Project Management SWOT and Stakeholders

Project Management © 2009 Olaf Passenheim & Ventus Publishing ApS ISBN 978-87-7681-487-8

SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis helps define possible risks. Developed in the 1960s by Albert Humphrey at Stanford University using data from 500 U.S. public corporations From this data he developed the SWOT analysis. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

S.W.O.T. Internal factors Strengths Weaknesses External factors Opportunities Threats

S.W.O.T. Internal factors Attributes of the organization: Strengths Weaknesses Attributes of the organization: Product, marketing, production, economy, organizational structure and culture External factors Opportunities Threats Attributes of the environment: Demography, technology, legal issues, national conditions, customers, competitors, distribution, suppliers

S.W.O.T. Known or predictable weaknesses and threats will be apparent. SWOT can be used for companies, their departments and divisions. It helps in generating new ideas.

S.W.O.T. The easy creation and use of SWOT means that there is no detailed information about how to reach an objective or how important a threat is. A careful use of the outcome of the SWOT analysis is therefore highly recommended. Making a SWOT and not using it for anything is a common mistake.

S.W.O.T. The SWOT is for organisational structures and projects. This can also be a division or department of a company. It is never used for a product or service, which is the output of the project or organisation.

Typical Swot model

Stakeholders There are many types of stakeholders

Stakeholders Individuals, groups, or even organizations that have a “stake” or claim in the project’s (successful or unsuccessful) outcome

Stakeholders According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the term project stakeholder refers to, ‘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’ (Project Management Institute, 2013).

Stakeholders Project stakeholders are entities that have an interest in a given project. These stakeholders may be inside or outside an organization which: Sponsor a project Has an interest or a gain upon a successful completion of a project May have a positive or negative influence in the project completion.

Stakeholders Examples Project leader Line Managers Project team members Product user group Project testers Senior management Competitors Project customer Subcontractors Resource Managers Consultants

The basic stakeholder model Look at your SWOT to find the first basic stakeholders Looks a bit like a Brainstorm or Mindmap Can then be expanded to list The to a Matrix

Stakeholders Internal & External

Stakeholder Analysis Process Develop a list of stakeholders who have an interest in the successful or unsuccessful outcome of the project Identify the stakeholder’s interest in the project “+1” for positive interest “0” for neutral “-1” for negative interest

Stakeholder Analysis Determine the degree of influence each stakeholder has on a scale of 0 (no influence) to 10 (can terminate the project) Define a role for each stakeholder – e.g., champion, consultant, decision maker, ally, rival, foe, etc.

Stakeholder Analysis Identify an objective for each stakeholder – e.g., provide resources, guidance, expertise, acceptance, approval, etc. Identify a strategy for each stakeholder – e.g., build, maintain, improve, re-establish the relationship

Stakeholder List A very advanced Stakeholder List stakeholder_analysis_tool.xls on Fronter

Power/Interest grid. The stakeholder analysis can use a map of the interest and power/influence of each stakeholder Insert the No. of the Stakeholder in the grid

Power/Interest grid. Once you have mapped your stakeholders you can focus your efforts on the highest priority groups while providing sufficient information to keep the less powerful groups happy.

influence in Stakeholder Analysis Adding influences reveals lines of communication between stakeholders predicting the path potential issues will follow as they flow along influence lines to become an important concern for a key player.