prorise-cool/stakeholder-analysis

Stakeholder Analysis

Identify, analyze, and plan engagement strategies for project and initiative stakeholders. Based on BABOK v3 Elicitation & Collaboration knowledge area.

What is Stakeholder Analysis?

Stakeholder analysis systematically identifies all parties affected by or able to affect an initiative, assesses their interests and influence, and develops engagement strategies.

Core Deliverables

| Deliverable | Purpose | When to Create | |-------------|---------|----------------| | Stakeholder Register | Comprehensive list of all stakeholders | Project initiation | | Power/Interest Matrix | Prioritize engagement approach | Analysis phase | | RACI Matrix | Clarify roles and responsibilities | Planning phase | | Communication Plan | Structured engagement strategy | Planning phase |

Workflow

Phase 1: Stakeholder Identification

Step 1: Brainstorm Categories

Systematically identify stakeholders by category:

| Category | Examples | Questions to Ask | |----------|----------|------------------| | Sponsors | Executive sponsor, budget owner | Who funds this? Who can cancel it? | | Users | End users, power users, administrators | Who uses the solution daily? | | Operators | IT ops, support teams, maintenance | Who keeps it running? | | Regulators | Compliance, legal, audit | Who ensures we follow rules? | | Affected Parties | Other departments, displaced roles | Who is impacted by changes? | | Subject Matter Experts | Domain experts, technical leads | Who has critical knowledge? | | Decision Makers | Steering committee, architects | Who approves decisions? | | Influencers | Opinion leaders, union reps | Who shapes perceptions? |

Step 2: Create Stakeholder Register

## Stakeholder Register

| ID | Name/Role | Category | Organization | Contact | Notes |
|----|-----------|----------|--------------|---------|-------|
| S01 | Jane Smith | Sponsor | Executive | jane@... | Budget authority |
| S02 | IT Operations | Operator | IT | ... | 24/7 support team |
| S03 | Customer Service Reps | User | Customer Care | ... | 50+ daily users |
| S04 | Compliance Officer | Regulator | Legal | ... | GDPR requirements |

Phase 2: Stakeholder Analysis

Step 1: Assess Each Stakeholder

For each stakeholder, evaluate:

| Dimension | Question | Scale | |-----------|----------|-------| | Power | Can they stop or significantly impact the initiative? | Low/Medium/High | | Interest | How much do they care about the outcome? | Low/Medium/High | | Attitude | Are they supportive, neutral, or resistant? | Supporter/Neutral/Resistor | | Influence | Can they sway other stakeholders? | Low/Medium/High |

Step 2: Create Power/Interest Matrix

                    HIGH INTEREST
                         │
    ┌────────────────────┼────────────────────┐
    │   KEEP SATISFIED   │   MANAGE CLOSELY   │
    │                    │                    │
    │   • Regular updates│   • Active partner │
    │   • Address issues │   • Key decisions  │
    │   • Prevent blocks │   • Regular 1:1s   │
HIGH├────────────────────┼────────────────────┤
POWER                    │                    │
    │   MONITOR          │   KEEP INFORMED    │
    │                    │                    │
    │   • Minimal effort │   • Regular comms  │
    │   • Watch for      │   • Address needs  │
    │     changes        │   • Build support  │
    └────────────────────┼────────────────────┘
                    LOW INTEREST

Step 3: Plot Stakeholders

## Power/Interest Analysis

### Manage Closely (High Power, High Interest)
| Stakeholder | Power | Interest | Strategy |
|-------------|-------|----------|----------|
| Executive Sponsor | High | High | Weekly 1:1, all major decisions |
| Product Owner | High | High | Daily stand-ups, backlog collaboration |

### Keep Satisfied (High Power, Low Interest)
| Stakeholder | Power | Interest | Strategy |
|-------------|-------|----------|----------|
| CTO | High | Low | Monthly summary, escalation path |
| Legal | High | Low | Involve on compliance matters only |

### Keep Informed (Low Power, High Interest)
| Stakeholder | Power | Interest | Strategy |
|-------------|-------|----------|----------|
| End Users | Low | High | User group updates, beta programs |
| Help Desk | Low | High | Training, knowledge base updates |

### Monitor (Low Power, Low Interest)
| Stakeholder | Power | Interest | Strategy |
|-------------|-------|----------|----------|
| Other Departments | Low | Low | General announcements only |

Phase 3: Responsibility Assignment (RACI)

Create RACI matrix for key decisions and deliverables:

| Legend | Meaning | Rule | |--------|---------|------| | R - Responsible | Does the work | Can have multiple | | A - Accountable | Final authority | Must be exactly one | | C - Consulted | Provides input | Before decision | | I - Informed | Notified of outcome | After decision |

## RACI Matrix

| Decision/Deliverable | Sponsor | PO | Dev Lead | Users | Ops |
|---------------------|---------|-----|----------|-------|-----|
| Solution Requirements | I | A | R | C | C |
| Technical Architecture | I | C | A | - | C |
| User Acceptance | A | R | C | R | I |
| Go-Live Decision | A | R | C | I | R |
| Production Support | I | I | C | - | A |

Phase 4: Communication Planning

Step 1: Define Communication Needs

For each stakeholder group:

| Question | Purpose | |----------|---------| | What do they need to know? | Content | | When do they need it? | Timing | | How should we communicate? | Channel | | Who should communicate? | Sender | | What response do we expect? | Feedback mechanism |

Step 2: Create Communication Plan

## Communication Plan

| Stakeholder | Message | Frequency | Channel | Owner | Feedback |
|-------------|---------|-----------|---------|-------|----------|
| Executive Sponsor | Status, risks, decisions | Weekly | 1:1 meeting | PM | Discussion |
| Product Owner | Progress, blockers | Daily | Stand-up | Team Lead | Same day |
| End Users | Training, updates | Bi-weekly | Newsletter | Change Lead | Survey |
| IT Operations | Release plans | Sprint end | Email + meeting | Tech Lead | Sign-off |
| All Stakeholders | Major milestones | As needed | Email blast | PM | None |

Phase 5: Engagement Strategy

For challenging stakeholders (resistors, skeptics), develop targeted strategies:

Resistance Analysis

## Resistance Analysis

| Stakeholder | Current Attitude | Desired Attitude | Resistance Reason | Strategy |
|-------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|----------|
| Dept Manager | Resistor | Supporter | Fears job impact | Show how role evolves, not disappears |
| IT Architect | Skeptic | Neutral | Technical concerns | Deep-dive sessions, address concerns |
| Union Rep | Neutral | Supporter | Needs assurance | Early engagement, transparency |

Output Formats

Narrative Summary

## Stakeholder Analysis Summary

**Initiative:** [Name]
**Analyst:** [Name]
**Date:** [ISO date]

### Key Stakeholders

**Primary Sponsors:**
- [Name] - [Role] - [Key interest/concern]

**Critical Partners (Manage Closely):**
- [List with brief description]

### Risk Areas

1. **[Stakeholder]** - [Risk] - Mitigation: [Strategy]

### Recommendations

1. [Specific engagement recommendation]
2. [...]

Structured Data (YAML)

stakeholder_analysis:
  version: "1.0"
  initiative: "Customer Portal Redesign"
  date: "{ISO-8601-date}"
  analyst: "stakeholder-facilitator"

  stakeholders:
    - id: S01
      name: "Jane Smith"
      role: "VP Customer Experience"
      category: sponsor
      organization: "Customer Care"
      power: high
      interest: high
      attitude: supporter
      influence: high
      strategy: manage_closely
      communication:
        frequency: weekly
        channel: meeting
        owner: "Project Manager"
      concerns:
        - "Timeline for Q2 launch"
        - "Budget constraints"

    - id: S02
      name: "IT Operations Team"
      role: "Platform Support"
      category: operator
      organization: "IT"
      power: medium
      interest: high
      attitude: neutral
      influence: medium
      strategy: keep_informed
      communication:
        frequency: bi-weekly
        channel: email
        owner: "Tech Lead"
      concerns:
        - "Support load increase"
        - "Training requirements"

  raci:
    - deliverable: "Requirements Sign-off"
      responsible: ["Product Owner"]
      accountable: "VP Customer Experience"
      consulted: ["IT Architect", "Users"]
      informed: ["IT Operations"]

  communication_plan:
    - audience: "Executive Sponsor"
      content: "Status, risks, decisions needed"
      frequency: weekly
      channel: "1:1 Meeting"
      owner: "Project Manager"

Mermaid Diagrams

Power/Interest Quadrant:

quadrantChart
    title Stakeholder Power/Interest Matrix
    x-axis Low Interest --> High Interest
    y-axis Low Power --> High Power
    quadrant-1 Manage Closely
    quadrant-2 Keep Satisfied
    quadrant-3 Monitor
    quadrant-4 Keep Informed
    Executive Sponsor: [0.9, 0.95]
    Product Owner: [0.85, 0.8]
    CTO: [0.3, 0.85]
    End Users: [0.8, 0.3]
    IT Operations: [0.7, 0.5]
    Other Depts: [0.2, 0.2]

Multi-Persona Workshop Mode

For comprehensive stakeholder analysis, run a multi-persona workshop (similar to event storming):

Personas to Invoke:

| Persona | Perspective | Contribution | |---------|-------------|--------------| | executive-sponsor-persona | Strategic | Budget, timeline, success criteria | | end-user-persona | Operational | Daily usage, pain points, adoption | | operations-persona | Support | Maintenance, reliability, training | | compliance-persona | Regulatory | Rules, audit, risk | | devils-advocate | Critical | Risks, overlooked stakeholders, conflicts |

Orchestration:

1. Launch all personas in parallel
2. Each persona identifies stakeholders from their perspective
3. Synthesize findings with provenance tracking
4. Resolve conflicts and gaps

When to Use

| Scenario | Use Stakeholder Analysis? | |----------|--------------------------| | New project initiation | Yes - identify all affected parties | | Change management | Yes - plan adoption strategy | | Requirements gathering | Yes - ensure right people involved | | Conflict resolution | Yes - understand interests | | Routine operations | No - not needed for BAU |

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Impact | Prevention | |---------|--------|------------| | Missing hidden stakeholders | Late surprises, resistance | Use systematic categories | | Ignoring resistors | Project failure | Develop engagement strategy | | Static analysis | Outdated understanding | Revisit quarterly | | Over-communicating to all | Information overload | Tailor by quadrant |

References

• Load references/power-interest-matrix.md for matrix variations
• Load references/raci-matrix.md for RACI guidance
• See BABOK v3 Chapter 3 (Elicitation & Collaboration)

Related Skills

• capability-mapping - Identify capability owners as stakeholders
• journey-mapping - Understand user stakeholder needs
• risk-analysis - Assess stakeholder-related risks
• prioritization - Prioritize stakeholder engagement
• decision-analysis - Stakeholder decision matrices
• process-modeling - Identify domain stakeholders through process analysis

Version History

• v1.0.0 (2025-12-26): Initial release