GSOE9820 · Engineering Project Management
Stakeholder Identification and Analysis
This chapter covers how to identify stakeholders and analyse them on power and interest so that scope, risk and benefits trace back to real people, not abstractions. It feeds the Week 4 Charter & Stakeholder material and the Task 2 PMP stakeholder plan, and the interview explicitly asks "what are the main needs of your stakeholders?" — so a clear register and a defensible power/interest classification are directly assessed.
What this chapter covers
- 01Stakeholder definition: anyone who may affect, be affected by, or perceive themselves affected by the project
- 02Identify Stakeholders → the Stakeholder Register (names, roles, interests, influence, expectations, classification)
- 03The Power/Interest (Mendelow) grid and its four engagement strategies
- 04Manage Closely / Keep Satisfied / Keep Informed / Monitor — mapping quadrant to action
- 05The Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix: current vs desired engagement (Unaware→Leading)
- 06The salience model (power, legitimacy, urgency) as an alternative lens
- 07Integration rule: risk plans, benefits and scope must trace to the actual stakeholders
Place stakeholders on a power/interest grid and assign engagement strategies
- +1Set the rule. Rate each stakeholder High/Low on Power (ability to influence the project) and High/Low on Interest (how much the outcome affects them), then read the quadrant strategy: High/High = Manage Closely; High Power/Low Interest = Keep Satisfied; Low Power/High Interest = Keep Informed; Low/Low = Monitor.
- +1(a) CIO sponsor — High Power (funds and authorises) and High Interest (owns the outcome) → Manage Closely: involve in key decisions and report progress directly.
- +1(b) Regulator — High Power (can block go-live via compliance) but typically Low day-to-day Interest → Keep Satisfied: meet requirements and confirm compliance without over-involving them. (c) Ward nurses — Low formal Power but High Interest (daily users whose adoption decides success) → Keep Informed: consult on usability, communicate changes and training.
- +1(d) Café operator — Low Power and Low Interest (unaffected by records digitisation) → Monitor: minimal effort, watch only in case their situation changes. Integration note: the nurses' high interest means their needs must trace into the scope and risk register, not just the communications plan.
Key terms
- Stakeholder
- Any individual, group or organisation that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by the project — from sponsors and regulators to end users and neighbours.
- Stakeholder register
- The central stakeholder artefact: a list of stakeholders with their roles, interests, influence, expectations and classification, produced by the Identify Stakeholders process and maintained through the project.
- Power/Interest grid
- A 2×2 (Mendelow) classification on Power (high/low) × Interest (high/low) that assigns an engagement strategy per quadrant: Manage Closely, Keep Satisfied, Keep Informed, Monitor.
- Manage Closely
- The strategy for high-power, high-interest stakeholders: involve them in decisions and report to them directly, because they can both influence and are affected by the project.
- Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix
- A tool that rates each stakeholder's current engagement (Unaware / Resistant / Neutral / Supportive / Leading) against the desired level, exposing gaps the engagement plan must close.
- Salience model
- An alternative stakeholder lens classifying by three attributes — power, legitimacy and urgency — to prioritise attention when a simple power/interest split is not enough.
Stakeholder Identification and Analysis FAQ
How do I decide a stakeholder's engagement strategy?
Rate them High or Low on Power and on Interest, then read the quadrant: high power and high interest → Manage Closely; high power, low interest → Keep Satisfied; low power, high interest → Keep Informed; low on both → Monitor. Power is the ability to influence the project; interest is how much the outcome affects them — they are independent axes, so do not collapse them.
Why do end users often sit in "Keep Informed"?
Because they usually have low formal power but very high interest — the system's success depends on their adoption. That makes "Keep Informed" an active, important strategy: consult them on usability, communicate changes and provide training, and feed their needs into the scope and risk register rather than treating low power as low importance.
How is stakeholder analysis assessed here?
Through the Task 2 PMP stakeholder plan and the interview. The PMP is marked partly on whether risk, scope and benefits trace back to the actual stakeholders, and the interview explicitly asks about your stakeholders' main needs — so a defensible register and grid, integrated with the rest of the plan, is what earns marks.
What is the difference between the power/interest grid and the salience model?
The power/interest grid is a 2×2 on two attributes and gives four ready engagement strategies — it is the workhorse for this course. The salience model uses three attributes (power, legitimacy, urgency) and is a finer lens for prioritising when many stakeholders compete for attention. Use the grid for the PMP unless a stakeholder's legitimacy or urgency clearly changes the picture.
Exam move
Practise building a register and a power/interest grid for a fresh project with six to eight stakeholders — sponsor, regulator, end users, operations staff, a supplier, the community — and place each with a one-line justification and its engagement strategy. Force the two axes apart: ask separately "can they influence the project?" (power) and "how much does the outcome affect them?" (interest), so you avoid the common slip of ranking by importance alone. Remember that low-power, high-interest end users often decide success through adoption, and rehearse the integration move: trace each high-interest stakeholder's needs into the scope and the risk register, because that traceability is what the PMP and interview reward. Keep the four quadrant strategies and the engagement-matrix levels (Unaware→Leading) ready for quiz recall. Prepare an out-loud answer to "what are your stakeholders' main needs?" for the interview. Ask Sia to give you a stakeholder list to classify and to check your quadrant reasoning.
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