PMBOK Stakeholder Management

Overview

The PMBOK Stakeholder Management skill supports the elaboration of documents for the Stakeholder Management knowledge area — identifying the people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by the project, analyzing their expectations and influence, and developing strategies for effective engagement. It covers stakeholder registers capturing role, interests, and disposition; stakeholder analysis using power/interest grids or salience models (power, legitimacy, urgency); engagement assessment matrices mapping current vs. desired engagement levels (Unaware, Resistant, Neutral, Supportive, Leading); stakeholder management plans with tailored strategies per stakeholder; and stakeholder monitoring reports tracking engagement changes, satisfaction, and strategy effectiveness.

Getting Started

Upload your project charter, organizational chart, or preliminary stakeholder list to the workspace and activate the PMBOK Stakeholder Management skill. The agent will ask about the organizational context, known stakeholders, and political or cultural sensitivities. It then maps each stakeholder on a power/interest grid, assesses current engagement levels, identifies gaps to desired states, and develops specific, actionable engagement strategies — not generic recommendations, but concrete actions with owners and success indicators.

Example Conversation

Below is an example of a typical session creating a stakeholder engagement assessment and plan for an ERP implementation. The agent maps engagement levels and develops strategies to close gaps.

You: We’re 2 months into an ERP implementation (SAP) and facing resistance from the warehouse operations team and the finance controller. I need a stakeholder engagement assessment showing where everyone stands and a plan to improve engagement. Key stakeholders: CFO (sponsor), Finance Controller, IT Director, Warehouse Operations Manager, HR Director, and the 45 end-users across finance and warehouse.

Agent: I’ll build the engagement assessment matrix. Let me understand the current situation:

1. What is the Finance Controller’s specific concern — is it about the new system’s reporting capabilities, process changes, or loss of control over custom spreadsheets?
2. For the Warehouse Operations Manager — is the resistance about the system itself, the implementation timeline disrupting peak season, or lack of involvement in requirements?
3. Where would you place the CFO’s engagement — actively championing (Leading) or passively supportive?

You: Finance Controller is worried about losing her custom Excel reports that took years to build — she doesn’t trust the new system will replicate them. Warehouse Ops Manager was not consulted during requirements gathering and feels the system is being imposed on his team during their busiest quarter. CFO is supportive but hasn’t been visibly championing — she approved the budget but hasn’t communicated to the organization why this matters.

Agent: Clear picture. I’ve built the engagement assessment and plan. Key findings:

Engagement Assessment:

Stakeholder	Current	Desired	Gap
CFO	Supportive	Leading	Needs to visibly champion
Finance Controller	Resistant	Supportive	Largest gap — trust issue
IT Director	Supportive	Supportive	Aligned
Warehouse Ops Manager	Resistant	Supportive	Inclusion gap
HR Director	Neutral	Supportive	Engagement needed
End-users (Finance)	Neutral	Supportive	Training-driven
End-users (Warehouse)	Resistant	Neutral → Supportive	Follows their manager’s lead

Priority actions:

1. CFO → Leading: Schedule a town-hall message from the CFO explaining the strategic “why” within 2 weeks. Give her a 1-page talking points brief.
2. Finance Controller → Supportive: Dedicate a sprint to replicating her top 5 Excel reports in SAP. Involve her as the report design authority — this converts her from critic to co-author.
3. Warehouse Ops Manager → Supportive: Schedule an immediate 1:1 apology for the requirements oversight. Invite him to a dedicated requirements workshop for warehouse-specific workflows. Adjust the implementation timeline to avoid peak season (Q4) for the warehouse module.

The full plan has specific actions, owners, timelines, and success indicators for each stakeholder.

Document Excerpt

Below is a representative excerpt from a stakeholder engagement assessment and plan drafted with the skill.

Stakeholder Engagement Assessment — Excerpt

Project: SAP ERP Implementation (Finance & Warehouse Modules) Assessment Date: 2027-04-15 | Project Phase: Execution (Month 2 of 10)

Engagement Assessment Matrix

C = Current | D = Desired

Engagement Plan (Priority Stakeholders)

This excerpt is illustrative. Final content must reflect the specific project’s stakeholders, organizational dynamics, and engagement context.