13.3 Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Description: it the process of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations, address issues, and foster appropriate stakeholder involvement. Involves:

• Engaging stakeholders at appropriate project stages to obtain, confirm, or maintain their continued commitment to the success of the project;
• Managing stakeholder expectations through negotiation and communication;
• Addressing any risks or potential concerns related to stakeholder management and anticipating future issues that may be raised by stakeholders; and
• Clarifying and resolving issues that have been identified.

Key benefit: it allows the project manager to increase support and minimize resistance from stakeholders.

Frequency: throughout the project.

Process / Asset Group	Input	The Process	Output	Process / Asset Group
Project Management Plan	Communications management plan	13.3 Manage Stakeholder Engagement	Communications management plan	Project Management Plan
	Risk management plan		Stakeholder management plan
	Stakeholder engagement plan		Change log	Project documents
	Change management plan		Issue log
Project Documents	Change log		Lesson learned register
	Issue log		Stakeholder register
	Lesson learned register		Change requests	4.6 Perform Integrated Change Control
	Stakeholder register
Enterprise / Organization	Enterprise environment factors
	Organizational process assets

13.3.1 Inputs

13.3.1.1 Project Management Plan

• Communications management plan. Describes the methods, formats, and technologies used for stakeholder communication.
• Risk management plan. Describes the risk categories, risk appetites, and reporting formats that can be used to manage stakeholder engagement.
• Stakeholder engagement plan. Provides guidance and information on managing stakeholder expectations.
• Change management plan. Describes the process for submitting, evaluating and implementing changes to the project.

13.3.1.2 Project Documents

Include:

• Change log. Change requests and their status are documented in the change log and communicated to the appropriate stakeholders.
• Issue log.
• Lessons learned register.
• Stakeholder register. Provides the list of project stakeholders and any information needed to execute the stakeholder engagement plan.

13.3.1.3 Enterprise Environmental Factors

Include:

• Organizational culture, political climate, and governance structure of the organization;
• Personnel administration policies;
• Stakeholder risk thresholds;
• Established communication channels;
• Global, regional, or local trends, practices, or habits; and
• Geographic distribution of facilities and resources.

13.3.1.4 Organizational Process Assets

Include:

• Corporate policies and procedures for social media, ethics, and security;
• Corporate policies and procedures for issue, risk, change, and data management;
• Organizational communication requirements;
• Standardized guidelines for development, exchange, storage, and retrieval of information; and
• Historical information from previous similar projects.

13.3.2 Tools and Techniques

13.3.2.1 Expert Judgement

Topics:

• Politics and power structures in the organization and outside the organization;
• Environment and culture of the organization and outside the organization;
• Analytical and assessment techniques to be used for stakeholder engagement processes;
• Communication methods and strategies;
• Characteristics of stakeholders, stakeholder groups, and organizations involved in the current project that may have been involved in previous projects; and
• Requirements management, vendor management, and change management.

13.3.2.2 Communication Skills

Feedback. Ways to collect:

• Conversations; both formal and informal,
• Issue identification and discussion,
• Meetings,
• Progress reporting, and
• Surveys.

13.3.2.3 Interpersonal and Team Skills

Include:

• Conflict management. Conflicts are resolved in a timely manner.
• Cultural awareness. Used to help the project manager and team to communicate effectively by considering cultural differences and the requirements of stakeholders.
• Negotiation. Used to achieve support or agreement that supports the work of the project or its outcomes and to resolve conflicts within the team or with other stakeholders.
• Observation/conversation. Used to stay in touch with the work and attitudes of project team members and other stakeholders.
• Political awareness. Achieved through understanding the power relationships within and around the project.

13.3.2.4 Ground Rules

Defined in the team charter.

They set the expected behavior.

13.3.2.5 Meetings

Types:

• Decision making,
• Issue resolution,
• Lessons learned and retrospectives,
• Project kick-off,
• Sprint planning, and
• Status updates.

13.3.3 Outputs

13.3.3.1 Change Requests

Project scope or product scope.

13.3.3.2 Project Management Plan Updates

• Communications management plan. Updated to reflect new or changed stakeholder requirements.
• Stakeholder engagement plan. Updated to reflect new or changed management strategies required to effectively engage stakeholders.

13.3.3.3 Project Documents Updates

• Change log.
• Issue log.
• Lessons learned register.
• Stakeholder register. Updated based on new information provided to stakeholders about resolved issues, approved changes, and general project status.

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