Medium Rare
Posted by Blogger@ dsiiti.com on Wed, Apr 14, 2010 @ 01:00 PM
Every project manager needs to conduct a Stakeholder Analysis. Even when not formally done as a facilitated session, every PM calculates who needs which set of information. At one point or another, someone's proverbial glutes are on the metaphoric line. Other Stakeholders may just be satisfied to know who that is.
Following up on communications strategies, this analysis identifies a broad scope of individuals the implementation touches. At the center of this scope should be the names of your core team members. But what will they know about their participation in this project?
Enter the RACI matrix. Responsible - Accountable - Consulted - Informed.
Think of it in terms of who's doing the work, who's name goes on the approval line, who can provide insight, and who just needs to know where things stand.
These "assignments" are by definition at the task level. For example, when setting up Classification, who knows the operation as it stands and will collect and enter the questions? And to whom does that person report?
When we develop the kickoff meeting agenda, we present the major operations to review during our visit. This agenda allows the client to choose the team based on knowledge but also availability. Once the team members are volunteered -- Reality Check: That's usually how teams are constructed -- we can place a name to their responsibility.
At the project scale, we also assign levels of communications. Not every Stakeholder will be contacted, but certainly, every one of them will be impacted by our work. Again, this is all in the spirit of accountability and transparency; but also getting things right.
So Stakeholder Analysis? I prefer mine well-done.