The stakeholder inventory will include the following:
Purpose: A brief introductory statement defining the purpose of the stake-holder inventory, such as:
The stakeholder inventory is part of the program’s commitment to effec-tive stakeholder management. It provides a summary of each stake-holder’s involvement in the program, his or her possible responses, any identified issues, and possible mitigation strategies.
Different stakeholders will have an interest in or influence over the pro-gram at different times. During the pre-propro-gram preparations phase in the life cycle, initial stakeholder identification begins.
Then, during the identify program stakeholders process, a stakeholder inventory should be prepared, which builds on this initial stakeholder iden-tification. It should complement the program stakeholder management plan and stakeholder register, and it supports the stakeholder management strat-egy since stakeholder management is a key theme in program management and is essential for program success.
The stakeholder inventory is prepared during the program’s planning process, but it is an iterative document that should be reviewed periodically during meetings of the program management team and the governance board and updated as new stakeholders are identified throughout the program.
Stakeholder Inventory
Engage Program Stakeholders
Manage Stakeholder Expectations Identify
Program Stakeholders
Program Management Life Cycle: Program Initiation and Program Setup Figure 5.6 Stakeholder inventory.
84 Implementing Program Management: Templates for Success
In the Project Management Institute’s Standard for Program Management—
Second Edition (2008), the stakeholder inventory is an output from the iden-tify program stakeholders process. It is an input to the following processes:
Engage program stakeholders
Manage stakeholder expectations
Stakeholder categories: To set up the inventory, use categories for the program’s stakeholders based on those included in the initial stakeholder identification as well as in the program stakeholder management plan. This section should list the categories that will be part of the inventory. It also should consider the various roles of the stakeholders, both internal and external.
Stakeholder influence: For each category, determine the stakeholder’s level of influence concerning the program. This section should describe how the stake-holder will be impacted by the program and how the stakestake-holder will influ-ence it. A matrix can be prepared. A possible example follows the template.
Possible stakeholder responses: Using the categories and the level of stake-holder influence in the program, this section lists possible responses to vari-ous changes that may affect the program or specific areas of interest to the stakeholders. For example, some stakeholders may be more concerned about different areas than others, such as:
Program benefits
This section then describes the areas of greatest interest to specific stake-holders so possible responses can be prepared should a change occur. Negative impacts should be determined in order that the response then can address them quickly to minimize any adverse impacts to the program.
Potential mitigation strategies: This section describes the potential mitigation strategies to consider should an area of interest be affected. These strategies are further defined in the stakeholder management strategy document.
The Program Setup Phase 85
Approvals: This section contains the written approval of the stakeholder inven-tory by the program sponsor, program manager, program management office, members of the governance board, and others as appropriate.
Stakeholder Inventory Template
<Insert Program Name>
Stakeholder Inventory
Program name:
Program manager: PM’s email address here as a hyperlink Program sponsor:
Proposed start date:
Proposed end date:
Prepared by:
Revision history:
Business unit:
A. PurPoSe
A brief introductory statement defining the purpose of the stakeholder inventory, such as:
The stakeholder inventory is part of the program’s commitment to effec-tive stakeholder management. It provides a summary of each stakeholder’s involvement in the program, his or her possible responses, any identified issues, and possible mitigation strategies.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
B. STAkeholDer CATeGorIeS
This section lists the stakeholder categories that will be part of the inventory.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
86 Implementing Program Management: Templates for Success
C. STAkeholDer InFluenCe
This section defines the influence level of each of the stakeholders and shows how the stakeholder will be affected by the program.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
D. PoSSIBle STAkeholDer reSPonSeS
This section uses the categories and the stakeholder’s influence on the program and lists possible responses to various changes that may affect the stakeholder’s specific areas of interest.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
e. PoTenTIAl MITIGATIon STrATeGIeS
This section describes the potential mitigation strategies to consider should an area of interest be affected. These strategies are further defined in the stake-holder management strategy document.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
F. APProvAlS
This section contains the approval of the stakeholder inventory by the program manager, program sponsor, program management office, members of the gover-nance board, and others as required.
SignatureSand date approval obtained
Program manager ____________________________________
Program sponsor ____________________________________
Program management office director ____________________________________
Governance board chairperson ____________________________________
Governance board member 1 ____________________________________
Governance board member 2 ____________________________________
Governance board member N ____________________________________
Stakeholder 1 ____________________________________
Stakeholder 2 ____________________________________
Stakeholder N ____________________________________
The Program Setup Phase 87
Having identified and analyzed your stakeholders, it then is important to devise strategies for mitigating potential problems and maximizing the desirable poten-tial impacts. Yes, this is a lot like risk management, PMBOK• style, or the stake-holder management strategy in the PMBOK•, but with a higher-level and more specific focus.