A stakeholder is any person, group or organisation that has an interest in a project, influences it or is affected by its outcome: sponsor, management, team, business units, customers, suppliers, regulators, end users. Project stakeholders do not just watch: they fund, decide, slow down or adopt. This guide gives the definition and categories, a table of examples, the stakeholder analysis in five steps, the power-interest grid, a register and a communication plan you can reuse, then the link with the RACI matrix and the steering committee.
Stakeholder definition and categories
The word means literally “the one who holds a stake”. The PMBOK keeps a broad definition: an individual, group or organisation that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity or outcome of the project. Two axes help to classify them.
- Internal or external. Internal: belongs to the organisation running the project (sponsor, management, project team, business units, IT department). External: outside it (customers, suppliers, regulator, partners, end users when they are not employees).
- Primary or secondary. Primary: directly involved in the project or directly affected by its deliverable (sponsor, team, users). Secondary: indirectly concerned, often through side effects (a neighbouring department, local residents, the press).
A team member is a stakeholder; the reverse is not true. The regulator or the end customer appear on no schedule, yet they are the ones who can block the go-live.
Examples of project stakeholders by category
The table below lists the stakeholders found on most projects, with their typical interest. Use it as a checklist during identification.
| Category | Stakeholder | Typical interest | What they can do to the project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal | Sponsor | Return on investment, budget and schedule kept | Funds, arbitrates, stops the project. |
| Internal | Executive management | Alignment with strategy, reputation, priorities between projects | Prioritises or deprioritises, reassigns resources. |
| Internal | Project team | Clear objectives, sustainable workload, recognition | Produces the deliverables, raises the risks. |
| Internal | Business units | A tool or process that improves their daily work without disrupting it | Validate needs, run acceptance tests, adopt or work around. |
| Internal | IT department | Security, integration with existing systems, maintainability | Imposes standards, grants or refuses access. |
| External | Customers | Quality, price, lead time, continuity of service | Buy, complain, leave. |
| External | Suppliers and contractors | Stable scope, payment on time | Deliver, bill the changes, run late. |
| External | Regulator / authority | Compliance (GDPR, safety, industry standards) | Authorises, audits, sanctions. |
| External | Partners | Balanced cooperation, shared benefits | Bring or withdraw means. |
| External | End users | Simplicity, training, no loss of functionality | Adopt or reject the deliverable. |
Stakeholder analysis in 5 steps
Stakeholder analysis is done at kick-off, then at every phase gate. Five steps are enough.
- Identify. Gather the sponsor and two or three key members and list everyone: organisation chart, contracts, regulatory obligations, processes touched by the deliverable. Ask “who will be unhappy if this project succeeds?”: the question reveals the forgotten ones. Aim for completeness; you will sort later.
- Qualify. For each one, rate the power (ability to influence the project: budget, decision, blocking), the interest (how much the outcome concerns them) and the attitude (supporter, neutral, opponent). A 1-to-3 scale is enough; the team discussion is worth more than the score.
- Map. Place the stakeholders on the power-interest grid. Each quadrant calls for an engagement strategy, described below.
- Plan the engagement. For each important stakeholder, decide the target engagement level (informed, consulted, involved, partner), the communication action, the channel, the frequency and the owner. That is the communication plan.
- Monitor and revise. Keep the register up to date: a new sponsor, a reorganisation, a new contractor change the map. Review it at every milestone and as soon as resistance appears.
The power-interest grid
The power-interest grid (or Mendelow matrix) crosses two axes: the power a stakeholder has over the project and the interest they take in it. The four quadrants set the level of effort to devote to each one.
| Quadrant | Power | Interest | Strategy | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key players | High | High | Manage closely: involve in decisions, regular meetings, deliverable sign-off. | Sponsor, main business director, client-side project manager. |
| Keep satisfied | High | Low | Keep satisfied: anticipate their requirements, only involve them on essentials, no bad surprises. | Executive management, IT department, regulator, finance department. |
| Keep informed | Low | High | Keep informed: regular communication, listen to feedback, relay to users. | End users, support team, neighbouring departments affected. |
| Monitor | Low | Low | Monitor: minimal information, make sure they do not change quadrant. | Occasional contractors, departments not concerned, internal press. |
The grid is not frozen. An end user with little individual power becomes a key player when a hundred users refuse the new tool. A silent regulator turns into a key player on the day of an audit. Re-read the map at every milestone.
Stakeholder mapping: a sample register
The stakeholder register is the deliverable of the analysis. Here is the one for a project replacing the invoicing software in a 300-person services company. Seven or eight lines are enough for a project of this size; a programme has thirty.
| Stakeholder | Role in the project | Power | Interest | Attitude | Communication action | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief financial officer | Sponsor | High | High | Supporter | Steering committee, budget and scope decisions | Monthly |
| Executive management | Decision-maker | High | Low | Neutral | One-page summary, alert on major milestones | Quarterly |
| Head of accounting | Business lead | Medium | High | Supporter | Design workshops, acceptance testing, progress meeting | Weekly |
| IT department | Internal supplier | High | Medium | Neutral | Architecture and security review, project committee | Fortnightly |
| Sales team | Affected users | Low | High | Opponent | Demonstrations, pilot user group, FAQ | Fortnightly |
| Software vendor | Supplier | Medium | High | Supporter | Contract follow-up meeting, change request handling | Weekly |
| Data protection officer | Internal regulator | High | Low | Neutral | Impact assessment, sign-off before go-live | At milestones |
| Customers | Invoice recipients | Low | Medium | Neutral | Information letter on the new invoice format | Once, before cut-over |
The stakeholder communication plan
The communication plan turns the register into concrete actions. It fits in one table: for each quadrant, a message, a channel, a rhythm and an owner. Format matters as much as frequency: executive management reads one page, not a ten-page report.
| Target | Objective | Channel | Frequency | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key players | Decide and arbitrate | Steering committee, one-to-one meeting | Monthly + on demand | Project manager |
| Keep satisfied | Reassure, no surprises | One-page summary, dashboard | At milestones | Sponsor |
| Keep informed | Prepare adoption | Information meeting, demonstration, project newsletter | Fortnightly | Business lead |
| Monitor | Keep in touch | Intranet, general newsletter | Quarterly | Project team |
Managing resistance
An opposing stakeholder is not a problem to bypass but a signal to deal with. Resistance almost always has a rational cause: loss of autonomy, extra workload, fear for one’s job, a bad past experience. Four levers, in this order:
- Listen before convincing: a one-to-one interview reveals the real objection, rarely the one voiced in a meeting.
- Give a seat: bringing the opponent into the pilot user group or a design workshop often turns a critic into a relay.
- Show early: a demonstration on real data is worth more than three presentations.
- Escalate when needed: when resistance blocks a milestone, the sponsor decides in the steering committee, with the facts from the register.
Stakeholders, RACI matrix and steering committee
The three tools complement each other. The stakeholder register says who matters and why. The RACI matrix says, task by task, who does the work, who decides, who is consulted and who is informed: key players carry the A letters, stakeholders to keep informed appear as I. The steering committee is the body where high-power stakeholders meet to arbitrate; its composition comes straight from the “manage closely” quadrant. Build the three in this order at kick-off: register, then RACI, then committee membership.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the end users. They are many, with little individual power, absent from meetings, and they are the ones who make adoption fail.
- Doing the analysis once. A kick-off map is wrong after three months: new director, replaced contractor, reorganisation.
- Confusing stakeholder and team member. The team produces; stakeholders fund, decide, bear the effects or adopt. Reducing the analysis to the project organisation chart makes the customer and the regulator disappear.
- Listing people rather than functions. The register must survive the departure of a director.
- Communicating the same way with everyone. A ten-page report sent to executive management will not be read; a dashboard without explanation worries users.
- Ignoring low-interest stakeholders. They change quadrant without warning.
In FoxPlan
In FoxPlan, internal stakeholders are the project members, each with a role that sets what they see and what they can change. The Committees module materialises the steering committee and the project committee with their participants, recurring sessions and agenda: the membership derived from your power-interest grid translates directly. The communication plan lives in the project actions, each with an owner and a due date, and in the notifications that alert the people concerned. Files, decisions and project status reports are shared in the same place, which gives every stakeholder the information of their level without multiplying emails.
See how to do it in the FoxPlan documentation ↗
Frequently asked questions
What is a stakeholder in a project?
A stakeholder is any person, group or organisation that has an interest in the project, influences it or is affected by its outcome. Typical examples are the sponsor, executive management, the project team, business units, customers, suppliers, the regulator and end users. Identifying them early and communicating with each at the right level is decisive for adoption of the deliverable.
What is the difference between internal and external stakeholders?
Internal stakeholders belong to the organisation running the project: sponsor, management, project team, business units, IT department. External stakeholders are outside it: customers, suppliers, partners, regulators, end users when they are not employees. External stakeholders are often forgotten because they attend no project meeting, yet they can block the go-live.
How do you identify the stakeholders of a project?
Gather the sponsor and a few key members at kick-off and list everyone who funds, decides, produces, uses or bears the effects of the deliverable, using the organisation chart, contracts, regulatory obligations and affected processes. Ask who would be unhappy if the project succeeded: the answer reveals the forgotten ones. Then rate each stakeholder on power, interest and attitude.
What is the power-interest grid?
The power-interest grid, also called Mendelow matrix, places each stakeholder on two axes: their power over the project and their interest in it. It yields four quadrants with a strategy each: manage closely (high power, high interest), keep satisfied (high power, low interest), keep informed (low power, high interest) and monitor (low power, low interest). It is redone at every milestone because stakeholders move.
What is the difference between a stakeholder and a project team member?
A team member produces the deliverables and appears in the schedule; they are a stakeholder among others. A stakeholder is not necessarily a team member: the sponsor, the customer, the regulator or the end users influence the project or bear its effects without working on it. Reducing the stakeholder analysis to the team leaves out the people who can block adoption.
How often should the stakeholder analysis be updated?
At every milestone or phase gate, and as soon as an event changes the map: new sponsor, reorganisation, replaced contractor, emerging resistance. A register written at kick-off and never revisited is wrong within a few months. Date each revision and present the changes to the steering committee.
