PMGT1860 · Project Initiation and Scope
Stakeholder Engagement & the Stakeholder Register
Week 4 teaches who a project's stakeholders are and why managing them is a core initiation task, building analysis on a power/interest grid and the three-attribute salience model, then translating it into a Stakeholder Register. This directly feeds the group assignment — an initial Stakeholder Register is a key early output of initiation — and stakeholder classification is one of the most heavily quizzed topics in the unit.
What this chapter covers
- 01Stakeholder defined — anyone who can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself affected by the project (positive or negative)
- 02The stakeholder-management roadmap — identify → analyse → plan (current→desired) → engage
- 03Internal (sponsor, PM, team, PMO, resource managers) vs external (customers, users, suppliers, regulators, community, government) stakeholders
- 04Shadow stakeholders — unrecognised influencers with no official title who can still affect the outcome
- 05The Stakeholder Register — a lightweight record of role, power, interest, needs, risks and preferred channel
- 06Power–Interest grid — Manage Closely / Keep Satisfied / Keep Informed / Monitor
- 07Salience / three attributes (Mitchell, Agle & Wood) — power, legitimacy, urgency; all three = definitive stakeholder
- 08PMI engagement levels — Unaware → Resistant → Neutral → Supportive → Leading (current vs desired)
Applied: place stakeholders on the power–interest grid and prioritise by salience
- +1(i) Council with veto but low day-to-day interest → high power, low interest → Keep Satisfied (don't surprise them).
- +1(ii) Sponsor, high power and high interest → Manage Closely (key player). (iii) Student forum, high interest but low power → Keep Informed (regular updates so they stay supportive; don't ignore them).
- +1(iv) Curious intern, low power and low interest → Monitor (minimal effort).
- +1(b) Score each message on power, legitimacy and urgency. The accessibility-compliance office has a valid claim (legitimacy), the ability to stop the project on legal grounds (power) and a time-critical review deadline (urgency) — all three attributes.
- +1The stakeholder holding all three attributes is the definitive stakeholder and gets first response. The operations lead is important (power + urgency) and next in line; the feature request is 'loud but low-salience' and can wait. Respond to the compliance office first.
Key terms
- Stakeholder
- Any individual, group or organisation that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by the project's decisions, activities or outcomes — positively or negatively.
- Shadow stakeholder
- An individual or group with unrecognised influence who can affect the outcome despite holding no official title on the org chart or project roster; PMs must find and engage them to limit veto power and surface hidden risks.
- Stakeholder Register
- A lightweight record of each stakeholder — role, power, interest, needs and success criteria, risks/concerns and preferred communication channel. An initial register is a key early output of stakeholder identification during initiation.
- Power–Interest grid
- A 2×2 classifying stakeholders by power and interest into Manage Closely (high/high), Keep Satisfied (high power/low interest), Keep Informed (low power/high interest) and Monitor (low/low).
- Stakeholder salience
- The three-attribute model (Mitchell, Agle & Wood): power, legitimacy and urgency. The more attributes a stakeholder holds, the more attention they need; all three together = a definitive stakeholder (top priority).
- Engagement levels
- The PMI ladder used to map current versus desired engagement: Unaware → Resistant → Neutral → Supportive → Leading, then plan actions to close the gap.
Stakeholder Engagement & the Stakeholder Register FAQ
Who counts as a stakeholder — just the client and the team?
No. A stakeholder is anyone who can affect, be affected by, or even perceive themselves affected by the project — internal (sponsor, PM, team, PMO, resource managers) and external (customers, end users, suppliers, regulators, community, competitors, government). It deliberately includes people who are not paying for or building the project, because they can still support, block or reshape it.
When is the power–interest grid not enough, and what do I use instead?
When several stakeholders sit in similar power/interest positions or a priority call is time-sensitive, add the salience model: score each on power (can they influence outcomes?), legitimacy (is their claim valid here?) and urgency (is action needed now?). A stakeholder holding all three is a definitive stakeholder and takes priority over one who is merely loud.
What is a shadow stakeholder and why does it matter?
A shadow stakeholder has real, unrecognised influence but no official title on the org chart or project roster — an informal opinion leader, a union voice, a well-connected user. They matter because they can quietly block or accelerate a project, so identifying and engaging them early limits negative surprises and surfaces hidden risks.
How does the Stakeholder Register connect to the group assignment?
An initial Stakeholder Register is a key early output of stakeholder identification and analysis during initiation, so your group's Comprehensive Project Initiation Plan is expected to include one — role, power, interest, needs, risks and preferred channel per stakeholder — usually alongside a power–interest plot. Build fresh rows for your chosen project rather than reusing a template's.
Assessment move
Practise the two core tools until they are automatic: place five stakeholders on a power–interest grid (naming the strategy for each quadrant) and resolve a tie with power–legitimacy–urgency. Build a five-row Stakeholder Register for a project you know, deliberately including one shadow stakeholder. Map two stakeholders' current versus desired engagement on the Unaware→Leading ladder. Keep a journal line on a stakeholder you misjudged, and confirm quiz timing on Canvas — stakeholder classification is one of the most quizzed topics.
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