This paper was printed as Chapter 5 in the GPM state-of-the-art book Dimensions of Project Management edited by H. Reschkeæ & H. Schelle and published by Springer-Verlag in 1990. The book involved 29 authors from 16 countries and was assembled in honor of Roland W. Gutsch's 65th birthday. Roland, a personal friend, was founder and long-time leader of the International Project Management Association in Europe.

Abstract | Introduction | What is | Dimensions | Internal Culture
Corporate Culture | Influencing Environment | Internal Strategies
Surroundings | External Strategies | Stakeholders | Public Relations
Examples | Recent Projects | Consultants | Summary | References

Identifying The Project Stakeholders

One technique for dealing effectively with the project's external environment is to prioritize the required stakeholder linkages by conducting a stakeholder analysis. Such an analysis would be designed first to identify all the potential stakeholders who might have an impact on the project, and then to determine their relative ability to influence it.

Stakeholder Groupings

Project stakeholders may be recognized in any of the following groupings:

  • Those who are directly related to the project, for example suppliers of inputs, consumers of outputs, and managers of the project process
  • Those who have influence over the physical, infra- structural, technological, commercial/financial/ socioeconomic, or political/legal conditions
  • Those who have a hierarchical relationship to the project such as government authorities at local, regional and national levels, and
  • Those individuals, groups and associations, who have vested interests, sometimes quite unrelated to the project, but who see it as an opportunity to pursue their own ends.

Stakeholder Categories

Having identified the various stakeholders, each may be assigned to a category according to their relative ability to influence the project. Three categories are envisaged, namely:

  • Those who are controllable
  • Those who are influencable, and
  • Those who need to be appreciated

Within each category, each stakeholder may then be further rated by degree of importance according to their ability to influence the project. Appropriate members of the project team can then prioritize their efforts accordingly to maintain the necessary stakeholder linkages, and thus give rise to the best chances of ultimate project success. If the project is large enough, or the stakeholder linkages are sufficiently intense, the project team's efforts may be assigned to a specific group within the project team. Enter Project Public Relations.

Effective External Project Management Strategies  Effective External Project Management Strategies

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