Who is a Stakeholder?
Definition
As I see it, a stakeholder is someone who is going to be (or believes is going to be) positively impacted (benefited) or negatively impacted (hurt) as a result of the successful or unsuccessful completion of your project. Thus, anyone who could be impacted as a result of your project is a Stakeholder.
Do note that I stress on the word “believes”. There is a reason for that. As of now, all stakeholders we encounter in the world of projects are all human beings. Yes, sometimes a stakeholder may be an organization, but even then, that organization is controlled and directed by human beings. Thus, perception matters. And you’ll find out based on experience that in certain cases, perception may be more important than actual facts. For instance, if the stakeholder believes that he/she might be negatively impacted as a result of successful completion of the project, they may try to create obstacles for the project. Most theoretical definitions would skip this point – but in all practical situations I find it extremely important to understand the significance of perception. The wrong kind of perception could kill your project.
Identifying Stakeholders
Thus to identify a stakeholder, ask the questions:
If this project was to succeed, who’d benefit from it?
These are the “positive stakeholders”
This group cannot have 0 membership. If it does, then the project is worthless and there is no reason to continue with the project.
If this project was to succeed, who’d be negatively impacted from it?
These are the “negative stakeholders”
A good design of a project (and its marketing) would ensure minimizing the size of this group.
But you have to be cautious - finding none or very few members of this group could be an indication of a great design of a project or a poor stakeholder identification process. You need to be sure which one it is.
In more structured environments (like a corporation), it may be easier to identify the stakeholders (at least the positive ones). They typically are part of the creation of the project. They may be also involved in hiring the team as well as you. As you continue to gather information on the project, you’ll also need to continue to identify stakeholders. There are many tools that may be utilized for this including interviews, brainstorming etc. But that is a deep subject and could be a post of its own.
Another way to find a stakeholder is (at least for some of them) – if something big happens in the project, who are the people that will come out running from the wood works.
Quiz
Look at the image below and see if you can identify the stakeholders of your project?
Can you identify who is a Stakeholder?
Examples
Let’s explore that question with some examples below:
Is the Project Manager of the project a stakeholder?
Yes
Is the Team lead of the team delivering the project a stakeholder?
Yes
Is the product owner a stakeholder?
Yes, perhaps THE most important one.
Is the VP of technology a stakeholder on a technology project?
Yes
Is the CEO a stakeholder?
Yes, at a project level. Although, her stake may well be very diluted.
Is the postman at your post office a stakeholder?
No, unless your project is with the post office
Is the pizza boy delivering you pizza during your weekend/late working hours a stakeholder?
No, not really. But, there is an interesting point to think about – he will continue to deliver you pizza (and thus continue to earn) till the time your project continues – so this person will have an interest in the extension of your project. And just in case the project is suddenly shut down, it is going to be loss of business for that pizza place. So, the project’s operation has an impact on him. But, the outcome of the project does not – you may still continue to order pizza there even after the project is finished.
Is the package delivery manager for your enterprise a stakeholder on a supply chain upgrade project?
Seems like yes – you’ll have to find that out for sure.
And what about the hacker who’s preparing to hack your company’s network. You’re working on this security upgrade project to stop attacks from people like him.
Even though you may not know about him, or any way of contacting him, the project does impact the hacker in a big way. So, from my perspective the hacker is a stakeholder – but with no dynamic influence on the project.
Hope this has clarified any doubts. Please let me know your thoughts.