Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Stakeholders as Consumers
I like to think of stakeholders as consumers, people who pay a price for products or services that we provide. In the context of this article, “we” is the delivery organization that provides the requisite project or program. Traditionally, project managers refer to stakeholders in the context of sponsors or even clients. This approach also considers people who may be impacted by changes that result from the project or program. In public works programs, this definition would include the larger community where programs or projects are executed. And there are obviously umpteen other definitions for stakeholders.
My consumer-focused perspective has taught me to look at stakeholders from a slightly different angle. I start by asking the question, “Why should they use our services?” In an age of multi-sourcing, outsourcing and even divesting business functions, it’s imperative to start with a basic value justification. One of the many models that I use to gauge consumer (aka stakeholder) needs is the following variation of a classical “needs-wants-haves” matrix. This is not really a brand new model, but I find it useful in scoping and understanding my consumers’ needs and expectations. This model is particularly useful during early project or program definition phases and helps teams reach consensus on both agreements and …
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If you can't convince them, confuse them. - Harry Truman |