Stakeholder Analysis

Description:

The Stakeholder Analysis is a chart which gauges the positioning of stakeholders relative to change and commitment to the goals of the team.

Objective:

Projects involve change and this often stirs emotions and encounters resistance. The higher the impact of the projected change the more important this tool becomes. The output of the Stakeholder Analysis is a representation of where the impacted people both inside and outside the system stand relative to change.

A sample template is shown below:

This tool is commonly used in DFSS or DMAIC projects throughout the duration especially if it is a longer term project. It's objective is to detect and "out of control" position by a key team member and get it correctd by continually monitoring this behavioral pattern. Those that are not at the level of commitment or willingness to accept change need to be converted.

STEPS

1. List all stakeholder names on the team. Other stakeholders are the community, customers, stockholders, but are not included in this exercise.

2. Provide a number of 1-5 to indicate their CURRENT and DESIRED willingness to embrace change and make cultural commitment to advocate the change.

Note that not all members may need to be a 4 or 5, but since a major breakthrough, technical, or cultural change requires a team effort it is important to have the core team neutral or better before starting or proceeding to the next step.