How can you prioritize stakeholders for engagement based on their impact and interest?

Understanding your stakeholders interests and impact will not only help you to provide support for your product but it will also help you navigate the political landscape of your organization. When I was managing my first product, it helped me a lot in different ways 1) it helped me understand who was my big supporter in each department who I needed to go to in each area 2) it helped me understand who in top management is supporting my product and can advocate for it and who I needed to get interest in this product for future support 3) it helps you understand who this project will negatively impact and it is much important sometime than positively impact because if this person have high power, he can be a detractor of your product

In our blockchain startup journey, stakeholder mapping becomes vital. Categorizing based on impact and interest, this visual tool guides our course. Impact measures influence product decisions, while interest gauges care and involvement. Plotting on this matrix ensures effective communication and collaboration, steering us towards success in our blockchain narrative.

In simpler terms as a PM you are trying to carve out a map of stakeholders & categorising them who is direct & indirect stakeholder. Also who have what kind of influence they have on your product. This is a strategic activity which can aid you connecting with right set of stakeholders when required & overcome impediments.

as a beginner , in stakeholder mapping can be done as internal --sponsors(company managment)and Team( Devteam/ sales/marketing/implementation) External- buyers( customer willing to buy or brought the product) and users(who is going to use the product.).. each one will have own impact/interest in product decision, the features of the product can be catogorized using kanban technique and same methology used to capture stakeholder interest and impact.

Stakeholder mapping is to identify and understand stakeholders, assess their influence and interest, and plan engagement strategies. Stakeholders are categorized based on their influence and interest. High Influence, High Interest: Require close engagement. High Influence, Low Interest: Need periodic updates. Low Influence, High Interest: Keep informed and involved. Low Influence, Low Interest: Minimal communication. It's an ongoing process, essential for informed decision-making, risk management, and positive stakeholder relationships, benefiting project success and organizational effectiveness.

While stakeholder mapping is a common practice, it could be argued that it oversimplifies complex relationships. It may lead to neglect of low-power, low-interest stakeholders who can become high-risk under certain circumstances. Therefore, a more nuanced understanding of stakeholder dynamics may be needed.

I second the thought about stakeholder mapping while being a common practice and often advocated, it is a much more nuanced effort. In my experience, these are not exercises that are done on a "paper" and where the stakeholders nicely plot themselves into a certain section of a 4 x 4. Building relationships with different stakeholders continuously helps learn their influence, working style and preferences. Then these relationships help you naturally tailor the communications and collaboration approach for maximizing their impact.

One thing I've found helpful with our clients is educating them about the dynamicity of the stakeholder maps over time. A stakeholder who wasn't High Impact-High Interest last year could find his/her/its way into the category during this year. This could be due to macro and micro changes - geopolitical action, economic shifts, regulatory obligations, pandemics. A case in point is the emergence of sustainability heads over the last few years and more so with regulatory reporting obligations kicking in across jurisdictions. Just as the materiality map needs a revisit frequently, one should revisit the stakeholder map concurrently (if not more frequently).

Amid project chaos, I was drowning in stakeholder madness. It felt like herding cats. That's when I stumbled upon the game-changer—creating a stakeholder map. Suddenly, the chaos had a compass. Think of yourself as the project cartographer. Identify the heavyweights—dev team, marketing maestros, and those cherished VIP customers. Gauge who's genuinely hitching their wagon to your project. It's about distinguishing the front-row die-hards from the casual observers. While I believe that establishing robust connections with each stakeholder is beneficial in the long term, I think cultivating strong relationships with all stakeholders will pay off in the end.

Embarking on my blockchain startup journey, we identified stakeholders through interviews and surveys, rating their impact and interest. Using a four-quadrant matrix, we pinpointed key players. High-impact, high-interest stakeholders received regular updates, ensuring confidence. Influential but less engaged stakeholders were kept in the loop strategically. Enthusiastic beta testers actively shaped our product. Peripheral stakeholders received basic communication. This stakeholder map guided us, informing, reassuring, and garnering valuable insights for product enhancement.

Proper communication across would help and interested stakeholders should be properly carried along as they are always there to save the day when the chips are down.

If managed effectively, these stakeholders can also act as influencers and champions for your product across the company and community. You get the network effect.

Prioritize stakeholders for engagement by assessing their impact and interest using a simple matrix: 1. High Impact, High Interest: Engage these stakeholders regularly and closely, as their influence and interest are both significant. 2. High Impact, Low Interest: Keep these stakeholders informed and involved as needed, but don't overwhelm them with constant communication. 3. Low Impact, High Interest: Keep these stakeholders informed and involved, but don't allocate excessive resources to them. They may become more critical over time. 4. Low Impact, Low Interest: Minimize resources allocated to these stakeholders, providing updates when necessary, but not extensive engagement.

The words we use shape our thinking. The challenge with using the word "map" is that by now our world is explored: "things are here". But think of stakeholder maps more like the ones during the Age of Discovery. They changed all the time based on new voyages. Stakeholder maps are the same. Priorities, involvement, and goals (in other words, "stakes") change. I've seen that all the time: new stakeholders popping up while some of the existing ones sometimes would recuse themselves. Being flexible and reviewing your map regularly is key.

Stakeholder maps are a PM superpower. Here are 4 tips to engage stakeholders effectively: 1?? Build trust with high-power, high-interest folks first. Prioritize face-time. 2?? Sway resistors by getting buy-in from equals first. 3?? Communicate early and often. People need time. 4?? Give each stakeholder the correct info dose per interest level. An insightful map enables targeted outreach. But don't spread yourself thin engaging everyone.

I'd like to add that beyond the immediate advantages, stakeholder mapping often uncovers hidden influencers within the ecosystem. These are individuals or groups who might not have a direct stake but can sway opinions and decisions. Recognizing and engaging with them can be a game-changer. Additionally, consistent stakeholder mapping can help in anticipating shifts in stakeholder dynamics, allowing businesses to be proactive rather than reactive. It's not just about understanding who the stakeholders are today, but predicting who they might be tomorrow. In the long run, this foresight can be invaluable in navigating the ever-evolving business landscape.

In a road trip, you need to determine the most efficient route to save time and resources. Similarly, stakeholder mapping allows you to identify and prioritize stakeholders based on their impact and interest. This is like Google Maps finding the quickest route based on traffic and distance.

Stakeholder mapping, in the world of product management, is like having a treasure map when you're embarking on a grand adventure. Just as a treasure map guides you to hidden riches, stakeholder mapping leads us to valuable insights and opportunities. Here are the benefits in a quick analogy: Navigating Uncharted Waters: Discovering Hidden Treasures: Setting the Right Course: Effective Resource Allocation: Avoiding Hidden Dangers: Building Alliances: In essence, stakeholder mapping is our compass and treasure map combined. It helps us sail through the intricate seas of product management, ensuring we reach the most valuable destinations while avoiding the hazards along the way.

In our blockchain venture, stakeholder mapping was our guiding compass. Identifying key players—investors, beta testers, regulatory bodies—we prioritized based on impact and interest. This streamlined efforts, saving time and resources. Understanding stakeholders needs enhanced communication, fostering collaboration. Beta testers felt valued, regulatory bodies appreciated commitment, and investors aligned with our vision. Transparent feedback management turned challenges into opportunities. Stakeholder expectations weren't just managed; they became the heartbeat of our product success. In the dynamic blockchain landscape, mapping shaped our narrative, guiding us towards efficiency, collaboration, and unparalleled success.

The main benefit is that it will make your job selling the product internally easier – everyone will feel involved. That's the main thing I've noticed bad product managers fail to do – keep everyone on the same page, and especially gather input from stakeholders who might only get to touch the product downstream.

The biggest one for me has been figuring out what the stakes actually are. It's easy to brainstorm a stakeholder map – just like it is easy to come up with a product you like. But it doesn't mean customers will feel the same. So think as a PM even for your own stakeholder map: 1) what hypotheses am I testing: who has what possible stakes? 2) what data do I need to validate this? Is it just interviews? Would people always be honest? Would stakeholder personality (shy vs extrovert) warp the data you get? One way to get around this is to look into multiple data sources. Another is to ask stakeholders about others' stakes. And above all, make sure you learn how to interview: don't ask leading questions, don't ask yes/no questions, etc.

Every framework, including a stakeholder map, is only as good as the information put into it. If stakeholders are put into the wrong quadrant, the team runs the risk of wasting time on a less influential stakeholder, or losing the favor of a more influential one. When doing stakeholder mapping, it's imperative to use real-world information to place stakeholders into their correct places, and revisit continuously.

I realized it's not all smooth sailing—challenges lurk, from identifying a sea of stakeholders to balancing their varied interests. Stakeholder mapping's not a walk in the park. Identifying and assessing a multitude of stakeholders, especially if they're diverse or dynamic, is like herding cats, throwing in biases and assumptions. You are on the tightrope of aligning stakeholder interests with the grand product vision. It's a challenge, but one worth mastering.

It's evident that each product has its unique set of stakeholders, and when addressing these differences, it's crucial to understand potential conflicts. As a product manager, a vital responsibility is to foster synergy among stakeholders by organizing meetings, facilitating discussions, and clarifying their perspectives and needs. In certain situations, stakeholders may not have a clear understanding of their own desires and requirements.

The challenge of stakeholder mapping is to capture real customer desires and feed them into the development process. I have never worked with a project manager who didn't believe they knew better than the customer what the real needs of the customer are. The purpose of the map is to capture meaningful input and then put it into an actionable plan, not a project management mashup of the customer inputs. There is that well-known cartoon on what the customer asked for, and then the final step, what was delivered. We all laugh at it because it is absolutely what happens in the development sausage grinder. For the stakeholder map to work, it is critical that project management take responsibility for the requirements as intended.

Make sure that you define regular cadence of updates to key stakeholders so you keep them informed (might be weekly / bi weekly / monthly). Don't forget that stakeholders don't have same information base as you do. So try to think how you can tell them the story how you came to certain solution, so they better understand you and there is higher chance that they will accept your solution.

One of the most important career lessons I've learned (not without some pain) was "managing upwards". So I would argue that a stakeholder map is more important, counterintuitively, for your career rather than for business/product success. If you're a founder or a C-level, you probably have enough leeway to not worry too much about everyone you impact. A consultant can do your stakeholder map for you and probably already is – in fact, this is about 50% of the work of a consultant. But if you're mid-level, even junior, creating a stakeholder map can help you sell the project internally, while making sure everyone is on the same page. And making you look great in the process. If you're looking for "the career hack", this is it.

1. ?? Create a comprehensive list of stakeholders, that can influence or be influenced by your initiatives. 2. ?? Assess their impact and prioritize based on: - ?? Power/Influence - ?? Interest - ?? Proximity: (Geographic and operational closeness affecting impact). ?? Expertise/Knowledge: 2. ?? Categorize stakeholders: - ?? High Impact, High Interest: Top-priority stakeholders. - ?? High Impact, Low Interest: Engage strategically. 3. ?? Develop a communication plan: - ?? Create a reporting model and schedule for issue resolution. - ?? Set up clear communication procedures. Prioritizing and engaging stakeholders can lead to project success and strong relationships! #StakeholderEngagement #ProjectManagement #CommunicationStrategy

I personally advise to practice having an ecosystem map done and categorization of your stakeholders depending upon your organisation, market and portfolio. Having an ecosystem map helps you root down deeply to the WHYs behind how you rate your stakeholder impact and prioritization. Sometimes your product might be addressing the needs of stakeholders in different ecosystems. For example: a warehouse management solution - might be used by operators in high temperature as well as low temperatures. Any screen or printing device associated with it should be compatible with such a wide range of temperature. Operational needs also might change heavily in these environments. Ideally, stakeholder maps need to be backed by an ecosystem map.

Considering that stakeholder management looks different in different situations, it’s also important to define what actions are required for each stakeholder group at a high-level (this may vary slightly across different individuals) before proceeding to fit stakeholders into the matrix. This way, you’re able act once you’ve identified where each stakeholder belongs; this will also help with reducing possible effects of biases