Much before you reached the last knowledge area of Stakeholder Management, you would have realized that the first planning process of all knowledge areas is about creating a respective management plan. Stakeholder Management is no different. The key output of the Plan Stakeholder Engagement process is the Stakeholder Engagement Plan
So just like all other plans, this is where you document how you would engage with the stakeholders. To do that, you make use of analytical techniques to figure out how engaged the stakeholders already are. There are five Levels of Engagement,
1. Unaware
The unaware stakeholder does not know that the project is underway
2. Resistant
The resistant stakeholder does not want the project to take place. However, this might not be about the entire project and can also be about a certain decision within the project
3. Neutral
The neutral stakeholder is fine with the project or any decision being taken as part of it. Its almost as if the neutral stakeholder is not concerned with how things turn out
4. Supportive
The supportive stakeholder wants the project to succeed. Any decisions taken as part of the project are also supported
5. Leading
The leading stakeholder is actively helping the project to succeed
When you map the stakeholders into their respective levels of engagement you not only identify their current standing but also get an idea of where you would want them to be. This is also how you can create a Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix
| Stakeholder | Unaware | Resistant | Neutral | Supportive | Leading |
| Product Manager | Current | Desired | |||
| Architect | Current | Desired | |||
| Engineering Manager | Current | Desired | |||
| Quality Manager | Current | Desired |
In the example above, the Quality Manager is a negative stakeholder. First of all it requires a lot of efforts to turn around a negative stakeholder but you might want to do so especially if the Quality Manager has a lot of influence
Another important element of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan is the communication requirements. How often and in what detail do you need to communicate to all the stakeholders in the table above is documented in the communication requirements
Check more articles on Stakeholder Management
