Consultant| Canarys Automation LtdBangalore, Karnataka, India
Managing stakeholder expectations is a critical part of project success, but it can become particularly challenging in high-pressure or fast-changing environments.
How do you ensure transparent communication and alignment with stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle?
What strategies have worked for you in addressing conflicting priorities or unrealistic demands?
I’d love to hear your experiences and approaches to navigating these challenges!
Hello Ashwin, personally I prefer keeping all stakeholders in loop, which could be a meeting or an email. In case, all stakeholders are not able to make it to a meeting, the email will cover everything that they need to know. More importantly, I make sure to follow up before proceeding to ensure that I have the go ahead from every stakeholder.
As for unrealistic demands, I am straightforward if something is not achievable however, at the same time, I would have a solution as well. This may not work realistically in all situations as we live in a dynamic world but I would say experience helps. As for conflicting priorities, I usually give the client a forecast of the next week's deliverables which helps in planning accordingly and changing anything if needed as well. Saving Changes...
One of my fundamental philosophies to managing stakeholder expectations is showing schedules that reflect reality rather than what we would like the dates to be but have no actual plan to achieve. I can commit to aggressive dates and making every effort to compress the schedule, but not to fictional dates just because it makes the stakeholders happier. Those dates will eventually arrive and the ugly truth will be very clear.
To quote one manager who shared my opinion on our bosses pushing for committing to impossible dates: "I know that smoking marijuana is now legal in this state, but it shouldn't be the basis for project management." Saving Changes...
Amin KamaeiPMO Expert| NICIDECFredericton, NEW BRUNSWICK, Canada
First of all you should register and analyze stakeholders to turn out power, interest & influence of them (you can prepare a matrix for this purpose), after that, you should create a ranking list and then its better to create a couple of groups for them
now you should prepare a communication plan for each group of stakeholders.
be aware some stakeholders need more attention so you should analyze their requirements deeper.
I Saving Changes...
Valerie WelbournChief Operating Officer| Ed Holmes & AssociatesHendersonville, Nc, United States
Ashwin,
When I managed construction projects the main way that seemed to help allay distress was by sending out an emailed newsletter every other week, or prior to any big occurrence (for example, a street closing) to all the stakeholders - engineers, utililties, residents, contractors, etc.
And I would often include the benefits, and the possible inconveniences. Doing this consistently created a lot of trust that we were always going to keep everyone in the loop.
Also, we included photos of some of the progress and even included cool finds like old wooden pipes for telegram communications that we uncovered. It created a real team atmosphere. Saving Changes...
Jenny LaiProject Manager| Bank of ChinaHong Kong, Hong Kong
Frequently it is project transparency that the project manager is trying to convey to the upper management, while these are precisely the powerful group where they have the least amount of time to read email, attend meetings, or engage in a high-level summary. Graphs with data can actually speak 1,000 words.
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1 reply by Ahmed O.Elsiddig
Nov 20, 2024 6:06 PM
Ahmed O.Elsiddig
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Am agree with you, summarized progress integrated with data visualization is the best way to covey project information for the high management throughout the project lifecycle.
Saving Changes...
Ahmed O.ElsiddigProject Management| PMI-PMP®| PMI-ACP® | Qatar,DohaDoha, DA, Qatar
Nov 20, 2024 4:52 PM
Replying to Jenny Lai
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Frequently it is project transparency that the project manager is trying to convey to the upper management, while these are precisely the powerful group where they have the least amount of time to read email, attend meetings, or engage in a high-level summary. Graphs with data can actually speak 1,000 words.
Am agree with you, summarized progress integrated with data visualization is the best way to covey project information for the high management throughout the project lifecycle. Saving Changes...
Ahmed O.ElsiddigProject Management| PMI-PMP®| PMI-ACP® | Qatar,DohaDoha, DA, Qatar
shorten the feedback loop is the major technique and key factor on stakeholders' satisfaction and ensuring the final outcome meet their actual requirements. Saving Changes...
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