Stakeholder Management — Managing People & Expectations

A stakeholder is anyone who may affect or be affected by the project. Managing stakeholders is often the most critical PM skill.

Stakeholder register: Document listing all stakeholders with their interests, expectations, influence, and engagement strategy.

Power/Interest Grid:

High power, high interest — Manage closely (sponsor, key customer)

High power, low interest — Keep satisfied (executive who can kill project)

Low power, high interest — Keep informed (users, subject matter experts)

Low power, low interest — Monitor (general public)

Stakeholder engagement levels:

Unaware → Resistant → Neutral → Supportive → Leading

Goal: move stakeholders toward supportive or leading

Managing resistant stakeholders:

Understand concerns — often fear of change, loss of power, or poor communication

Involve them early — people support what they help create

Communicate benefits from their perspective

Escalate to sponsor if resistance blocks progress

The #1 PM lesson: Technical project management skills matter, but stakeholder relationship skills determine whether your project gets supported, funded, and used.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Stakeholder Management

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakeholder_management