Stakeholder Analysis and Communication Planning

Chapter 6: Stakehol Stakeholder der Analysis and Co Communication mmunication Plann Planning ing 6-1 Identify Stakeholders A project must satisfy its users and their needs to be successful. Several things can complicate this goal.  First, there may be multiple users, and each may have different wants and needs.  Second, often end-users may not fully understand what they want because they do not know what alternatives may be available.  Third, the customer who pays for the project may not be the actual person or group who uses the project deliverable or outcome, and the customer may not fully understand the end-users’ needs.  Fourth, when someone else is paying for the project, some users will ask for many project outcomes that are expensive or time consuming to deliver.  Finally, many stakeholders, in addition to the users of a project’s outcomes, have an interest in the project. 6.1(a) Find Stakeholders One way to understand who stakeholders are is to ask, “Who will use, will be affected by, or could impact this project?” It also includes people and groups who might choose to influence the project in some way. Stakeholders include people who:  Work on the project  Provide people or resources for the project  Have their routines disrupted by the project  Monitor regulations, laws, and standards of practice at local, county, state, and federal levels Another way to identify stakeholders is to determine whether they are internal to the organization performing the project or external to it. 6.1(b) Analyze Stakeholders Stakeholder analysis is a stakeholder identification technique composed of gathering and evaluating information to determine whose interests should be emphasized throughout the project. STEP 1: Prioritization Stakeholders are frequently prioritized based upon level of:  Power—ability to get others to do something  2. Legitimacy—perception that their actions are appropriate  3. Urgency—time sensitivity and legitimacy of claim Some organizations use additional criteria such as interest, influence, and impact. Each aspect used can be rated on a simple scale of 1 to 3, with 3 representing the highest priority. For the first aspect, power, a stakeholder who could order the project shut down or changed in a major way would be a 3. By determining who the stakeholders are and what each group wants, project managers effectively:  Set clear direction for further project planning, negotiating, and execution  Prioritize among competing objectives  Learn to recognize complex trade-offs and the consequences of each  Make and facilitate necessary decisions  Develop a shared sense of risk  Build a strong relationship with their customers  Lead associates, customers, and suppliers with empowering style and principles  Serve as good stewards of the resources of both the parent and customer organizations The project team primarily considers these top stakeholders while they:  Develop a communications plan  Define the scope of the project  Identify threats and opportunities  Determine quality standards  Prioritize among cost, schedule, scope, and quality objectives 6.1(c) Document Stakeholders The primary output of the “identify stakeholders” process is a stakeholder register. The stakeholder register is a repository of information regarding all project stakeholders. The stakeholder register provides input to relationship building with the various stakeholders and helps determine their requirements. In turn, these requirements serve as the basis of developing project scope. A stakeholder register often is in the format of a matrix. 6-2 Plan Stakeholder Engagement 6.2(a) Creating a Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix Project teams create a stakeholder engagement plan to define how they will effectively engage stakeholders in planning and performing the project based on the analysis of the stakeholders’ needs, wants, and impacts A primary tool used in this plan is the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix  First column showing the stakeholders.  For each stakeholder, additional columns may represent how much they are currently supporting or opposing the project, where you would like them to be, barriers to their changing, and strategies you may employ to move them. The greater the change in position, the greater the risk and the greater the engagement effort required. As the nature and impact of changes become clearer, they can alter the relative importance of different groups. 6.2(b) Planning to Build Relationships with Stakeholders Project managers and teams seek to develop strong working relationships with important stakeholders. This is an ongoing process throughout the life of the project In building relationships both within the project core team and with other stakeholders, project managers need to remember that mutual respect and trust greatly enhance the prospect of project success. Project relationship-building activities (described more fully below) that are especially useful include the following:  Share individual motives.  Encourage open communication.  Jointly establish agenda.  Use shared learning.  Regularly celebrate success.  Share enjoyment of project.  Use appropriate decision-making and problem solving Establishing a positive relationship early with all key stakeholders is vital because:  First, it helps create a desire on the part of stakeholders to give positive support to the project—or at least refrain from disrupting the project.  Second, it serves as the communications foundation for the project. Things that customers (one of the primary stakeholders) value most from a contractor who is performing the project:  A sincere invitation to early and continued involvement  Responsiveness  Transparency  Reliability The important thing for project managers to remember is that developing respect and trust among all project stakeholders is a goal that must be started early and continued throughout the project. 6-3 Manage Stakeholder Engagement Manage stakeholder engagement is a process of the project team communicating and working with stakeholders to satisfy their needs (and additional desires, when possible), handle issues quickly, and encourage active stakeholder participation throughout. Part 1: understanding stakeholder assumptions Different stakeholders may hold very different assumptions concerning the project at the outset, and these assumptions form the basis of their expectations. Therefore, the project manager clarifies the assumptions, challenges and negotiates some of them, and uses them in project planning. One method that project teams can use to reconfirm expectations is to share planning documents, such as schedules, with stakeholders. 6-4 Monitor Stakeholder Engagement Monitor stakeholder engagement is the process of engaging stakeholders and managing relations with them effectively. Three things a project manager must monitor throughout the process of managing stakeholder expectations: relationships, communications, and lessons learned.  Relationship: the project manager and project team must build trust with all project stakeholders.  Communication: They need to continually manage effective two-way communications with all stakeholders as described in the communications plan.  Lesson Learned: they should use lessons learned from previous projects and previous phases of the current project. Armed with trusting relationships, effective communications, and methods to overcome some problems from previous projects, the team is prepared to adjust strategies and plans as needed to control stakeholder engagement. 6-5 Plan Communications Management Communications management plan considers stakeholders’ information desires and guides the project communications. 6.5(a) Purposes of a Project Communications Plan Perhaps the most common challenge to project success is communication. Communication leads to cooperation, which leads to coordination, which leads to project harmony, which leads to project success. 6.5(b) Communications Plan Considerations A myriad of considerations must be kept in mind when creating a communications plan. A project team can develop a workable communications plan, use it, and improve it as the project progresses. Purpose Column  The first column in Exhibit 6.8 instructs a project team to consider the purpose for each communication.  Without good use for the communication, it makes no sense to develop it.  Communications from stakeholders are necessary in authorizing work, determining requirements, uncovering and resolving issues and assumptions, and receiving feedback on project progress and results. Structures Column  The second column suggests that when an organization has adequate existing communication structures, it should use them  There is no need to reinvent every document and, indeed, it would be confusing and costly to do so Methods Column  Projects rely on “push” methods in which communications are sent or pushed;  “pull” methods where communications are posted either on paper or in electronic form and interested stakeholders need to take the initiative to receive the communication;  And interactive methods in which communications flow in multiple directions.  A typical project communication plan will utilize a variety of these methods. Timing Column  The fourth column is a reminder that a project team needs to consider timing issues when developing a project communications plan.  Communications typically are delivered according to one of three types of timing schedules.  First is the project life cycle, with communications typically needed at the end of each major stage in the project and upon completion of each major project deliverable.  The second timing schedule follows a more formal organizational structure. Meetings at the frontline level are usually more frequent than reports to higher levels within the organization.  The third timing scheme is on an as-needed basis. Many times, a stakeholder wants to know a certain fact about a project and cannot wait until the next formal meeting or report 6.5(c) Communications Matrix This matrix lists the following information:  Who does the project team need to learn from?  What does the team need to learn from this stakeholder?  Who does the project team need to share with?  What does this stakeholder need to know?  When do they need to know it?  What is the most effective communications method for this stakeholder to understand?  Who on the project team is responsible for this communication? (the owner) The communications needs of each project are unique and, therefore, the assignment of communications responsibilities will vary widely from project to project. Stakeholders use information to know how much work has been successfully delivered (acceptance tests passed) and how much work is remaining. Project team members use the information to motivate and improve their performance. Sponsors use the information to strategically understand if the project team will complete all work on time and within budget. 6.5(d) Manage Project Knowledge One way to develop and expand expertise is to capture and reuse the knowledge developed. Knowledge can be defined as insights derived from information and experience. Knowledge also is “a conclusion drawn from information after it is linked to other information and compared to what is already known.” Manage project knowledge is the process of using and developing knowledge to help improve both the current project and the capability of the organization. To increase knowledge and the successful use and reapplication of it, organizations often create a lessons learned knowledge base. 6-6 Manage Communications Manage communications includes all the work associated with the project communications plan, starting with planning for it; generating it; organizing and sharing it; and, finally, storing and disposing of it. 6.6(a) Determine Project Information Needs Many stakeholder information needs were identified during communications planning. Often, other information needs arise during project execution.  Communicate accurately—Accurate communications means not only being factually honest but also presenting information in a manner that people are likely to interpret correctly.  Communicate promptly—“Promptly” means providing the information soon enough so that it is useful to the recipient to facilitate timely decisions.  Communicate effectively—Effectiveness is the extent to which the receiver opens, understands, and acts appropriately upon the communication. 6.6(b) Establish Information Retrieval and Distribution System Project information can be retrieved from many different sources. It can also be distributed via many systems. Project managers need to keep three things in mind with communications: 1. Target the communications. More is not better when people are already overloaded. 2. Many methods are available, and the choices change rapidly. Use new methods if useful, but do not discard proven methods just for the sake of change. 3. Projects often have many stakeholders who need specific information. Use your communications plan and always keep asking if there is any other stakeholder in need of upward, downward, or sideways communications. One specific and important skill that project managers can use to retrieve information is active listening.  Active listening requires focus on what the person is saying.  The active listener can ask clarifying questions and paraphrase to ensure that he or she understands exactly what is meant.  Making eye contact and using body language that shows eagerness encourage the speaker to continue 6.6(c) Project Meeting Management Planning and conducting projects require a variety of meetings, such as meetings to:  Establish project plans  Conduct the project activities  Verify progress  Make decisions  Accept deliverables  Close out projects Meetings are an important process on projects since many important decisions are made at meetings and much time of expensive project personnel is invested in meetings. PDCA MODEL  One way to improve the project meeting process is to apply the simple and effective plandocheck-act (PDCA) model.  The idea behind the PDCA is that any process practiced repeatedly, focusing on reusing and adapting things that worked well and avoiding things that did not work well, improves over time  PROJECT MEETING AGENDA TEMPLATE  The first step is planning the project meeting in advance. (If a project team is meeting often, this advance agenda preparation may be done at the end of the meeting for the next meeting)  The top part of the agenda contains meeting logistics.  The second item on the template is the meeting purpose  The main body of the agenda has three columns.  First is a list of the topics (This starts with a quick review of the agenda, the major topics of the meeting are listed next in the order in which they will be covered)  The second column lists the person responsible for each topic on the agenda.  The third column is a time estimate for each item. PROJECT MEETING MINUTES TEMPLATE  The second step in the PDCA process— “do”—means to conduct the meeting and to capture minutes as the meeting is conducted. 6.6(d) Issues Management The project minutes mirror the agenda to the extent that both refer to the same meeting. The top part of the minutes form is logistics, just as in the agenda. The four primary types of information captured in a project meeting are: DECISIONS AND ISSUES  First, any decisions that were made should be documented.  Second, any new issues that surfaced or existing issues that were resolved should be recorded.  An issue is a situation that requires a decision to be made, but one that the team cannot make now, usually either due to needing information or more time.  An issues log is a dynamic repository of information regarding both open issues and those that have been resolved  Issues logs benefit a project in at least two ways:  First, when an important issue—but not one that can be solved in the immediate meeting—is introduced, the project manager can add it to the open issues and not spend time on it in the current meeting when more pressing matters need to be settled.  Second, the issues log ensures that important issues are not forgotten. ACTION ITEMS  Each of these is a task that one or more members of the project team agree to perform by a specific date EVALUATION  The final item to be recorded on the project meeting minutes is an evaluation of both good points from the project meeting that the team would like to repeat or at least adapt and poor points from the meeting that the team would like to avoid or perform in a different manner in the future  An easy way to capture these evaluations is a Plus-Delta template  each person is asked to offer his opinion on at least one aspect of the meeting that either was good (+) that she would like to see repeated  or one thing that was poor ( ) and could be overcome in future meetings.  [The key to making this work for the project manager is how she responds to any deltas (If the project manager responds defensively, the team members may not want to offer further suggestions)]. Finally, the “act” part of the PDCA cycle for project meetings is for every team member to complete the action items they promised and for the project manager to communicate with the team members to make sure nothing is holding them back from their commitments.