2.4.2 Managing Stakeholders

In acknowledging the importance of stakeholder groups in project management, project managers need to decide to proactively manage the nature of these groups' concerns. Block (1983) offers a useful framework of the political process that has fine application to stakeholder management. In his framework, Block suggests six steps that all prudent project managers should follow:

1. Assess the environment
2. Identify the goals of the principal actors
3. Assess your own capabilities
4. Define the problem
5. Develop solutions
6. Test and refine the solutions

Let's take a moment to discuss each in turn.