Contemporary Project Management 3rd
Edition by Timothy Kloppenborg ISBN1285433351
9781285433356
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CHAPTER 5
Stakeholder Analysis and Communication Planning
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This chapter introduces the need for and the methods of both stakeholder analysis and communication planning. After completing this chapter, each student should be able to perform the following:
1. Enumerate, describe, and prioritize each set of stakeholders for a project.
2. Tell how to build project relationships and why they are important for communications.
3. Enumerate each section of a project communications plan and describe the role each plays.
4. Develop a project communications management plan for a real project.
5. Plan, conduct, and improve project meetings.
6. Describe communication challenges of virtual and global project teams.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
• An interesting Segway between chapters 4 and 5 is the introductory essay. Arthur Shelly has developed the organizational zoo. Using this or another instrument like StrengthsFinders from Gallup can give the students more understanding of themselves, their team, and their stakeholders. Students may enjoy creating their own profiles now
(early in the course) and having their teammates create profiles for them later in the course.
• I like to use projects that are in the news as examples to demonstrate points in this chapter. Controversial, local projects that are either under way or are under consideration work very well since they typically have many stakeholders with communication needs.
• One breakout is to have students identify and categorize as many stakeholders as they can for an upcoming project. I often assign four groups of students to identify respectively internal stakeholders affected by the process, external stakeholders affected by the process, internal stakeholders affected by the results and external stakeholders affected by the results. I tell them bragging rights go to the group that identifies the most stakeholders like in Exhibit 5.3. If any of the stakeholders identified are unexpected, I ask the group in what way they are stakeholders. It often takes the students by surprise how many people could have an interest in some of the projects.
• A follow-up break out session is to have the students then prioritize the stakeholders and to justify their decisions. They can prioritize in accordance with Exhibit 5.4.
• A third possible breakout for this chapter is to have students make plans for a local project about how decisions should be made. I ask them to use the generic situations listed in Exhibit 5.7 and to give specific examples of each. We then discuss why each method makes sense for the situations listed.
• Another breakout can be for the communication matrix. Show them Exhibit 5.11 as the communication matrix for the Alternative Breaks Project. I usually let the student teams begin the communication matrix for their class project. Giving them 10 minutes of class time to start and then to discuss gets them off to a good start. Be sure to emphasize that if they look at one or more previous projects (such as Alternative Breaks), that the stakeholder list is likely to be quite different than theirs and, therefore, much of the information in the other columns will also differ. They need to be careful to look at other projects for ideas – not with an eye toward just copying.
• When introducing the subject of managing the meetings, I ask if anyone ever wasted time in a meeting. That is so obviously a rhetorical question that students will actually laugh. At any rate, explaining the meeting agenda and having the students plan a meeting for their project illustrates the point. I tell them I will want to see copies of their agenda, minutes, and evaluation for one of their meetings.
• You may wish to include some time for virtual and global project teams. If some of your students have much work experience, this is easier as they will be quick to want to tell their classmates how they do things. Even if few of your students have much experience, you can engage them in interesting discussions.
LECTURE AND WORKSHOP OUTLINE
A good place to start detailed planning (after the charter is accepted) is with understanding who the stakeholders are and how to communicate with them.
5.1 Develop the Project Management Plan
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Chapters 5-11 deal with the project management plan (the formal, approved document that tells how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled). It can be started now, but will not be finished until project kick-off.
5.2 Identify Stakeholders
It is imperative to understand the various stakeholders and their sometimes conflicting desires.
Find stakeholders
Anyone impacted positively or negatively by the process of performing the project or the results of the project is a stakeholder that needs to be identified.
Analyze Stakeholders
Prioritizing among the many stakeholders is vital to ensure the most important project needs are addressed.
Document Stakeholders
The stakeholder register is a document for recording all information on stakeholders.
5.3 Build Relationships
Since PMs often do not have enough formal authority to command, developing relationships to influence others is critical.
Relationship building within the core team
A smart PM develops effective working relationships within the core team.
Relationship building with all other stakeholders
This is important both to influence favorable behavior and to lay the groundwork for effective communication.
5.4 Plan Communications Management
Purposes of a project communications management plan
A PM must use effective communications to set and manage expectations from all stakeholders as well as to ensure that project work is completed properly.
Communications plan considerations
Purpose
Project communications need to be clear, concise, courteous, consistent, confidential, and compelling.
Structures
Projects can use existing organizational communication forms if they are satisfactory, but need to create their own to supplement.
Methods
Communications can be pushed to recipients, or pulled by them, or interactive with them.
Timing
Communications can be tied to the project life cycle, be routine, or as needed.
Communications matrix
o Who does the project team need to learn from?
o What does the team need to learn from this stakeholder?
o Who does the project team need to share with?
o What does this stakeholder need to know?
o When do they need to know it?
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o What is the most effective communications method for this stakeholder to understand?
o Who on the project team is responsible for this communication? (the owner)
Knowledge management
If lessons-learned are captured and shared, a project can learn from previous projects.
5.5 Project Meeting Management
Projects require many meetings and can benefit from having them well-run. Improving project meetings
Meetings are a process that can be studied and improved.
PDCA model
This quality approach to process improvement can be applied to the meeting process.
Project meeting agenda template
Well-run meetings require planning. A clear agenda helps.
Project meeting minutes template
Decisions made, issues surfaced or resolved, action items agreed to, and evaluation of the meeting should be concisely captured.
Issues management
An issues log is a living document adding new issues and removing resolved issues.
Decisions and Issues
All decisions made should be documented. An issue is something that does not need to be resolved immediately, but will need to be resolved in time.
Action items
For each agreed upon action, capture who will do it and by when.
Evaluation
Meetings can be evaluated using a plus-delta. Evaluations on agile projects are called retrospectives.
5.6 Communications Needs of Global and Virtual Project Teams
More projects are conducted by virtual and global teams and these teams often have increased communication challenges. Virtual teams
Even more persuasion is needed since these teams are scattered. Cultural differences
It is vital for the PM to understand cultural influences on behavior. Countries and project communications preferences
People in various countries have widely differing communication preferences that need to be understood.
5.7 Communications Technologies
An ever increasing number of communication choices are available.
CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS –
SUGGESTED
ANSWERS
1. List three reasons why understanding stakeholders is important to successful project management. (objective #1, p.120)
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By determining who the stakeholders are and what each group wants, project managers effectively:
• Set clear direction for further project planning, negotiating, and execution
• Prioritize among competing objectives
• Learn to recognize complex tradeoffs and the consequences of each
• Make and facilitate necessary decisions
• Develop a shared sense of risk
• Build a strong relationship with their customers
• Lead associates, customers, and suppliers with an empowering style
• Serve as good stewards of the resources of both the parent and customer organizations
2. What is the difference between an internal and external stakeholder? (objective #1, p.119) Internal stakeholders are within the organization performing the project; external stakeholders are not.
3. Which three criteria should you consider when prioritizing stakeholders? (objective #1, pp.120-121)
• Proximity to the project – those that are closest are often the most important.
• Power they have over the project – more powerful stakeholders need to be prioritized higher.
• Urgency of their need – stakeholders who need something very quickly need to be given priority.
4. When should relationship building between the project manager/other core team members and important stakeholders occur? (objective #2, p.123) Throughout the life of the project
5. What are some ways to build relationships within the core team? (objective #2, p.124)
• Acknowledging individual motives
• Encouraging open communication
• Jointly establishing project meeting agendas
• Sharing in meaningful project learning
• Frequently celebrating small successes
6. What are some ways to build relationships with key stakeholders? (objective #2, p.125) The sponsor, project manager, and core team can establish powerful relationships with key stakeholders by delivering on all promises, always providing fair treatment, creating a sense of pride by association, and even helping the stakeholder develop a passion for the project.
7. What are some important functions of communication from stakeholders? (objective #3, p. 126)
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Communications from stakeholders are necessary in authorizing work, determining requirements, uncovering and resolving issues, and receiving feedback on project progress and results.
8. What are some important functions of communication to stakeholders? (objective #3, p.126) Communications to stakeholders are necessary to help them make good decisions (by understanding options and risks), assure them of adequate understanding and progress, enable them to more fully commit to the project, and be ready to accept project deliverables.
9. What is the difference between “push” and “pull” methods of communication? (objective #3, p.128)
Projects rely on “push” methods in which communications are sent or pushed; “pull” methods where communications are posted either on paper or in electronic form and interested stakeholders need to take the initiative to receive the communication.
10. What are three types of project communications timing schedules? (objective #4, p.128)
First is the project life cycle, with communications typically needed at the end of each major stage in the project and at the end of each major project deliverable. The second timing schedule follows a more formal organizational structure. Project progress is often reported at regularly scheduled meetings. Meetings at the frontline level are usually more frequent than reports to higher levels within the organization. The third timing scheme is an as-needed basis.
11. What six columns should a communication matrix contain? (objective #4, p.129)
1. STAKEHOLDER
2. LEARN FROM
3. SHARE WITH
4. TIMING
5. METHOD
6. OWNER
12. Why is it so important to capture lessons learned in a knowledge database? (objective #4, p.130)
Keep developing and utilizing strengths, but avoid repeating failures.
13. List the items that go into a project team meeting agenda and tell the purpose of each. (objective #5, pp.130-131)
Meeting logistics such as people, date, time, and place – so that all can attend. Purpose – so that people know what the meeting needs to accomplish and not hold the meeting if there is no good purpose.
Topics in order – so that people know what to expect and to prepare for.
Person responsible for each topic – so that they will be prepared and so any stakeholder can communicate with that person in advance.
Estimated time for each topic – to stay on track.
Summary – so that people remember what decisions were made, issues raised or resolved, and what are the items on which they agreed to take action, and the deadline for each.
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Evaluation
so that future meetings can repeat what worked and avoid what did not.
14. Describe an AGILE “stand-up” meeting. (objective #5, p.130)
These short (15 minute or less) meetings are often held at the start of each day with no coffee or chairs to be comfortable. Each project team member briefly states what she accomplished the previous day, what she plans to accomplish this day, and what obstacles may challenge her.
15. List and describe the four main types of information captured in project meeting minutes. (objective #5, p.132)
• Decisions made – to communicate to all stakeholders.
• Issues raised and resolved – to keep track of active issues.
• Items on which actions to be taken, with responsibility and timing – to ensure agreed to items are completed.
• Evaluation – so that the pluses and deltas identified can be associated with the specific meeting when they were identified.
16. What is a virtual team? (objective #6, pp.134-135)
“A group of people with a shared goal who fulfill their roles with little or no time meeting face to face” (PMBOK)
17. Name three increased challenges for global and/or virtual teams. (objective #6, p.135)
• More unique project needs
• More difficult to understand
• Needs more time
• More reliance on electronic means
• More facilitating than directing
• Fewer nonverbal cues, interest may wander
• With less group interaction, harder to identify
18. Why is it helpful for a virtual team to meet in person at least once? (objective #6, pp.135136)
To foster a sense of teamwork and common understanding of the project
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
