Stakeholder Identification

🎯 Stakeholder Identification: Finding Your Project’s VIPs

The Birthday Party Analogy 🎂

Imagine you’re planning the biggest birthday party ever for your best friend. Before you start decorating or ordering cake, you need to figure out who cares about this party.

• Your friend (the birthday person) cares the MOST
• Parents control the budget and location
• Friends want fun games and good food
• Neighbors hope it won’t be too noisy
• The cake shop owner wants to deliver on time

Each person has different interests and different power over your party. Some can make or break it. Others just want to know what’s happening.

That’s stakeholder identification! Finding EVERYONE who matters to your project.

🔍 What is Stakeholder Identification?

A stakeholder is anyone who:

• Is affected by your project
• Can influence your project
• Cares about the outcome

Real-Life Examples:

💡 Key Insight: Missing even ONE important stakeholder can cause BIG problems later!

📋 The Identify Stakeholders Process

This is your treasure hunt for finding everyone who matters.

graph TD
    A["Start Project"] --> B["Look at Project Charter"]
    B --> C["Check Business Documents"]
    C --> D["Talk to Sponsor & Team"]
    D --> E["Review Agreements"]
    E --> F["Stakeholder Register"]

🎯 Where to Find Stakeholders:

1. Project Charter - Lists the main players
2. Business Case - Shows who benefits or pays
3. Agreements - Contracts reveal partners
4. Enterprise Environment - Rules, culture, market conditions
5. Expert Judgment - Ask experienced people!

Simple Example:

You’re building a new school playground.

📝 The Stakeholder Register

Think of this as your contact book with superpowers.

It’s not just names and phone numbers. It tells you:

• Who they are
• What they want
• How much power they have
• How to talk to them

What Goes in the Register:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│     STAKEHOLDER REGISTER            │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 📌 Identification Info:             │
│    • Name, Role, Contact            │
│                                     │
│ 📊 Assessment Info:                 │
│    • Requirements & Expectations    │
│    • Influence Level                │
│    • Interest Level                 │
│    • Project Phase Most Important   │
│                                     │
│ 🎯 Classification:                  │
│    • Internal or External           │
│    • Supporter or Resister          │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Birthday Party Register Example:

⚠️ Remember: The register is a living document. Update it as you learn more!

🔬 Stakeholder Analysis

Now that you have your list, it’s time to understand each person.

The Big Questions:

1. What do they want? (Requirements)
2. What do they expect? (Expectations)
3. How much can they help or hurt? (Impact)
4. Are they friend or foe? (Attitude)

Analysis Techniques:

graph TD
    A["Stakeholder Analysis"] --> B["Power Interest Grid"]
    A --> C["Salience Model"]
    A --> D["Influence Impact Grid"]
    A --> E["Direction of Influence"]

Simple Example - New School Cafeteria:

💡 The cook might resist changes because they’re worried about their job. Understanding this helps you address their concerns!

📊 Power Interest Grid

This is the most famous tool for sorting stakeholders!

Imagine a 2x2 box:

• Power = Can they make things happen? (Up/Down)
• Interest = Do they care about the project? (Left/Right)

         LOW Interest    HIGH Interest
        ┌─────────────┬─────────────┐
HIGH    │   KEEP      │   MANAGE    │
Power   │  SATISFIED  │   CLOSELY   │
        │    😊       │    🎯       │
        ├─────────────┼─────────────┤
LOW     │   MONITOR   │   KEEP      │
Power   │             │  INFORMED   │
        │    👀       │    📢       │
        └─────────────┴─────────────┘

What Each Box Means:

Birthday Party Grid Example:

         LOW Interest    HIGH Interest
        ┌─────────────┬─────────────┐
HIGH    │   Landlord  │    Mom      │
Power   │   (venue)   │  (budget)   │
        ├─────────────┼─────────────┤
LOW     │   Mailman   │   Friends   │
Power   │             │ (guests)    │
        └─────────────┴─────────────┘

• Mom = Manage Closely (she controls money AND cares a lot)
• Landlord = Keep Satisfied (controls venue but doesn’t care about details)
• Friends = Keep Informed (care a lot but can’t change much)
• Mailman = Monitor (doesn’t care, can’t affect anything)

🎯 The Salience Model

This is a more detailed way to classify stakeholders using 3 circles.

The Three Attributes:

1. Power 💪 = Can force their will on the project
2. Legitimacy ✅ = Has a valid relationship with project
3. Urgency ⏰ = Needs immediate attention

graph TD
    subgraph Salience Model
    A["Power 💪"]
    B["Legitimacy ✅"]
    C["Urgency ⏰"]
    end

Stakeholder Types:

How to Remember:

Think of a fire alarm at school:

• Fire Department has POWER (can shut down building)
• Principal has LEGITIMACY (responsible for school)
• Students have URGENCY (need to get out NOW)

When all three combine (Principal calls Fire Department during drill) = DEFINITIVE stakeholder situation!

Simple Example - Hospital Project:

🎬 Putting It All Together

Let’s use ALL the tools for one example!

Project: Building a New Community Library

Step 1: Identify Stakeholders

• Mayor, City Council, Librarians, Construction Company
• Residents, Schools, Book Clubs, Disabled Community
• Neighboring Businesses, Environmental Groups

Step 2: Create Stakeholder Register

Step 3: Plot on Power Interest Grid

         LOW Interest    HIGH Interest
        ┌─────────────┬─────────────┐
HIGH    │City Council │   Mayor     │
Power   │             │             │
        ├─────────────┼─────────────┤
LOW     │Neighboring  │   Schools   │
Power   │ Businesses  │ Book Clubs  │
        └─────────────┴─────────────┘

Step 4: Apply Salience Model

✨ Key Takeaways

┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  🎯 STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION         │
│     QUICK SUMMARY                      │
├────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                        │
│  1️⃣ IDENTIFY = Find EVERYONE who      │
│     cares or can affect your project   │
│                                        │
│  2️⃣ REGISTER = Write down their       │
│     info, wants, and influence         │
│                                        │
│  3️⃣ ANALYZE = Understand what each    │
│     stakeholder needs and feels        │
│                                        │
│  4️⃣ POWER-INTEREST = Sort by how      │
│     much they care vs. can do          │
│                                        │
│  5️⃣ SALIENCE = Check Power +          │
│     Legitimacy + Urgency               │
│                                        │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘

🌟 Remember: Projects fail when important people feel ignored. Find them early, understand them deeply, and keep them engaged!

🧠 Quick Memory Tricks

Power Interest Grid = “MKIM”

• Manage closely (High Power + High Interest)
• Keep satisfied (High Power + Low Interest)
• Inform regularly (Low Power + High Interest)
• Monitor only (Low Power + Low Interest)

Salience Model = “PLU”

• Power = Can they force it?
• Legitimacy = Should they be involved?
• Urgency = Is it time-sensitive?

When ALL THREE exist = DEFINITIVE = TOP PRIORITY! 🎯

Now you know how to find your project’s VIPs, understand what they want, and give each one the right amount of attention. Go forth and identify those stakeholders! 🚀