Activity Overview

You will do a stakeholder analysis and power grid.

As a project manager, it's important to understand how each stakeholder relates to your project. Completing a stakeholder analysis and power grid allows you to determine each stakeholder's influence and potential impact on a project, which is crucial to managing communications and expectations.

Be sure to complete this activity before moving on. The next course item will provide you with a completed exemplar to compare to your own work. You will not be able to access the exemplar until you have completed this activity.

Scenario

Review the scenario below. Then complete the step-by-step instructions.

You are the project manager at Office Green, a commercial landscaping company that specializes in plants and greenery for offices and other businesses. The company is getting ready to introduce its new Plant Pals service, and you will manage the launch. You and your team need to maintain trust and generate buy-in from your stakeholders. Some of your stakeholders include:

• Director of Product: The Director of Product is the project sponsor. As the sponsor, they fully support the project, sign off on high-level decisions, and sometimes act as a resource for the team. They are deeply invested in the outcome of the project, but less involved with its day-to-day operations.
• Landscape Designer/Web Designer: This person has two roles at Office Green, and within the Plant Pals project. In addition to their web design skills and knowledge of plants, they have strong relationships with a range of people across the company. The Plant Pals project could affect their role as Landscape Designer if it results in a pivot toward new services. If they don't want their role to change, it could be harder to get their buy-in.
• Existing clients and their employees:The core customers for this product launch are Office Green's existing clients and their employees. Their feedback can help Office Green improve the customer experience for the new service. Depending on their needs, some clients will be very interested in Plant Pals, while others will be less so. Lower-interest clients are unlikely to resist the project unless it impacts the existing product line.
• Office Green's investors: The investors support Office Green financially, so the company wants to keep them happy. Likewise, because Office Green's performance affects their investments, the investors want Plant Pals to succeed. However, they will not be directly involved in the project and it will not affect them before launch. They are therefore unlikely to oppose the project at this stage.
• Office Green's receptionist: The receptionist will not be directly involved with the Plant Pals project. They will need to answer customer questions about the service later on, but don't need to know many details until closer to launch. They have no major concerns about the project at this stage.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Part 1 - Understanding stakeholders with a stakeholder analysis

Step 1: Access the template

To use the template for this course item, click the link below and select "Use Template."

Link to template:Stakeholder analysis and power grid

Step 2: Identify stakeholders

Start with the Understanding Stakeholders table on the first slide of the template. This is where you will organize your information. First, identify the stakeholders from the Office Green scenario (e.g., Director of Product, Landscape Designer/Web Designer, etc.) and write their titles in the Stakeholder column of the table.

Step 3: Determine stakeholder roles

What roles do your stakeholders play in the project? Write down each team member's role in the Role column.

Select from the following options when determining project roles:

• Project sponsor
• Project team member
• Office Green employee
• Office Green customer
• Secondary stakeholder

Step 4: Determine stakeholder involvement

How will each stakeholder participate in the project? What resources do they have that can help project success? Consider each stakeholder's involvement in the project, as well as any tools (software, hardware, etc.), knowledge, or relationships that could be helpful. Make note of these activities and assets in the Involvement column.

Step 5: Determine the impact on your stakeholders

How will the project outcomes affect the needs of each stakeholder? Do you expect any resistance that could affect their buy-in? Record this information in the Impact column.

Step 6: Determine each stakeholder's level of power or influence

How much influence does each stakeholder have over the project? Consider the information you added to the Involvement and Impact columns. Then record each stakeholder's level of power or influence as high (H), medium (M), or low (L) in the Power or Influence column.

Note: You should gauge each stakeholder's level of influence on this project, not within Office Green in general.

Step 7: Determine each stakeholder's level of interest

How involved is each stakeholder in the project daily? How much will the project impact the needs of each stakeholder? Estimate each stakeholder's level of interest in the project at this stage, considering your notes from the Involvement and Impact columns. Then indicate high (H), medium (M), or low (L) in the Interest column.

Be sure to consider interest in project outcomes and interest in day-to-day operations. If a stakeholder is interested in both, their overall interest level is likely high. If neither, their interest could be low. If they are interested in one, but not the other, a medium rating might be appropriate.

Leave the Engagement column blank for now. You will return to it once you have completed the power grid.

Part 2 - Prioritizing stakeholders in a power grid

Step 1: Place stakeholders in the power grid

Now go to the second slide of the template: Prioritizing Stakeholders (power grid). Consider your power or influence ratings from the stakeholder analysis. Then drag the box containing each stakeholder's name to the appropriate place in the power grid.

High-interest, high-power stakeholders should go toward the upper-right corner. Low-interest, low-power stakeholders go toward the lower-left corner, and so forth. You can place stakeholders anywhere on the power grideven between quadrants.

For example, a stakeholder with a medium level of interest would straddle the high and low-interest quadrants.

Note: Consult slides 3-5 to demonstrate how to place your stakeholders.

Step 2: Determine how to engage with stakeholders

Now that you've placed your stakeholders in the grid, go back to the Engagement column in the stakeholder analysis table. Think about where each stakeholder falls in the grid: monitor, show consideration, keep satisfied, or manage closely.

Based on this information, determine how often you should communicate with each stakeholder and what form that communication should take (e.g. semi-regular consultations, frequent updates, etc.). Depending on their role or resources, you might communicate with them daily, regularly, or rarely. Record your answers in the Engagement column.

Pro Tip: Save the Template

Finally, save a blank copy of the stakeholder analysis and power grid template you used to complete this activity. You can use it for further practice or in your own personal or professional projects. Templates like this one will be useful as you put together a portfolio of project management artifacts. You can use them to talk through your thought processes as you demonstrate your experience to potential employers.

What to Include in Your Response

Be sure to address the following criteria in your completed stakeholder analysis table:

• The table includes all five stakeholders and groups from the scenario.
• The table lists information on each stakeholder's role, resources, potential resistance, and engagement.
• The table lists each stakeholder's level of power or influence as low, medium, or high.
• The table lists each stakeholder's level of interest as low, medium, or high.

Be sure to address the following criteria in your completed power grid:

• The grid contains all the stakeholders from your stakeholder analysis.
• The position of each stakeholder corresponds to their level of interest and influence in your stakeholder analysis.