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Stakeholder Mapping - The Complete Guide To Stakeholder Maps - IxDF
Stakeholder Mapping - The Complete Guide To Stakeholder Maps - IxDF
Stakeholder Mapping - The Complete Guide To Stakeholder Maps - IxDF
Once you’ve outlined the POV and defined the challenge space, you need to gather the troops and start to find a solution.
In more complex settings or larger organizations, the first step of this process requires you to draft a stakeholder map and
outline everyone who’s either involved in or affected or influenced by the design process—both internally and externally.
Let’s dive into what a stakeholder map is and how you can create one to ensure you’ve got everyone in your field of vi-
sion during the design process.
If you’re the one who leads the way when it comes to design projects, one of your tasks will be to understand,
manage and bring together the various parties affected by your project, both internally and externally. For this,
you'll need some kind of plan. One such plan leveraged by many organizations is the stakeholder map. This could
start out small—a whiteboard or wall chart with Post-it notes could be enough to get things started, for example.
You can then begin to grow your stakeholder map as your scope of research and investigation expands and you
gain a clearer idea of the challenge territory. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though; let’s take some time to dive
deep into the process so you can construct the most relevant and useful stakeholder map, whatever stage you’re
at!
Table of contents
What is a Stakeholder Map?
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Images
Identify the core parties you want to collaborate with throughout the rest of the design process.
Understand where the power and influence might come from in regard to design decisions.
Learn more about the perspectives of stakeholders and how they are related to the project.
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Popular types of stakeholders that you may have to consider when you run or are part of a design process.
It’s good to remember that stakeholder maps are best created with a team. If you already have some idea of who
the main stakeholders are, try to make them part of it! This will help challenge assumptions, provide different
perspectives and ensure participation and involvement from key stakeholders right from the get-go. Once you’ve
assembled your team, it’s time to properly get stuck into the process!
Run a 5-minute braindump session where all team members write down stakeholders on different Post-it
notes in silence. You can remind the group to think of anyone who will be affected in any way by the design
project, either directly or indirectly.
Team members take it in turns to place their Post-its on a whiteboard or table, briefly describing each one.
Each team member should place their Post-its to form groups where necessary—i.e., where one of their
stakeholders is the same or similar to that from another team member.
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Once all the Post-its have been placed, create a list of all the different types of stakeholders the group has
come up with.
A good way to prioritize your stakeholders is to plot them on an influence vs. interest chart. The actions you take in re-
gard to each stakeholder will depend on which quadrant they fall into.
You will get a good idea of how to manage the range of stakeholder needs depending on where you plot them on
the chart. For example, it’s a good idea to do the following with the stakeholders who sit within each section:
Manage Closely: You should aim to fully engage with these highly influential, highly interested stakeholders,
and make the greatest efforts to satisfy them during the design process.
Keep Satisfied: This group of stakeholders are highly influential, yet less interested in your design project.
You should put in enough effort that they remain satisfied, yet take care not to overdo it.
Keep Informed: On the other hand, these stakeholders are highly interested but not very influential. These
people have the potential to provide great advice during the design process and help you spot and overcome
any issues, so make sure you keep them adequately informed of what’s going on.
Monitor: Stakeholders in this section are the least influential as well as the least interested. Keep an eye on
these stakeholders but don’t bother them with excessive communication; it’s a waste of your time.
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Will you be affected, either financially or emotionally, by the outcome of our project and, if so, how?
Who do you think influences you and your opinions, and whom do you influence?
Once you’ve identified and prioritized your stakeholders, it’s a good idea to talk to them to gain a better understanding of
how they will affect or be affected by the design project.
If any stakeholders respond or act negatively towards your design project, you will need to think about and an-
swer the following questions to develop a well-rounded plan:
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The insights gathered through this round of questioning will help you understand whom to include in your design
and development team, and whom you’re likely to come across during the process, both externally and internally.
They will also provide you with a good idea of who you should empathize with most in the upcoming phases,
when you will explore the human needs and experiences in your challenge space.
Download our free template on how to create a stakeholder map so you can follow this process with your team!
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Images
Hero Image: © Kennisland, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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If you want this to change, cite this article, link to us, or join us to help us democratize design knowledge!
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