Prioritize stakeholder:

The first part of stakeholder analysis is to prioritize the stakeholders. Prioritization is important because, on many
projects, there are too many stakeholders to spend a great deal of time with each. While it is important not to ignore
any stakeholder, it also makes sense to concentrate on those who can impact or influence project outcomes.

Stakeholders are frequently prioritized based upon level of:

1. Power—ability to get others to do something

2. Legitimacy—perception that their actions are appropriate
3. Urgency—time sensitivity and legitimacy of claim1

Some organizations use additional criteria such as interest, influence, and impact.

Some organizations only use two or three criteria; others may use up to six. Each chosen aspect can be rated on a
simple scale of 1 to 3, with 3 representing the highest priority.

For the first aspect, power, a stakeholder who could order the project shut down or changed in a major way would be
a 3, and a stakeholder who could not change the project much would be a 1.

The other aspects can be analyzed in a similar fashion. The scores from the criteria are added to determine a total
prioritization score.

By determining who the stakeholders and their wants, project managers can effectively:

• Set clear direction for further project planning, negotiating, and execution.
• Prioritize among competing objectives.
• Learn to recognize complex trade-offs and the consequences of each.
• Make and facilitate necessary decisions.
• Develop a shared sense of risk.
• Build strong relationships with their customers.
• Lead associates, customers, and suppliers with empowering style and principles.
• Serve as good stewards of the resources of both the parent and customer organizations.
• Develop a communication plan for stakeholders that is specific for stakeholder groups.

The project team should next select the top 10 to 15 stakeholders for emphasis in the remainder of their planning.

The stakeholders with the highest total scores are often considered to be key influencers for the project.

The project manager and the core team should also plan to periodically review this prioritized list of stakeholders, as
the relative importance may change as the project progresses, especially if the project goals are not clear at the
outset.

While from a practical standpoint, project managers need to be especially attentive to the top stakeholders, the
enlightened “management for stakeholders” approach also encourages project managers to ensure that interests of
all the stakeholders, including less powerful ones, are considered.

This approach of giving preference to the most important stakeholders while recognizing needs of all stakeholders
requires judgment, and the advice of the sponsor is often helpful. One additional consideration is that various
stakeholders often have competing or contrasting interests.