Stakeholder Analysis and Management

From GTwM

Stakeholder Analysis (SA) is an analytic tool that is widely used in the start-up phases of collaborative stakeholder processes. It is typically carried out by researchers, managers, or project initiators as part of their own preliminary inventory of the situation and context.

Identification

1. Ask all particpants in the project to identify anyone who might be effected by the new system
2. Draw up a table or “map” of those stakeholders on the basis of current information.
3. Use the seven fold classification system developed by Alan Davies in "Just Enough Requirements Management"
   1. Customers
   2. Users
   3. Marketing
   4. Development
   5. System Testers
   6. Loser Users
   7. Support Personnel
4. For large complex projects use the Onion Model to attempt to identify further potential stakeholders
   1. The System
      • normal users
      • operational support
      • maintenance operator
   2. Neighbouring Systems
      • systems integrators
   3. The Containing System
      • sponsor / champion
      • purchaser
      • functional beneficiary
   4. The Wider Environment
      • negative stakeholders
      • regulators
      • public
      • developers
      • consultants
      • financial beneficiary
      • political beneficiary

Analysis

Assess stakeholders’ importance with regard to the situation, problem or activity that the analysis addresses, and their relative importance or influence, and map stakeholders on the matrix below.

In practice, these two steps are determined iteratively. 

Stakeholder Management

1. Begin to define the different stakes in, the interests and preferences of, and the drivers affecting the behaviour of, the different stakeholders
2. Stimulate understanding among all stakeholders (see Assumption Surfacing)
3. Make more precise the selection of participants invited to participate in proposed actions
4. Develop a political plan to tackle unresolved conflicts of interest or power