6 Essential Tools To Manage Your Project Stakeholders

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Mastering Stakeholder Management: 6 Essential Tools for Your Project

Here are 6 tools that will not only help you with real-world projects but also give you a strategic edge when answering PMP exam questions.

For this discussion, we’re looking at a project called “Pet Buddy”, a mobile app aimed at making pet care more accessible, and we’ll look at how these stakeholder management tools work within this project.

1. Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)

The first tool we’re looking at is the Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS), also sometimes referred to as an organizational chart. This is an incredibly helpful tool when you’re trying to identify stakeholders within the business. For Pet Buddy, the project sponsor is Samantha, the business owner, and at the top of the structure, she leads the project.

The OBS helps us understand the hierarchy and responsibilities within the organization so we can identify the right stakeholders who will be impacted by or have influence over the project. As you start a project, it’s crucial to look at the organizational structure to ensure you’re engaging the right people.

2. Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)

Once we’ve pinpointed our key stakeholders, we move on to forming our project team. Here, we use the Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS), which is essentially an outline of all the resources needed for the project – whether human or material. In this case, it’s our team, and we can break down the specific roles within the project team and clarify their responsibilities.

For the Pet Buddy project, we have our project sponsor, Samantha, along with our project manager (Billy), business analysts, developers, and testers. By organizing our resources clearly through the RBS, we ensure that everyone knows their role, responsibilities, and contributions. This structured approach makes it easier to identify any gaps in resources as the project progresses.

3. Stakeholder Register

After identifying stakeholders and forming our team, it’s time to capture all these details in the Stakeholder Register. The register includes each stakeholder’s name, role, and responsibility, and can also include their influence and impact on the project.

Take Samantha, for example – she is the project sponsor, and her role is critical, as she provides funding and resources and helps resolve escalated issues. Similarly, we’ll record the responsibilities of other stakeholders like those in Business Analysis, Testing, and Subject Matter Experts in operations and marketing or other business departments. In the register, we can also rate their level of influence and impact, usually on a scale from 1 to 10, to understand how much their involvement will affect the project.

4. Stakeholder Classification Matrix

Next we can use a Stakeholder Classification Matrix (also called a Stakeholder Map), which helps us categorize stakeholders based on any two critical factors: often their influence on the project and the impact the project is having on them.

For example, Samantha has both high influence and is also highly impacted by the project – she controls the resources and funding, and any changes will directly affect her. Conversely, someone in a front-line role, such as a customer service representative, may have high impact (the app affects their day-to-day work) but low influence on the project’s direction. The goal is to classify each stakeholder so that we can engage with them appropriately – collaborating closely with those who have high influence, keeping informed those who are impacted but have less influence, and monitoring those with lower levels of both.

5. Salience Chart

Another tool you can use is the Salience Chart. This chart categorizes stakeholders based on three key factors: power, legitimacy, and urgency. Stakeholders who have all three -power to influence the project, a legitimate role, and urgent needs – are those you need to engage with the most.

The Salience Chart helps you prioritize which stakeholders require your attention at any given time. For instance, if a stakeholder has high power but low urgency or legitimacy, the information and frequency of the communication you give them may change. On the other hand, if they have all three factors, they are a “definitive” stakeholder, and you must engage with them actively. This chart is a great way to visualize stakeholder engagement and ensure you’re addressing the most critical ones first.

6. Stakeholder Engagement Matrix

Finally, we look at the Stakeholder Engagement Matrix, which helps assess how engaged your stakeholders are and how engaged they should be. This matrix compares the current state of stakeholder engagement with the desired state.

The options are Unaware, Resistance, Neutral, Supportive and Leading, and we rate them for their “Current” engagement, versus where we want them to be – their “Desired” engagement.

For example, if Sophie from marketing is currently unaware of the project but is crucial for launching the app, we need to move her from “unaware” to “leading.” Similarly, if Lucas from operations is neutral but we need him to be supportive, we’ll need to increase communication and collaboration with him to get him on board. The matrix ensures that you’re not only aware of the stakeholder’s current involvement but also actively working to move them toward the desired level of engagement.

Wrapping Up

These six stakeholder management tools are all essential for your PMP exam and for managing projects successfully in the real world. They help you ensure that you’re engaging the right people, understanding their influence and impact, and actively managing their involvement throughout the project lifecycle.

As you prepare for your PMP exam, remember that mastering these tools can make a significant difference in your project’s success. And if you’re actively working on projects like Pet Buddy, these tools are directly applicable, providing a clear structure for managing stakeholders effectively.

If you’re studying for your PMP exam, keep working hard, stay consistent, and remember that mastering these tools will pay off in both your exams and your future projects.

Keep up the great work!

David McLachlan on LinkedIn

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