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Project Team and Stakeholder Management

Among the most critical features of project management are the ability to undertake all the essential aspects of developing and controlling the relationships with all the parties involved in the project. The essay writer is necessary, therefore, to outline a catalog of the stakeholders to help in analyzing their roles and influence in the project while developing the strategies aimed at communicating, setting boundaries and managing the underlying competing expectations (Cardinal & Marle, 2006). By successfully managing these stakeholder bases, the project manager would be in a better position to guide the scope of the project to ensure that every step goes as planned to mitigate the concerns that might derail the whole project. It is important to underscore the fact that effective stakeholder management is a key driving factor to the success of the entire plan. Good project managers appreciate that to realize tangible results, there is need to create an atmosphere of engagement and enablement.

Identifying the Project Stakeholders

Stakeholders are the individuals or organizations with a vested interest in a project and are actively involved in it. Often, individuals may wield certain interests or influence, which might positively or negatively affect the project’s execution or completion. Eskerod and Jepsen (2013) explore that these processes necessitate an initiation of steps, which often comprises the organizational functional areas outlining the project’s scope. As such, there is a need to initiate a startup process by uncovering the project’s stakeholders. It is necessary to consider the very individuals who will contribute to the successful completion of this project and incorporate their input where necessary and appropriate. Singh (2014) advises on the need to think of an all-inclusive business process that brings all contributors on board. Perhaps the best approach would be to consider the organization’s departmental units for the potential impacts, thus deliberating on the internal and external partners as well. It is advisable to outsource and work with the project sponsor as well as all the parties to the project to help in identifying all the potential stakeholders. An effort to interview the key project participants would be necessary to help in uncovering more stakeholders to the project. Below is a possible list of common shareholders from which to begin from:

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  • Project manager
  • Senior management
  • Resource managers
  • Project team participants
  • Project sponsor
  • Suppliers
  • Clients
  • Community
  • Subordinate staff
  • Government agencies and regulators
  • Functional managers
  • Media
  • Shareholders

How the Project Communications and Interactions Will Work Between the Project Manager, the Stakeholders, and the Project Team

The first step in realizing the objectives of a project is by entrenching an effective communication between the major players of the project. As such, there is a need to outline a robust communications approach to help in managing the expectations and to diminish the uncertainties. In a way, the project manager must aim at managing the information to assist individuals get their perceptions besides clarifying the type of feedback, which is necessary and effective in the project’s delivery (Eskerod & Jepsen, 2013). In essence, there is need to entrench a communications planning matrix to expedite a stakeholder analysis that identifies the specific stakeholder groups and their roles on the project. Additionally, the project manager should apply more intimate ways of discussing the project progress by involving key players of the project in the decision making process. More importantly, the communication must demonstrate flexibility in its approach to communication to incorporate the aspiration of all the parties involved.

Some of the Issues the Project Manager Will Need to Be Concerned About When Forming the Project Team

Especially, in terms of the project’s governance structure, the project manager must set forth a core team or a steering committee that oversees the progress of the project. Regular meetings are necessary as these would assist in delineating the roles and responsibilities of every individual team player or unit (Singh, 2014). It is vital to leverage such a structure to ensure the various parties to the project have a shared communication framework, to remove the roadblocks while monitoring the behavior of the stakeholders. Overall, the project sponsor must always remain active, visible, and invisible in project governance to assist in keeping all the stakeholders focused throughout the process.

 

The situational factors that may affect the project team’s performance

  • Too many projects: There must be strict observance of priority throughout the project. Several projects at ago or project pop-ups must be avoided since that would make the team to lose focus and fail to comply with the set timeframes allocated for every endeavor.
  • Inadequate resources: Adequate resource allocated through effective budgeting is a necessary balancing act that would ensure that the project sails through to a successful conclusion without experiencing the inadequacies such as understaffing and poor budgeting.
  • Lack of focus: The team must define a clear critical path for achieving the project’s set objectives. Each team member, for instance, must focus on their assigned roles to ensure the program moves as a single unit.

Some Project Pitfalls That Must Be Watched Out For the Successful Execution of This Project

Probably, due to its nature, the project would experience certain pitfalls that might regress its momentum and affect its outcome. As such, there must be a total observance of the following:

  • The inability to prioritize on goals: There is a need to avoid venturing on too many projects and act on the existing priority list to enhance efficiency.
  • Resources misuse: Effective resources utilization is core to the successful completion of the project as this would help in channeling the underlying daily tasks aimed at making the project a reality.
  • Process tedium: It is necessary to build a definite critical path to remove the roadblocks that might lead to monotony and the eventful collapse of the project.
  • Lack of Accountability: Accountability demands both transparency and effective consistent communication. Through these models, the team members would be more likely to make follow ups on the commitments of their progress and make critical adjustments by reporting the status of their tasks. 

Conclusion

In the contemporary business environment, effective project administration is the cornerstone of success. As such the project managers must prioritize on identifying and removing the possible project pitfalls to assist in elevating their business performances. Consistency on the part of every team player is important for the realization of the project’s set objectives.

References

Cardinal, J. and Marle, F. (2006). Project: The just necessary structure to reach your goals. International Journal of Project Management, 24(3), 226-233.

Eskerod, P., & Jepsen, A. (2013). Project stakeholder management: Fundamentals of project management. Gower Publishing, Ltd.

Singh, H. (2014). Mastering project human resource management: Effectively organize and communicate with all project stakeholders. FT Press.

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By Hanna Robinson

Hanna has won numerous writing awards. She specializes in academic writing, copywriting, business plans and resumes. After graduating from the Comosun College's journalism program, she went on to work at community newspapers throughout Atlantic Canada, before embarking on her freelancing journey.

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