One fundamental rule always remains present in project management: The successful completion of projects requires not only technical knowledge, but also a profound understanding of the people involved. The focus is on stakeholder analysis as an effective tool that not only accelerates project success, but also efficiently alleviates potential conflicts.
The aim of this analysis is the precise identification of various stakeholder groups, the understanding of their individual interests and the development of innovative ways to optimally integrate these interests into the project. Stakeholder analysis therefore proves to be the key to the targeted design of a successful project process and to mastering potential challenges confidently.
In this blog article, we shed light on how stakeholder analysis works and what decisive role it plays for you as a project manager. Discover how this tool can help take your projects to a new level of success.
Stakeholder analysis — What is that?
Die DIN 69901-5:2009 defines stakeholder analysis as follows:
“Analysis of project participants with regard to their influence on the project and their attitudes (positive or negative)”.
In simpler terms, stakeholder analysis means the systematic classification of stakeholders and an attempt to anticipate their influence on specific decisions. As the name suggests, the starting point for this process lies with stakeholders.
Objectives & scope of a stakeholder analysis
Carrying out a stakeholder analysis enables you to identify all stakeholders in your projects and to record their requirements, needs and wishes. By transparently presenting and potentially influencing existing opinions, you can gain supporters or identify resistance more easily.
Stakeholder analyses are crucial for the long-term stability of your company. Neglecting these players may result in project failures, which in turn jeopardizes your business success. Effective use of the results of a stakeholder analysis, on the other hand, can sustainably improve the image of your projects. Engaging with stakeholders as part of an analysis alone helps them feel noticed and taken seriously.
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The attitudes and positions of the various groups may change over the course of the project. It is therefore recommended that the stakeholder analysis be carried out again over time.
In many projects, carrying out the stakeholder analysis is often limited to just the start of the project — during the phase of project planning. A more efficient approach is to continuously review and, if necessary, adjust the stakeholder analysis over the course of the entire project. Important: Always ensure that it is up to date! The opinions and attitudes of your stakeholders can certainly change over the course of the project. In addition, continuous monitoring makes it easier for you to adjust any incorrect assessments at the start of the project.
For which projects is an analysis useful?
Stakeholder analyses are suitable for various project types. In particular, they prove to be extremely useful for extensive construction projects or large infrastructure projects, as these projects have far-reaching and lasting effects on nature, the environment and also local residents.
In large companies, it has become an internal obligation to include a stakeholder analysis in the sustainability report. Such analyses classify individual stakeholders and shed light on the effects on these groups.
Carrying out a stakeholder analysis in 4 steps
For a comprehensive analysis, we recommend that you follow the following four steps, which are now considered the standard sequence for stakeholder analysis. Of course, these are only recommendations and you can also introduce alternative methods in your company to carry out this analysis. This could be the case, for example, if you are fully informed about how internal stakeholders feel about your project or any external stakeholders can be neglected.
Step 1: Identify Your Stakeholders
In order for you to be able to identify all relevant stakeholders at all, it is necessary that you know the course of the project and its most important milestones before starting the analysis. In this way, you can identify points of contact with your stakeholders, which may also differ depending on the project phase.
Record all people, regardless of whether they are natural or legal persons, who (could) exert influence on your projects. Document the appropriate contact details and, ideally, the optimal time to contact these people. You can also record geographical locations that could also be relevant.
Step 2: Information about stakeholders
You have various options for generating information for stakeholder analysis:
We recommend that you start interviews or workshops as early as possible. You should not perceive the discussions with stakeholders as “interrogation,” because your goal is to get your stakeholders on board, to value them and to inform them about your project. In these talks, both parties can express wishes, hopes, but also criticism and discomfort.
The openness and trustworthiness that you bring to these discussions significantly influence the overall outcome. The way in which information is obtained is at the discretion of the project management. You can interview stakeholders individually, hold major events, or organize focus groups. However, be aware that you don't include groups with different interests at the same time. In this way, you avoid potential conflicts and emotional discussions. Instead, group groups with similar interests together.
In any case, you should document all discussions that you have as part of the stakeholder analysis — whether it's an interview, workshop or major event — in order to record all relevant information.
Step 3: Evaluate stakeholders
After you have identified your stakeholders and compiled all relevant information for your project, the third step is the evaluation. The easiest and most common way to do this is via a stakeholder matrix — including Project environment analysis.
Using this data, you can identify potential points of conflict and estimate the potential effects. Which specific influencing factors are included in the matrix depends on the individual requirements of your project.
If you aim to publish your stakeholder analysis, it is of great importance to formulate the wording of the analysis in such a way that individuals or groups are not publicly exposed. It is advisable to use language that is as neutral as possible.
Step 4: Visualize stakeholders
For an appealing and understandable presentation of your results, it is a good idea to visualize stakeholders and their interest and influence using a stakeholder map.
To show the impact of each stakeholder on your project, you can divide them into different categories:
Participatory stakeholders should actively involve them in your project, as they have a high impact and are essential to Project success can contribute. They play a decisive role in discussion and decision-making rounds and should be able to actively participate.
Discursive stakeholders should also take them very seriously, even though their involvement is generally less intensive due to their low influence. Nevertheless, this side can also contribute decisive views or arguments to the course of the project.
Your dealings with restrictive stakeholders is particularly important. True, this group will not actively participate in the project, as it would likely not promote progress. However, it is important that you address this group through personal discussions or other marketing measures for the project and try to convince them. Of course, it is just as important to inform this group about project progress so that everyone is always on the same page. Because, as you know, opinions and views about a project can also change during the process. With transparent communication and presentation of project progress, you may be able to convince some stakeholders to still support your project in a certain way.
Evaluate risks, avoid errors
A detailed stakeholder analysis is essential for the success of your projects. However, it also entails risks and errors that could have a negative impact on earnings. You should be aware of these risks:
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It is not uncommon for stakeholders' opinions or attitudes to be misjudged. In science, there are various concepts for explaining errors of judgment, including the halo effect. This is based on inferring a person's future behavior from past competence, which can result in a person being overestimated. Personal sympathies and antipathies are often the cause of such mistakes. Since a stakeholder analysis is always carried out by people, it can never be completely objective. However, it is important to be aware of your own preferences and dislikes and not to transfer them directly to the project. An effective risk reduction measure is to always have the stakeholder analysis carried out by a team rather than an individual.
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Sensitive data is collected in a stakeholder analysis because it concerns personal attitudes and opinions. Documents must therefore always be kept confidential in the context of stakeholder analysis. Unauthorized sharing of these documents can have significant consequences.
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Another mistake is to incorrectly prioritize stakeholders. This can occur, for example, as a result of incorrect assessments of hierarchies or an over- or underestimation of influence. There is a risk of mistakenly viewing the head of a department as the main stakeholder when in reality their team has the biggest impact on the project.
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Communication errors can also occur, which makes it impossible to address stakeholders adequately. If influential stakeholders feel ignored or insufficiently informed, this can, in the worst case, lead to rejection or insufficient approval of the project.
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It is important to accept and respond to stakeholders' opinions. However, it would be misguided to try to please all stakeholders. This is not only impossible, but could also jeopardize the achievement of project goals.
The findings from a stakeholder analysis should definitely be incorporated into the risk analysis of your project planning. This applies in particular to stakeholders with significant influence and/or negative attitude towards the project. The stakeholder analysis serves as a basis for further measures to perhaps positively influence these “project skeptics” for your project after all.
Technical support for stakeholder analysis
Today's global business world with complex projects and numerous stakeholders requires the use of appropriate technical tools. For this reason, it is obvious that many companies use software or tools to facilitate analysis. ZEP offers you assistance with an overview of various personal and project-related information.
Die time recording With ZEP, for example, it enables your employees (and you) to keep track of all hours spent. Die Project time recording allows documentation of services provided for each of your ongoing projects. At the end of a project or even during an ongoing project, you generate a detailed report with all relevant data for a time frame of your choice. And that too absenteeism management You and your employees can do it with ZEP. Vacations and other absences can be applied for directly via the calendar and approved (or rejected) by the responsible person. In this way, you can always keep an eye on the workload of your employees and create transparent communication within your company.
Stakeholder analysis shouldn't be an annoying bureaucratic discipline for you. Think of them more as an important building block to bring your projects to the desired success.
conclusion
Stakeholder analysis is not only an indispensable tool in project management, but also a key to success. By precisely identifying and evaluating stakeholders, potential conflicts can be identified at an early stage and effectively resolved. This not only promotes a smooth project flow, but also strengthens the trust and support of those involved. Continuous review and adjustment of the analysis ensures that the results are up-to-date and relevant throughout the course of the project. In short: A well-founded stakeholder analysis is the key to leading projects to success in a targeted manner and to achieve sustainable positive results.
