Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix

Stakeholder analysis (also known as stakeholder mapping) is an important step in the design of a new program. The stakeholders include individuals, community leaders, groups, and other organizations that will be directly impacted by the program or who could influence the outcome. They can be either internal or external.

The Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix is a simple yet effective project management tool for tracking stakeholders’ actual and desired levels of engagement. It helps in identifying any gaps in the stakeholders’ involvement.

Who are the Stakeholders?

A stakeholder is an individual, group, or organization whose life is affected by the outcome of a project. They have a vested interest in the project’s success and can be from within or outside the organization that is sponsoring it. Stakeholders can have an impact on the project in both positive and negative ways.

A large number of people are involved in bringing a project from its inception to its successful completion. You’ll need to know how to manage each and every one of them, even those who don’t report directly to you.

Using project management software to keep track of your stakeholders is a great way to stay on top of things and ensure your stakeholders remain satisfied and productive.

Some examples of stakeholders are as follows.

Project leader
Senior management
Project team members
Project customer
Resource managers
Line managers
Project user group
Product testers
Group impacted by the project as it progresses
Group impacted by the project after its completion
Subcontractors to the project
Consultants to the project

Types of stakeholders in project management

In project management, there are two types of stakeholders: internal and external.

Internal stakeholders

These stakeholders are coming from within!!! Internal stakeholders are individuals or groups within a company, such as team members, managers, and executives.

External stakeholders

External stakeholders are — as you can probably guess — people or groups outside the business. This includes customers, users, suppliers, and investors.

As you can see, stakeholders don’t always work for the project manager. Needless to say, this can add an extra layer of complexity, as you need to be able to communicate with people at all different levels of the business and with varying degrees of engagement, influence, and interest.

What is Project Stakeholder Management?

Project Stakeholder Management identifies individuals or organizations that may impact or be impacted by the project and establishes strategies for managing their expectations. This Knowledge Area comprises four processes: Identify Stakeholder, Stakeholder Plan, Manage Stakeholder Engagement, and Stakeholder Control Engagement.

Stakeholder: The stakeholder is anyone who has a “stake” in the project. Stakeholders may either have an impact or be affected by the project. Key stakeholders are those who can make project-level decisions ( e.g. project sponsors).

Stakeholder analysis: The stakeholder analysis involves identifying all stakeholders, analyzing how each stakeholder can impact or influence the project, and developing strategies to influence the impact of the stakeholders.

Stakeholder management strategy: Strategies to maximize stakeholder support and minimize their resistance (e.g. by the use of a stakeholder analysis matrix).

Stakeholder register: The stakeholder registry can contain information on the stakeholder. These can include the following: Name, Title, Project Role, Contact Info, Influence, Impact, and Attitude.

What Is Stakeholder Engagement?

Every project has interested stakeholders. But among the many project kinds and industries, the number of stakeholders and their level of involvement varies significantly.

For instance, there might be only a small number of stakeholders in a lean, tiny software development project. On the other hand, a mega-project, such as the building of infrastructure, may involve a sizable number of different stakeholders, individually as well as jointly.

Regardless of the project’s size, managing relationships with stakeholders is essential to its success. Particularly for influential and interested stakeholders, this is true.

Different Types of Stakeholder Matrix

Power/Interest Matrix Grid

There are two factors in the stakeholder analysis that have more effect on the project than any other: power and interest.

Power: is the stakeholder ‘s ability to stop or change the project. for example, a government authority to authorize legislation has a very high level of power.

Interest: The size of the overlap between the goals of the stakeholder and the project. For example, a property owner whose house needs to be demolished to make way for a project has a very high level of interest.

High power – High interest: Such stakeholders are likely to be decision-makers and have the greatest impact on the success of the project. They must be kept true to their expectations.
High power – Low Interest: Those stakeholders must be kept in the loop with what is going on in the project. Even though they may not be interested in the outcomes, they will yield power. These types of stakeholders should be treated carefully as they may use their power in a negative way if they were unsatisfied.
Low power – High interest: Keeping these people properly updated and talking to them to make sure no major issues occur. Often these people can be very helpful in describing your project.
Low power – low interest: Monitor these people, but just don’t spend time and energy in excessive communication.

Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix

Each project has stakeholders. However, the number and involvement of stakeholders vary significantly between different types of projects and industries.

A stakeholder engagement assessment matrix consists of several rows, each of which represents one stakeholder (or a group of homogeneous stakeholders, if applicable).

Each stakeholder falls under one of the following five categories, depending on the level of support for the project:

Unaware: Stakeholders are unaware of the project and its potential impacts.
Resistant: Stakeholders are aware of but not supportive of the project.
Neutral: Stakeholders are aware of the project but they don’t have an opinion regarding their support for it.
Supportive: Stakeholders are supportive of the project & wish it to succeed.
Leading: Stakeholders are actively engaged in project success and are willing to lend assistance to help it succeed.

The stakeholder engagement assessment matrix, defined in the Project Management Knowledge Body (PMBOK) as part of the Stakeholder Management Plan process, classifies each stakeholder into their current (C) and their desired (D).

Download Free Stakeholder Assignment Engagement Matrix from HERE