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📣 Communication & Stakeholders

Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholder analysis is the process of identifying everyone affected by a project and assessing their power, interest and attitude — so you can engage each one appropriately instead of treating them all the same.

Stakeholder analysis is the systematic identification and assessment of the people and groups who can affect, or are affected by, a project. It catalogues each stakeholder and evaluates attributes such as their power (ability to influence the project), interest (how much the outcome matters to them), and current attitude (supportive, neutral or resistant). The results — often plotted on a power/interest grid — drive a tailored engagement strategy, recorded in a stakeholder register and engagement plan.

Stakeholder Analysis at a glance

Category
Communication & Stakeholders
Type
Tool / technique
Appears in
1 section
Related
Stakeholder Identification, Stakeholder Register, Stakeholder Management

Why it matters

Projects succeed or fail on people as much as on plans. A powerful stakeholder who feels ignored can derail an otherwise sound project; an enthusiastic one who is well-engaged can unblock it. Stakeholder analysis ensures you spend engagement effort where it matters most — managing high-power, high-interest players closely while keeping others adequately informed — rather than over-communicating with some and neglecting others.

When to use it

Do stakeholder analysis early, during initiation and planning, and revisit it as the project and its politics evolve. It is essential on projects with many affected parties, organisational change, or contested priorities. Even small projects benefit from a quick pass to confirm who the sponsor, users and key influencers are.

How to use it

  1. Identify stakeholders — anyone affected by or able to affect the project — through brainstorming and org knowledge.
  2. Assess each on power, interest and attitude.
  3. Plot them on a power/interest grid to segment engagement.
  4. Define a tailored strategy per segment: manage closely, keep satisfied, keep informed, or monitor.
  5. Record it in a stakeholder register and engagement plan, and review it regularly.

Example

On an ERP rollout, the CFO is high power / high interest (manage closely, involve in decisions); the finance clerks are low power / high interest (keep informed and trained); a busy regional director is high power / low interest (keep satisfied with concise updates); external auditors are low power / low interest (monitor). Each group gets a different cadence and message.

Template

Use a stakeholder register (name, role, power, interest, attitude, engagement approach) and a power/interest grid; pair with a communication plan.

Browse templates →

Tools

Excel / Google SheetsMiroConfluenceSmartsheet

Formula

Segment by Power × Interest → manage closely / keep satisfied / keep informed / monitor

FAQs

What is a power/interest grid?
A 2×2 matrix plotting stakeholders by their power over the project and their interest in it. The quadrant a stakeholder falls into suggests how to engage them — from "manage closely" to "monitor".
What goes in a stakeholder register?
Each stakeholder’s name/role, their power and interest, current and desired attitude, communication needs, and the engagement approach for them. It is a living document updated through the project.
How often should stakeholder analysis be updated?
Regularly — stakeholders, their influence and their attitudes change as the project progresses and organisational politics shift. Treat it as a living activity, not a one-time task.

Alternatives

  • Salience model — classifies stakeholders by power, legitimacy and urgency
  • Stakeholder cube / Influence-Impact grid — richer multi-dimensional variants
  • RACI — role clarity, complementary to engagement analysis