Lesson 3: Fundamental Project Concepts: Part 2

Stakeholders

Ah yes. Stakeholders.

A lot of people don't like this word. I know of one person who will not let me use it. I think it might be because this word is used a lot, all over the place. This is because a stakeholder is, as defined by PMFORUM:

One who has a stake or interest in the outcome of the project.

Yes, I agree. Wouldn't this make hundreds, thousands, perhaps even millions of people a stakeholder?.

Well, yes. Technically, it would. For example, if your project was creating a new kind of car that relied on mango instead of gasoline, then if you want to get technical, then all of these people who might buy one would be part of the stakeholder group.

But why do you want to get technical?

All you need to know is that a stakeholder is a person, or more typically a group of people (represented by a person or a team) that has a vested interest in what your project is doing. This can include the person who pays for the project (a.k.a. the Project Sponsor), the various sub-contractors who help produce deliverables in pursuit of achieving the goal of the project, or the customer(s) who will receive the product of the project (e.g. your mango car stakeholders).

I think the reason a lot of people (particularly those not involved in project management) dislike the word stakeholder so much is because it is one of those words that finds its way to the tip of your tongue ahead of a lot of other words. For example:

Evil Movie Theater Manager: I'm sorry sir, but you cannot bring your own popcorn machine into the theater with you.

You: Are you mad?! Have you no consideration for your customers? Who are you to make this decision? Who are the other stakeholders.

As you can see, bringing a popcorn machine into the theater isn't really a project, nor does it take place inside of a project environment, and hence, a lot of civilians come to learn of the word via this kind of emotional, public display.

So I would advise you, as a friend, to use this word sparingly. It is for the greater good.

Why do you need to know who your project stakeholders are? This is one of the most important questions you will ever need to answer. Your project stakeholders are like various agents that represent different pieces of the project. Sometimes, your project stakeholders will have a shared view of how the project should be managed. Often, though, you will have various stakeholders who would like to see different aspects of the project enhanced, other changed, and others removed entirely. Your challenge as the Project Manager is to manage the expectations of these stakeholders, which will sometimes compete with each other.

Oh, sorry, did I mention that to be a project manager you have to be an extremely good politician? Well, you do.

This introductory course to project management cannot teach you how to manage stakeholder expectations, nor exploit the positive aspects of politics on your project (yes, there really is such a thing). James P. Lewis' book touches upon this, as does the AMA Handbook of Project Management.

Given the scope of this introductory course in project management, all I'd really like to convey here is the basic idea of what a stakeholder is, and to really emphasize the fact that as a project manager you will spend a great deal of time managing the expectations (reasonable and unreasonable) of these stakeholders.

References used in this section (these books are available for order via the Resources link above):

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, by the Project Management Institute. Chapter 3.

The AMA Handbook of Project Management, by Paul C. Dinsmore (Editor). Chapter 17; Chapter 18.

Other references used:

PMFORUM: http://www.pmforum.org/library/glossary/

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