Projects are collaborative in nature. It is true that it is the responsibility of the project managers to manage projects for their organizations. But they don’t do it alone, there is a lengthy collaboration happening between the project manager of a particular project and the people of the organization whose objective are to be met with the completion of the project. These are the stakeholders of the project and they play an important role in project management.
Stakeholders of a Project
The Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s premier project management governing body has released the PMBOK Guide (A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge) which defines stakeholder of a project as – “an individual, group or organization who may affect, be affected by or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project.” Alternatively, PMI defines project stakeholders as – “individuals and organizations who are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of project execution or successful project completion.”
Thus, from the two definitions, we can conclude that stakeholders of the project will directly or indirectly get affected by the outcome of a particular project they are involved with. Stakeholders can be a single individual or a group. They have their own contribution and expectation from the project. So, a project manager is responsible to manage the expectation of all the stakeholders of the project and use their inputs to achieve project delivery success for the organization. There are two types of project stakeholders in project management. They are:
· Internal Stakeholders
· External Stakeholders
Role of Stakeholders in Project Management
The role of a project stakeholder is to support the project in any capacity they can. Whether it is through financial investment, supply of resources like equipment, manpower, transport, and similar other activities that will ultimately lead to the successful execution and completion of the project. However, providing funds and resources is not the only contribution of project stakeholders. They play a larger role in project management. The different types of project stakeholders and their roles in project management are as follows:
Internal Stakeholders
These are the stakeholders of a project that are present in the organization itself. Project Managers, Project Management Team Members, Executives, and Leaders are all internal stakeholders of a project. They have the highest interest in the project’s success and are directly responsible for its execution as well. Some more examples of internal stakeholders are a client or customer for whom the project is being executed and sponsors who are directly supporting the project.
External Stakeholders
Customers, suppliers, and investors comprise the external stakeholders of a project. Their roles are limited and are not directly associated with the success of the project. The contribution of external stakeholders is measured through the successful communication between the project manager with the customers of the organization and managing the expectations of the suppliers and investors properly.
Conclusion
Therefore, a project manager’s role is to communicate with every stakeholder of the project and prioritize the requirements. This will help them identify the problem areas and address them effectively to attain project success. Aspiring project management professionals can learn about the roles of project stakeholders and become successful project managers by earning the prestigious PMP certification from PMI. They can gain a thorough understanding of the project management methodology through professional training courses provided by reputed training providers for PMP aspirants. It will not only earn them this valuable project management credential but also help them use the learnings in practice to achieve project success for their organization.
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