IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS

By: Khalif Barkhadle
Digital Journalist

Published On: 1st September 2023

Who are the Project Stakeholders?

A Stakeholder is an individual, group, or organization that may be affected by or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project. Put simply, if someone has any interest or is affected by your project, they are your stakeholders. Examples include the project manager, project sponsor, higher management, and team members.

● Identify Project Stakeholders.

To be classified as a stakeholder, the person or group must have some interest or level of influence that can impact the project. We would benefit not only from understanding their interests but also from understanding the potential project impact if a need were not met.

The first effort should be a brainstorming activity with appropriately selected members and an optional facilitator. All stakeholders should be initially considered and possibly dropped in the later stages of the analysis. It is often difficult to force classifications into groups and determine who is considered truly inside and outside the project context. To gain a more powerful understanding of needs and expectations, it is usually helpful to identify these stakeholders by name rather than generic terms such…