Stake Holder Engagement

You are near the end of a long project, and you've had unique challenges attempting to keep all key stakeholders focused on their project roles. In particular, your team has come up with creative methods to encourage the customer to make the right people available to make timely, important decisions throughout the project. Where should you store this information regarding these creative methods? A. in the stakeholder register B. in the lessons learned register C. in the lessons learned repository D. in the project management plan

B represents the best choice. PMI describes the lessons learned register as the document that gets updated throughout the life of the project with specific lessons learned in this project. At the end of the project, the team will transfer this knowledge to the lessons learned repository that is shared by the organzation for all projects.

You are managing two projects for two different customers. While meeting with one customer, you discover a sensitive piece of information that could help your other customer, saving them a significant percentage of their project budget. What should you do? A. Act in accordance with any legal documents you have signed. B. Disclose your conflict of interest and keep the information confidential. C. Share the information with the other customer if it increases project value. D. Excuse yourself from both projects if possible.

B. Conflicts of interest should be disclosed and avoided. 'A' is not a good choice, because you are not only bound to act legally, but also ethically! 'C' is not correct because you would not be keeping information confidential. 'D' would not be a rational choice. Resigning from both projects would cause more problems and solve nothing.

What would be the correct sequence of these project efforts? A. Establish the requirements, create the stakeholder and risk registers, and transition the deliverable to the ultimate owner B. Name the stakeholders, establish the requirements, create the risk register, and transition the deliverable to the ultimate owner C. Name the stakeholders, establish the requirements, document the charter, and transition the deliverable to the ultimate owner D. Create the stakeholder register, establish the requirements, transition the deliverable to the ultimate owner, and create the risk register

B. The correct sequence of processes is: Develop Project Charter (Document the charter), Identify Stakeholders (Name the stakeholders - create the Stakeholder Register), Collect Requirements (Establish the requirements), Identify Risks (Create the Risk Register), and Close Project or Phase (Transition the deliverable to the ultimate owner). Answer-B is the only sequence in the choices that follows this flow. Answer-A is incorrect because it Collects Requirements before Identifying the Stakeholders. Answer-C is incorrect because it Develops the Project Charter after it Identifies the Stakeholders. Answer-D is incorrect because it Closes the Project before it Identifies Risks.

The project registry of stakeholders: A. Is created in the Collect Requirements process B. Is categorized as a Project Document C. Is a tool used in the Identify Stakeholders process D. Is a tool used in the Plan Communications Management process

B. The stakeholder register is an output of Identify Stakeholders and an input to Plan Communications Management and Collect Requirements processes. The only correct choice provided is that it is a Project Document.

Who should particiapte in planning the engagement of the project stakeholders? A. The project manager and the sponsor B. The sponsor, key stakeholders, and the project manager C. The project team D. The project manager

C. The project team should be involved with Plan Stakeholder Engagement. The previous process, Identify Stakeholders, may involves inputs from all of the sources shown as answer choices, but the work of the team should be planned by the team - and it is the responsibility of the team under the ledership of the PM to effectively plan then execute stakehodler engagement.

Manage Stakeholder Engagement - Tools: Interpersonal and Team Skills

Conflict management - the project manager takes action to recognize and resolve conflicts in a timely manner. Negotiation - project decisions involve some give and take. Negotiate to resolve conflict and keep the project moving towards the goal. Observation and conversation - the savvy project manager keeps a finger on the pulse of stakeholders to gauge morale. That skill involves frequent interaction, conversations, and listening to those involved in the project. Cultural and political awareness - the leader of the project needs to take into account differences in culture and perceptions of power within the organization. These skills are very important in certain project environments.

Retrospectives and sprint planning are examples of what tool of the process aimed at managing stakeholder engagement? A. Stakeholder Reflection and Observation B. Closeout and Transition C. Iteration Analysis D. Meetings

D is correct - these are two examples of meetings. Meetings is a very common tool throughout the PMI framework. In this case of managing stakeholder engagement, meetings can take on specific forms, such as decision-making, kick-offs, lessons-learned, and other types of meetings.

The residents of the city's historic district have recently learned that the elementary school located within the district will be torn down and replaced with a larger, more modern building, better designed to meet the needs of today's students. Some of the residents are angry about the loss of the historic school building. They have requested a meeting with the project manager of the school rebuilding program. What should he do? A. This is a classic case of scope creep, as the scope of the effort has already been decided and approved, and that scope included removing the existing building. The manager's best response is to write a carefully-worded letter for distribution to the neighborhood outlining the approved scope. He should not meet with the residents as that is outside the scope of the project. B. Recognizing that this is a protected historic district, the PM should investigate what regulations apply to public use buildings such as schools. If the investigation reveals that they are excluded from the historic district regulations, then he should write a memo to the residents outlining that information. He should not meet with the residents, as this has the potential to be a very explosive meeting and could cast the project in a bad light. C. He should definitely meet with the residents. In fact, since they are key stakeholders, with approval authority over the school design, he should have already met with them! D. He should meet with the residents. He has a responsibility to maintain the quality of the historic district, so he must consider the concerns of the residents. This may result in changing the scope of the project in order to save the old building.

D. Don't you just love LONG questions? All of these answers sound reasonable, but the correct answer is 'D.' Part of the professional responsibility of the project manager is to maintain the environment in which the project is executed, which may mean changing the scope to save an historic building. 'A' might solve the immediate problem, but is not a long term, proactive approach. 'B' is tempting, since he is investigating (always a good choice) and conforming to regulations (also a good choice). But again 'B' is not a long term solution and it hints at avoiding a problem which a PM never does. 'C' is short at least but the problem with this one is that the residents are not really key stakeholders and they probably don't have approval authority. They are stakeholders but not KEY stakeholders.

During brainstorming the list of primary stakeholders for the JKL Project, predictive in nature, there seem to be mixed responses regarding the interest and influence levels of Dr. Wright. Where would this questionable assessment be documented for proactive follow-up to help clarify the approach for engaging Dr. Wright in the JKL Project? A. Stakeholder register B. Issue log C. Assumption log D. Risk register

D. The "questionable assessment" should lead to the word "uncertainty." Once this connection is made, then the risk register is the natural document to list the risk of Dr. Wright's engagement with the project.

Manage Stakeholder Engagement - Tools: Ground Rules

Ground Rules are the 4th tool of Manage Stakeholder Engagement. You may recall that the team charter is an output of the Plan Resource Management process. This team charter sets clear expectations for team behavior. Ground Rules are a part of that team charter. This tool can be very useful and practical. Team members can refer to it when in doubt... Ground Rules help answer questions, such as... What communication expectations should the customer have? What are my responsibilities? Am I expected or even allowed to share this data with the stakeholder? When should I bring something to the attention of the project manager?

Plan Stakeholder Engagement - Tools: Data Representation

Mind Mapping is one such technique that allows you to visualize how stakeholders relate to each other and the organization. The Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix - the team analyzes stakeholders to determine the current level and the desired level of engagement.

Identify Stakeholders - Tools: Data Representation

Power and Interest Grid- This technique groups stakeholders based on their level of power or authority and their level of interest or concern in the outcome of the project. From the graph, you can see that the Y or vertical axis represents the level of power from low to high. And, the X or horizontal axis stands for the interest that this stakeholder has in the project or its results. Also, you'll note that the quadrants have been labelled to indicate the strategy to employ for stakeholders who fall into those quadrants. - For instance, if a stakeholder has a high level of interest in the project but very little power or authority, then the stakeholder lands in the "Keep Informed" category. The project team should keep this person informed of progress, decisions made, milestones, and the like. Note that those stakeholders who have a high level of power and great interest in the project are classified in the "Manage Closely" quadrant. These are key stakeholders, so the group should be managed closely with frequent communication and feedback. Power and Influence Grid - As you can see, this model replaces Interest with Influence. Each stakeholder is measured against the others to determine who has the greatest influence or high levels of involvement in the project. Other features of the grid remain the same. Influence and Impact Grid. With this approach, group stakeholders by their relative influence and the potential impact each may have on the project. For instance, stakeholders might be in a role where they could request changes to the project or determine that a deliverable was not of acceptable quality. These decisions could greatly impact the project. -Note that with all three of these grids, this technique is most useful for small projects or for those that have relatively simple relationships between stakeholders and the project. The second method of stakeholder mapping is called the Stakeholder Cube. The Stakeholder Cube starts with elements that we just covered in the grids and adds a 3rd dimension. For example, a common stakeholder cube considers 3 dimensions: Interest, Power, and Attitude. The third method breaks away from the grid analysis model. It's called the Salience Model. This model groups stakeholders based on the assessment of 3 characteristics: Power. The authority of the individual or her ability to influence the project outcome. Urgency. The need for immediate attention, due to the high stakes involved or time constraints. Legitimacy. Project involvement is appropriate - legitimate. As you consider the description of this method, you can appreciate the need for discretion among team members! Some of the analysis and conversations that the team will undertake will touch on sensitive topics, so remember to be tactful and prudent during these activities. This information might be for the management team's eyes only. The Salience Model is useful for large, complex groups of stakeholders, and is helpful for ranking the relative importance of stakeholders. The fourth method of stakeholder mapping is called Directions of Influence. This method classifies stakeholders based on their relative influence on the project work or the project team. Using this method, categorize stakeholders using the following directions: Upward. For senior managers, the sponsor, or the steering committee. Downward. For temporary team members or specialists who contribute for a limited period. Outward. For suppliers, the public, end-users, or government agencies. Sideward. For peers of the project manager who may be vying for the same resources, such as other project managers and middle managers. The fifth and final method of stakeholder mapping is called Prioritization. This approach is similar to the Salience Model described earlier. Ranking or prioritizing stakeholders may be an effective strategy in the following scenarios: Your project has a large number of stakeholders, or The relationships between stakeholders are complex, or Members of the stakeholder community are changing frequently.

Identify Stakeholders - Tools: Data Analysis

Stakeholder Analysis.- The concept of stakeholder analysis is straight-forward and intuitive. The goal is to create a register of stakeholders and categorize the list - to identify the key stakeholders. This analysis generally involves 3 steps: Identify, Classify, and Assess. Document Analysis - This concept involves looking at current project documentation such as the charter, any contracts, the business documents, or the Change and Issue Logs.

Manage Stakeholder Engagement

The process of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs/expectations, address issues as they occur, and foster appropriate stakeholder engagement in project activities throughout the project life cycle. (Executing) Inputs: PM plan, proj docs, EEFs, OPAs Tools: expert judgement, *Comm. skills (feedback), *interpersonal and team skills, *Ground rules, meetings Outputs: change requests, pm plan updates, *proj doc updates (issue log) The key benefit of this process is that the project manager works to increase stakeholder support and decrease stakeholder resistance. Those actions boost the likelihood of project success!

Plan Stakeholder Engagement

The process of developing approaches to involve project stakeholders, based on their needs, expectations, interests, and potential impact on the project. (planning) Inputs: project charter, pm plan, proj docs, agreements, EEFs, OPAs Tools: expert judgement, data gathering, data analysis, decision making, *Data representation, meetings Outputs: **Stakeholder Engagement Plan** The key benefit to this process is that it results in the stakeholder engagement plan - a clear, actionable plan for the project manager and the team to engage stakeholders effectively and support the interests of the project.

Identify Stakeholders

The process of identifying the people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by a decision, activity, or outcome of the project; and analyzing and documenting relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, interdependencies, influence, and potential impact on project success. (Initiating) Inputs: *Project charter, biz docs, pm plan, proj docs, agreements, EEFs, OPAs Tools: expert judgement, *data gathering, data analysis*(which stakeholders should receive communications), *Data rep, meetings Outputs: *Stakeholder register, change requests, pm plan updates, proc doc updates

Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

The process of monitoring project stakeholder relationships, and tailoring strategies for engaging stakeholders through the modification of engagement strategies and plans. (Monitoring and controlling) Inputs: pm pLAN, proj docs, work performance data, EEFs, OPAs Tools: data analysis, decision making, *data rep (assessment matrix), *comm skills (feedback and presentations), *interpersonal and team skills, meetings Outputs: WPI, change requests, pm plan updates, proj doc updates (issue log) The key benefit of this process is improved stakeholder engagement. The project manager evaluates how the plan is working and makes small adjustments to ensure effective and efficient management of these key stakeholders.

Stakeholder Management

The project management knowledge area that focuses on the management and engagement of the project stakeholders. "the creation and maintenance of relationships with the aim to satisfy needs" There are four processes in this knowledge area: -identify stakeholders (Initiating): Stakeholder register -plan stakeholder engagement (planning): stakeholder engagement plan -manage stakeholder engagement (executing): Issue Log -Monitor Stakeholder Engagement (monitoring and controlling): N/A

Identify Stakeholders - Tools: Data Gathering

The team may use questionnaires and surveys to gather stakeholder data and find out if other potential stakeholders are still out there waiting to be identified. Brainstorming is another technique to be employed here. Bring in the team or a group of subject matter experts and hold a brainstorming session. Focus on listing potential stakeholders. Another variation is called Brain Writing. With this technique, the leader asks participants to make a list individually before the group meets. Then, input is gathered in the meeting and one person's written ideas may trigger fresh thoughts from another.

Monitor Stakeholder Engagement - Tools: Data Representation

Use the Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix to track changes in the level of commitment for each stakeholder.

Plan Stakeholder Engagement - Output: Stakeholder Engagement Plan

documents the strategies and tactics the project manager and members of the team will carry out to involve stakeholders and keep them engaged throughout the project. contains the following: The Current and Desired engagement levels of key stakeholders. We walked through an example of this using the SEAM - or the Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix. Stakeholder relationships and overlaps - how these stakeholders know and relate to others involved in the project. A customized approach to keep each stakeholder engaged over the life of the project. And, A plan for updating and improving this stakeholder engagement plan as the project progresses.

Identify Stakeholders - Output: Stakeholder Register

the list of stakeholders A project document including the identification, assessment, and classification of project stakeholders.