Stakeholder Analysis

The stakeholder analysis is a technique to identify and assess the importance of stakeholders that may significantly influence the success of your project. Stakeholders are key people, functions, or organisations that will influence or be affected by your project (either positively or negatively). One can then anticipate and plan for the type and kind of influence on your project and develop strategies to get support from the stakeholders and reduce any obstacles. The Stakeholder Analysis also allows project manager or the team to structure necessary communication strategy for the project. It allow teams to focus on ways in which it should communicate with various stakeholders and develop strategies to build on supportive behaviors whilst looking to improve support levels where they may not currently exist. However, the communication of the analysis results should be approached with caution. Telling others that you have identified them as potential blockers may, in fact, turn someone who was neutral or supportive against you.

How to perform Stakeholder Analysis

Brainstorm all the people, functions, and organisations that will affect or be affected by your project
Identify the specific interests the stakeholders have in your project by considering the following:

Benefits of the project to the stakeholder
Changes the project might require the stakeholder to make
Activities of the project that might cause damage or conflict for the stakeholder

Review and assign ranks (Supporter, Neutral, Blocker) for the importance of the stakeholder's interests to the success of the project by considering:

The role the key stakeholder plays for the project and in the organisation
The likelihood and impact of a stakeholder's negative response to the project

Devise possible actions you can take to get stakeholder support and reduce opposition. Include information like:

The way to approach the stakeholders
The information you and they will need
Who can you involve that might influence the stakeholder