure requirements are clearly captured
and approved by the stakeholder as accurate.
Send reports.
High interest, high influence, not a supporter Ask why the stakeholder is not a supporter. Use
of the project your understanding to base your plan for
engaging this stakeholder on dealing with those
reasons.
High interest, high influence, a supporter of the Ask the stakeholder what is most important to
project them, involve the stakeholder in team
meetings, report project performance to this
person, and include information as the
stakeholder requests.
Moderate interest, high influence, completing Invite the stakeholder to officially join the
many activities on the project, a supporter of project management team. Identify the
the project stakeholder s preferred level of involvement;
use this information to continue to get their
support throughout the life of the project.
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t Stakeholder Management

Moderate interest; high influence because the Plan to meet with the stakeholder periodically
stakeholder has identified a large number of throughout the project to potentially identify
potential risks for the project, a supporter of any other risks. Keep the stakeholder informed
the project about the effectiveness of risk efforts, and
involve the stakeholder in risk reviews and
audits.
Moderate interest, nervous about completing Plan to find and forward relevant literature to
assigned activities help the stakeholder, and arrange for training if
necessary.
Stakeholder Enyayement Plan page 522 The result, or output, of this process is the
stakeholder engagement plan. The plan documents the existing and desired levels of engagement for all
stakeholders, including plans to achieve the desired levels. It also provides details about ways in which
stakeholders will be involved in the project, and it includes guidelines and metrics for monitoring and
evaluating how well the plan is meeting the needs of stakeholders and the project.
TRICKS Stakeholder engagement plans generally have a component that addresses how communication
O F T H E will be used on the project to help manage stakeholder engagement and expectations. This
TRADE®
means that the stakeholder engagement plan and the communications management plan can be
repositories of some similar information about stakeholder communication requirements and who
needs to receive what information on a project. But the two plans each have a different focus. The
communications management plan emphasizes the details about the technology, methods, and models
of communication— the what, when, and how of communication. The stakeholder engagement plan, on
the other hand, explains the why of communications— why stakeholders need to receive certain
information, and how the sharing of that information will help in managing stakeholder engagement and
expectations. As you might expect, portions of these two plans are often created together.
Keep in mind that the stakeholder engagement plan will likely require adjustment throughout the project.
We ve already discussed how you’ll need to reevaluate your list of stakeholders during the project. The
discovery of new stakeholders may require changes to the plan, and there may be changes on the project
that require less or more involvement from various stakeholders.
Be careful with information about stakeholders! Think carefully before you share the stakeholder
engagement plan, your stakeholder register, or other verbal and written communication about stakeholders.
Consider all the potentially sensitive information you might be documenting about stakeholders’ attitudes
and personalities, or obstacles or challenges related to working with a stakeholder. Given how important it
is to maintain good relationships with stakeholders, consider how damaging it would be to your project for
someone to find a list of stakeholders along with negative comments about some (particularly if the person
looking at the list is o n that list). As the project manager, you always want to maintain a positive attitude
toward your stakeholders, even those who are resistant or difficult to work with. A good leader is encouraging
and supportive of everyone involved with the project. This means that when you discover an obstacle or
challenge associated with a stakeholder, you may decide not to share it with others and not to write it down:
so, small portions of your stakeholder engagement plan may reside only in your mind.
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M 311396 Stskeholder EnQSQSment PAGE 5 2 3 Process Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Process Group Executing
To meet stakeholder needs, resolve their issues, and make sure they
remain interested and active in the project, its essential to encourage
stakeholder engagement and manage their expectations. Although this is an executing process, managing
stakeholder engagement is ongoing throughout the life of the project. When was the last time you did
something like the following scenario?
A p r o j e c t m a n a g e r k n o w s a p a r t i c u l a r s t a k e h o l d e r is d i s s a t is fie d b e c a u s e o n e o f h is r e q u e s t s w a s n o t i n c l u d e d
in t h e s c o p e o f t h e p r o j e c t . T h e r e s t o f t h e s t a k e h o l d e r s a g r e e d u p o n t h e s c o p e , b u t t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r
a n t ic ip a t e s t h is p e r s o n w ill c o n t i n u e p r e s s i n g to a d d h is r e q u e s t . T h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s c h e d u l e s a m e e t i n g
w i t h t h e s t a k e h o l d e r to t a lk a b o u t w h y t h is r e q u e s t w a s n o t a h i g h p r i o r i t y f o r t h e o t h e r s t a k e h o l d e r s a n d to
s u g g e s t t h is s t a k e h o l d e r b u i l d a b u s in e s s c a s e f o r it b e i n g i n c l u d e d in a n o t h e r p r o j e c t .
How about this situation?
D u r in g re q u ire m e n t s g a t h e r in g , a s ta k e h o ld e r e x p r e s s e d c o n c e rn a b o u t h o w m u c h th e p r o je c t w o u ld im p a c t
h e r d e p a r t m e n t s o t h e r w o r k . T h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r c o n t a c t s h e r to sa y , " I h a v e k e p t y o u r c o n c e r n in m i n d
w h ile p l a n n i n g t h e p r o j e c t . Y o u k n o w t h e r e is little p r o b a b i l i t y w e c o u l d d o t h is p r o j e c t w i t h o u t i m p a c t i n g
y o u r d e p a r t m e n t , b u t b e c a u s e o f y o u r c o n c e r n s , I h a v e p u t t o g e t h e r a r e p o r t t e l l i n g y o u w h e n w e w ill i m p a c t
y o u r d e p a r t m e n t s r e g u l a r w o r k ." A s t h e p r o j e c t m o v e s f o r w a r d , t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r c o n t i n u e s to c h e c k in
w i t h t h e s t a k e h o l d e r to d i s c u s s a n y u n f o r e s e e n i m p a c t s .
Or this one?
A p r o j e c t m a n a g e r n o t ic e s t h a t a s t a k e h o l d e r w h o u s e d to p r o v i d e h e l p f u l i n p u t r e g u l a r l y h a s b e c o m e less
i n v o lv e d in t h e p r o j e c t la tely . T h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r t o u c h e s b a s e w i t h t h e s t a k e h o l d e r to sa y , “I ’v e r e a lly
m i s s e d g e t t i n g y o u r f e e d b a c k o n t h e s t a t u s r e p o r t s . I ’v e a lw a y s a p p r e c i a t e d y o u r c o m m e n t s . I s t h e r e a r e a s o n
y o u ’v e b e e n h o l d i n g b a c k la t e ly ? I s t h e r e a n y t h i n g I c a n d o to g e t y o u m o r e in v o l v e d a g a i n ? "
Why bother doing such work? Such actions are proactive, and let the stakeholders know that their input is
important and that their needs and concerns are being considered, even if they are not agreed to. These
efforts are much more likely to encourage stakeholder support of the project, and also serve the valuable
role of keeping open communication channels with the stakeholders so they can inform the project
manager of potential changes, newly discovered risks, and other information.
Do you think you don’t have time in your real world to do these things? As with many other areas of project
management, such efforts can actually help you be more efficient by reducing the amount of time you are
forced to spend dealing with problems. When taking the exam, assume, unless stated otherwise, that the
project manager has followed the best practices of project management. Therefore, the project manager has
time to continuously encourage stakeholder engagement and manage expectations.
The project manager reviews the stakeholder engagement plan, other management plans, and project
documents, such as the stakeholder register, issue log, and change log, to find and address any issues that
could be impacting stakeholder engagement. This review may identify sources of confusion or
misunderstanding. For example, a deferred or rejected change request could decrease the engagement level
of stakeholders who supported the change.
Given how important good communication is to stakeholder management, it’s also critical to follow the
communications management plan. How can you keep people involved and informed if you’re not
communicating with them? Managing stakeholder engagement also requires attention to stakeholders’
needs while work is being done. And it’s essential for the project manager to maintain trust, help resolve
conflicts, prevent problems, foster agreement among stakeholders to meet the needs of the project, and
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T Stakeholder Management
generally encourage stakeholder support of the project and the outcome of the project. This requires the
use of interpersonal and team skills such as political and cultural awareness, negotiating, and conflict
management.
The Manage Stakeholder Engagement process can result in requested changes to the project or product
scope as well as updates to the stakeholder engagement plan and communications management plan. It can
also lead to updates to project documents, such as the change log and stakeholder register. The issue log
may need to be updated to document stakeholders’ concerns and their final resolution. Lessons learned
may be documented to reflect the results of efforts to engage stakeholders.
Monitor Stakeholder Engagement PAGE 5 3 0 Process Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

Process Group Monitoring & Controlling
Maintaining stakeholder relationships and monitoring stakeholder
engagement are ongoing responsibilities of the project manager. Monitoring stakeholder engagement will
help you understand stakeholder perceptions of project progress. This will allow you to make minor
adjustments to ensure continuous stakeholder engagement and support. In addition to evaluating
stakeholder engagement and improving and refining strategies for engagement, this process also involves
reassessing the stakeholder register, updating stakeholder information, adding stakeholders as appropriate,
and noting when a particular stakeholder s involvement is no longer necessary.
Components of the project management plan that are inputs to this process include the resource
management plan (remember that all team members are also stakeholders), the communications
management plan, and the stakeholder engagement plan. In addition to these plans, the issue log tracks any
concerns, disagreements, confusion, or unresolved questions that arise during the project. This log can
provide direct or indirect information about stakeholder engagement. Other project documents include
the lessons learned register and the risk register. Note the inclusion of the risk register as an input here. It is
important to realize that a lack of stakeholder engagement adds risk to the successful completion of the
project. Such risks must be identified and managed.
It is important to know that monitoring stakeholder engagement requires you to collect and analyze data.
For example, work performance data from the Direct and Manage Project Work process in integration
includes measurements of project performance and the engagement levels of specific stakeholders. That
data is then used to compare actual engagement efforts against the project management plan to look for
variances. Any variances may indicate a potential problem with stakeholder engagement. The stakeholder
management plan specifies how this work of analysis and evaluation will be accomplished, who should be
involved, how the results should be documented and presented, and how changes will be handled.
How do you analyze the work performance data related to relationships? You should have established in
your stakeholder engagement plan some measurable performance metrics regarding stakeholder
engagement. You might, for example, use a data analysis technique, such as root cause or alternatives
analysis, to assess stakeholder engagement. You could also use the stakeholder engagement assessment
matrix to further analyze stakeholder engagement levels. These types of tools will help you figure out if
adjustments or changes need to be made to maintain stakeholder engagement.
Work performance data and metrics are useful in giving you information about the quality of relationships,
but keep in mind that some of your assessment will also be subjective. For example, if an activity is behind
schedule because a stakeholder hasn t provided needed information, the percent complete data will reflect
the delay. This might point to a lack of stakeholder engagement or a problem with a relationship on the
project. These indicators require the project manager to clarify and analyze the problem, and then work to
correct or improve the situation. If the stakeholder in this example is not returning phone calls, the project
manager will want to find out why. If the stakeholder is engaged, but having difficulty providing the
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information or getting the work done, the project manager may need to revise the strategy for engaging this
stakeholder and reevaluate the work assignment or the time estimate. This type of assessment can be
immensely helpful in monitoring stakeholder engagement.
Communication plays a large part in helping you discover and correct relationship problems. To maintain
strong relationships, you need to spend time talking with the stakeholders and develop ways to listen and
gather information on their ongoing (and evolving) feelings about the project and other stakeholders. To
get feedback, you can of course ask direct questions like, “How do you think things are going?” But assessing
success and the strength of relationships often requires a more complex and subtle form of communication.
This is when interpersonal skills can really make a difference. To further understand how stakeholders feel,
use techniques such as active listening, perception of body language, leadership, facilitation, and emotional
intelligence. These skills will help identify issues or concerns that need your attention.
To experience this for yourself, spend a day or two really paying attention to the responses you get to the
question, “How are you?” Ask the cashier at your local coffee shop, a virtual team member, the person
sitting next to you at work, your sponsor, and people on your project team. Most of the time, people will
probably give you a positive response: “I’m doing fine, thanks.” Then, try asking follow-up questions such
as, “How are sales this week?” or “Are you keeping busy?” You may hear a less positive, but more honest
answer: “Well, things are a little tough this week,” or “I am so overwhelmed with work I don’t think I’ll ever
get a day off.” To get a more detailed (and, often, more accurate) answer, you’ll need to spend more time,
ask a series of questions, and pay attention to nonverbal cues where possible. This is where all the effort you
have put into building stakeholder relationships will come into play: the better your relationship, the more
likely the person will tell you the truth. Even so, you may have to probe to get honest status updates and
learn what people really think about the project. Sometimes people are reluctant to share bad or difficult
news, especially if it is bad news about the project you are managing. It will help if you make it clear to
everyone on the project that you want them to come to you with their concerns.
As you learn about problems or issues from individual stakeholders, consolidate the information, look for
patterns, and make adjustments as necessary. Your conversations may also reveal the need for a change
request. These changes could be recommendations for solving a problem, risk mitigation suggestions to
prevent future potential problems, or ways to improve engagement of various stakeholders. The Monitor
Stakeholder Engagement process results in work performance information (an analysis of the work
performance data gathered through your stakeholder engagement efforts) and possibly updates to the
project management plan and project documents, such as the issue log and the stakeholder, risk, and
lessons learned registers.
This brings us to the end of the Stakeholder Management chapter. For the exam, keep in mind that
stakeholders are important throughout the life of the project. You need to identify all of them as early as
possible, and periodically reevaluate the stakeholder list. You also need to plan how to manage their
expectations, engagement, and influence, and then follow that plan and adapt it throughout the life of
the project.
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Practice Exam
1. The product of your project is a human resource application that will help the company with hiring
and onboarding new employees. The team will be working on requirements affecting the needs of
some of the stakeholders throughout the project. The requirements of other stakeholders will only
come into play during a small part of toward the end of the project. When do stakeholders have the
most influence on a project?
A. At the beginning of the project
B. In the middle of the project
C. At the end of the project
D. Throughout the project
2. The project has been going well, except for the number of changes being made. The product of the
project is being installed into seven different departments within the company and will greatly improve
departmental performance when operational. The team has selected the appropriate processes for use
on the project. The project manager is a technical expert and has been trained in communications and
managing people. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the project changes?
A. The project manager was not trained in understanding the company environment.
B. The project should have more management oversight since it will result in such great benefits to
the company.
C. The project should have used more of the project management processes.
D. Some stakeholders were not identified.
3. You have been tentatively assigned to a project that has not yet received final approval. Several
stakeholders who will likely be involved or impacted by the project have already been identified.
Stakeholders can be identified during which project management process groups?
A. Initiating, planning, executing, and monitoring and controlling
B. Initiating and planning
C. Planning and monitoring and controlling
D. Monitoring and controlling and closing
4. A particular stakeholder has a reputation for requesting many changes on projects. You’ll be working
with this stakeholder, as you’ve just been assigned as project manager of a project with which he’ll also
be involved. The newly approved project will create a website that has a couple of features the
stakeholder’s clients will use. However, the clients in this business unit will use the site only occasionally.
What is the best approach you can take at the beginning of the project to manage this situation?
A. Say no to the stakeholder a few times to dissuade him from submitting more changes.
B. Get the stakeholder involved in the project as early as possible.
C. Talk to the stakeholder’s manager to find ways of directing the stakeholder’s activities to another
project.
D. Ask that the stakeholder be changed to one who will better represent those using the core
functionality of the new website.
5. Which of the following statements best describes how stakeholders are involved on a project?
A. They help to determine the project schedule, deliverables, and requirements.
B. They help to determine the project constraints and product deliverables.
C. They help to determine the resource needs and resource constraints on the project.
D. They approve the project charter, help provide assumptions, and create the management plans.
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6 . You know that some groups within your organization are going to provide input to requirements that
may impact your ability to develop a realistic schedule. Managing stakeholder expectations is always
important, but achieving stakeholder satisfaction will be more critical with some groups than with
others. All the following are parts of the teams stakeholder management effort except:
A. Determining stakeholders’ needs
B. Identifying stakeholders
C. Giving stakeholders added value
D. Managing stakeholders’ expectations
7. You are managing a project to develop an organization’s new website. The site will be highly complex
and interactive, and neither your project team nor the client has much experience with this type of
website development.
The timeline is extremely aggressive. Any delay will be costly for both your firm and the client. You
and the project sponsor have achieved agreement and sign-off on both the project charter and the
project management plan. Client personnel have been kept fully informed of the project’s progress
through status reports and regular meetings. The project is on schedule and within budget, and a final
perfunctory review has been scheduled.
Suddenly you hear that the entire effort may be cancelled because the product being developed is
totally unacceptable. What is the most likely cause of this situation?
A. A key stakeholder was not adequately engaged in the project.
B. The project charter and project management plan were not thoroughly explained to or adequately
reviewed by the client.
C. Communications arrangements were inadequate and did not provide the required information
to interested parties.
D. The project sponsor failed to provide adequate support for the project.
8 . A project manager wants to more extensively involve the stakeholders on the project. The project team
is colocated, so face-to-face communication with these stakeholders is usually possible, although not
all external stakeholders are available to meet in person. Which of the following would be the best way
for the project manager to involve the stakeholders more extensively?
A. Have the stakeholders periodically review the list of project requirements.
B. Invite the stakeholders to attend project status meetings.
C. Send status reports to the stakeholders.
D. Update the stakeholders on the status of all project changes.
9. You are working on a project that requires the use of a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix. This
tool can be used to identify:
A. Additional stakeholders
B. Variances from anticipated stakeholder involvement
C. Key relationships between stakeholders
D. Skill levels of stakeholders
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10. A primary goal of your project is to decrease the amount of time it takes for service technicians to help
customers resolve issues via an online chat function. The current process includes correctly verifying
client authentication information, assessing the problem, and then solving it. The team thinks a
technical fix is needed to improve the chat functionality to support the goal of decreasing the time
required to resolve customer problems. The customer service representatives think the process is at
fault. A few team members have also expressed concern that the customer service representatives are
interfering with their work by trying to take on a larger role than is appropriate for the project. The
tension among stakeholders is escalating, and leadership is concerned. There has been discussion
about who should assign roles for the project. The role of each stakeholder is determined by:
A. The stakeholder and the sponsor
B. The project manager and the sponsor
C. The team and the project manager
D. The project manager and the stakeholder
11. You are managing a project to update an existing payroll application. You have identified and analyzed
your stakeholders and taken measures to ensure positive stakeholder engagement and to ensure that
requirements will meet project objectives. The stakeholder register has been an important part of
much of this effort. What is a stakeholder register?
A. A process of systematically gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information to
determine whose interests must be taken into account throughout the project
B. A project document containing assessment and classification information regarding identified
stakeholders
C. An approach to increase the support and minimize negative impacts of stakeholders
D. A table that links requirements to project objectives
12. The team is working on the development of a new product that is designed to appeal to individuals of
all ages throughout the world. Because of the diversity of the stakeholder base, the team has decided to
group stakeholders by category, in order to plan effective stakeholder engagement strategies. Which of
the following tools will be most beneficial in this effort?
A. Resource breakdown structure, prioritization, multicriteria decision analysis
B. Salience model, traceability matrix, prioritization
C. Power/interest grid, stakeholder cube, salience model
D. Benefits management plan, focus group, power/interest grid
13. The project manager is trying to recall a stakeholders preferred communication method. Where can
she find that information?
A. RACI chart
B. Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix
C. Stakeholder engagement plan
D. Resource management plan
14. You are planning a project to develop a website for a large medical center. The site will be used by
patients, medical professionals, support staff, and insurance company representatives. Which tools
will best help you determine the current attitudes of stakeholders toward the project and the level of
engagement you will need from each of these groups?
A. Stakeholder register and stakeholder engagement assessment matrix
B. Trend analysis and requirements traceability matrix
C. Data analysis and resource management plan
D. Assumption and constraint analysis
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15. The key objective of stakeholder management is:

A. Communication
B. Coordination
C. Satisfaction
D. Relationships
16. As project manager, you are unable to allocate as much time as you would like to interact with your
stakeholders. Which of the following stakeholders will you make it a priority to get to know?
A. The stakeholder who is an expert on the product of the project, but is not interested in imple
menting it in his department
B. The manager of the department that will use the product of the project, who is known to be
resistant to change
C. The project sponsor, with whom you have successfully worked on many projects
D. The department employee who is unfamiliar with the product of the project, but open to the
positive impacts he believes the product will have on his work environment
17. A stakeholder’s belief about or mental picture of the future is a(n):

A. Requirement
B. Heuristic
C. Expectation
D. Constraint
18. The degree to which a particular stakeholder may be able to positively or negatively affect a project
is their:
A. Level of engagement
B. Level of interest
C. Level of commitment
D. Level of influence
19. In an effort to identify stakeholders who may be affected by your project, you’re looking over the
organizational structure of your client’s company. As you identify stakeholders on the organizational
chart, you request meetings with each stakeholder. You’ll document the information you learn about
each stakeholder in the stakeholder register. This register can then be used as an input to which of the
following processes?
A. Plan Risk Management and Collect Requirements
B. Perform Integrated Change Control and Plan Communications Management
C. Plan Quality Management and Manage Quality
D. Identify Risks and Develop Project Charter
20. A project manager on a multinational website implementation project is at a party and talks to friends
who will be heavy users of this new website when the project is complete and the site is rolled out.
They describe some annoying aspects of the current website. The project manager takes this feedback
to the sponsor, and encourages design and scope changes. Which of the following best describes what
the project manager has done?
A. Scope validation
B. Integrated change control
C. Stakeholder analysis
D. Scope planning
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Answers
1. Answer A
Explanation Stakeholders have an impact throughout the project, but they must be identified and
involved at the beginning of the project in order to determine their requirements and expectations.
This means that even stakeholders who play a smaller role or whose requirements are addressed later
in the project are included early. If this effort is not done early the results m aybe expensive changes
and/or dissatisfaction later in the project.
2. Answer D
Explanation It is important to look for the choice that would solve the real problem. The most likely
root cause is that stakeholders were missed and, as a result, their requirements were not identified.
Those stakeholders are now requesting changes to accommodate their needs. There is no reason to
think that training, management oversight, or a need for more processes are factors contributing to the
number o f changes.
3. Answer A
Explanation Stakeholders can be identified throughout the project. However, the earlier stakeholders
are identified, the better for the project. If all the stakeholders’ needs and requirements are taken into
account before plans are finalized and project work is begun, fewer changes will be needed later in the
project, when they will be more costly.
4. Answer B
Explanation By definition, stakeholders can impact or be impacted by the project. The project
manager may not choose who to recognize as a stakeholder. Although this particular individual may
be difficult, the project manager cannot avoid him, because he has a stake in the project. The project
manager can say no, but this does not solve the root cause of the problem. There may be some good
ideas within those change requests.
The only choice that deals with the problem is getting the stakeholder involved in the project as soon
as possible. Changes generally arise due to lack o f input at the beginning of the project. If the project
manager begins effective communication with this stakeholder early, there is a much better chance
his changes will be discovered during the planning process, when they will have less of an impact on
the project.
5. Answer B
Explanation The project manager determines the project schedule through schedule development.
The team and other stakeholders provide the inputs. Since it is also the project managers role to
determine resource needs and create management plans, the choices including those roles cannot be
best. The project sponsor approves the project charter, not the stakeholders. Stakeholders do, however,
help determine project constraints and product deliverables. Notice how tricky questions can be if you
do not read them correctly! Watch for this in other questions, and pay close attention to the wording.
6. Answer C
Explanation Identifying all the stakeholders, determining their needs, and managing their
expectations are all parts of good stakeholder management. Giving stakeholders added value (including
extras not documented in the requirements) is known as gold plating. This is not effective stakeholder
or quality management.
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7. Answer A
Explanation A single high-level executive can end an entire project if they are not satisfied with the
results, even if that person has, by choice, been only tangentially involved in the project. It is critical to
ensure that all the final decision makers are identified and engaged early in a project in order to ensure
that their concerns are addressed.
8. Answer A
Explanation It seems like all o f these are good ideas, but having the stakeholders review the list
o f project requirements helps discover errors and changes, and would therefore be considered the
best choice.
9. Answer B
Explanation The stakeholder engagement assessment matrix can be used to compare the actual
engagement levels (involvement) of individual stakeholders versus the desired levels of engagement
needed to optimize the plan. Any discrepancies can be analyzed, and efforts to adjust the engagement
levels can be implemented.
10. Answer D
Explanation The role of each stakeholder is determined by the project manager and the stakeholder.
It is important that stakeholders have input into what they will be contributing to the project. The role
of the project manager is not to tell people what to do!
11. Answer B
Explanation Gathering and analyzing information to determine whose interests must be considered
is part of stakeholder identification and analysis. Increasing support and minimizing negative impacts
o f stakeholders is a part o f stakeholder management. Linking requirements to project objectives is
included in a requirement traceability matrix. A stakeholder register is a document that includes
assessment and classification information related to identified stakeholders.
12. Answer C
Explanation The power/interest grid, stakeholder cube, and salience model are ways o f representing
data about stakeholder groups, enabling the team to plan how to engage and manage all of the
stakeholders effectively.
13. Answer C
Explanation Stakeholders’ individual communication requirements are documented in the
stakeholder engagement plan.
14. Answer A
Explanation The stakeholder register contains information including the stakeholders’ requirements
and expectations, as well as their levels of interest and influence. The stakeholder engagement
assessment matrix graphically illustrates the current and desired levels o f stakeholder engagement.
This information can be used to determine actions required to close gaps between those levels.
15. Answer C
Explanation W hile communication, coordination, and development of relationships are parts
of stakeholder management, collectively they contribute to the main objective o f this process—
stakeholder satisfaction.
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16. Answer B
Explanation As the department manager, this person is a key stakeholder, and wields a lot o f influence
over other stakeholders in her department. The fact that she is resistant to change indicates she will
need some personal reassurance from the project manager, or she may exert her influence to derail
the project.
17. Answer C
Explanation Expectations are not as direct or straightforward as requirements. Nonetheless, they are
important to recognize and address to ensure stakeholder satisfaction with the project. Therefore, the
project manager must do additional work to uncover the expectations o f stakeholders.
18. Answer D
Explanation This question is referring to levels o f influence. Each stakeholder s level of influence may
be based on status within the organization, seniority, or other factors. The level of influence of each
stakeholder should be identified and managed throughout the project.
19. Answer A
Explanation O f the choices listed, the stakeholder register is an input to Collect Requirements, Plan
Quality Management, Plan Communications Management, Plan Risk Management, and Identify
Risks. Be sure you understand why it is important in each o f these processes.
20. Answer C
Explanation The project manager has performed stakeholder analysis by learning stakeholder
requirements, and making recommendations to fulfill those requirements. Scope validation is a control
function related to gaining customer acceptance o f deliverables. Integrated change control relates to
looking for multiple impacts o f changes. Scope planning creates a scope management plan.
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Stakeholder Management

Some topics on the exam might seem easy to you— so

Determine team charter and Confirm configuration

Plan communications and Create forecasts

Finalize procurement strategy Manage reserves

Develop realistic and

Gain formal approval of the

Hold kickoff meeting

Request changes Rita’s Process Chart™

The Stakeholder Management Process Done During

Stakeholder Involvement in Projects Let slookat howyoushouldinvolvestakeholders

So, what should you do with stakeholders throughout a project?

Identify Stakeholders PAGE 507 Process Identify Stakeholders

Examples of stakes include the following:

Stakeholder Mappiny PAGE 512 In addition to analyzing each stakeholders potential

The following are examples of stakeholder mapping:

Assessment Data Results

Contact Major Main Roles/ Influence Power Interest

FIGURE 13.1 S a m p le s t a k e h o ld e r reg ister

Plan Stakeholder Enqagement PAGE516 Process Plan Stakeholder Engagement

Characteristics of a Good Relationship

Characteristics of a Good Relationship

Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix PAGE 521 A stakeholder engage­5

Name 1 Name 2 Name 3

Current engagement level

FIGURE 1 3 .2 S ta k eh o ld e r en g a g e m e n t a ssessm en t m a trix

Exercise If you’ve never planned stakeholder involvement on a project before, it can be

Options for Managing

Options for Managing

Options for Managing

Options for Managing

M 311396 Stskeholder EnQSQSment PAGE 5 2 3 Process Manage Stakeholder Engagement

How about this situation?

Monitor Stakeholder Engagement PAGE 5 3 0 Process Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

15. The key objective of stakeholder management is:

17. A stakeholder’s belief about or mental picture of the future is a(n):

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Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix PAGE 521 A stakeholder engage5