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Kickoff

Stakeholder Map

Map out business, product, and project stakeholders that may impact or interact with the core team

45-60 min Core team, stakeholders Remote variant available

When to use

  • As early as possible on a project, usually during a Kickoff.

Why use it

  • Sometimes projects involve large numbers of stakeholders in varying departments, and they need to be identified.
  • Identifies who is involved in a project
  • Identifies who is invested in the outcome
  • Identifies who has right of refusal
  • Identifies who will support the team
  • Identifies who are key decision makers
  • Identifies who the team should meet with to help get context
  • Stakeholder maps help to visually represent a user and their world while showing connections within a context such as an organization.
  • They can help the team understand which parts of the organization will be affected by what is built.

What you need

  • Whiteboard or digital version like Miro
  • Dry erase markers
  • Large sticky notes
  • Sharpies

How to Use this Method

Sample Agenda & Prompts

  1. Provide all attendees at Kickoff with a large sticky note and have them write their:

    • Name
    • Title
    • Department

  2. Organize the sticky notes on the whiteboard before starting activity, placing the core team in the center, surrounded by clustered departments and project sponsors

    Note: A core team member is someone who will be working on the project full-time

    Tip: Creating a “straw man” version of the stakeholder map makes it easier for participants to edit what they see vs. create a map from scratch

    Make sure people have name tags beforehand, it helps when calling on people

  3. Walk through each “straw man” group and ask participants how they could support the core team

  4. Create circles for departments and teams and connect people and/or teams with lines and directional arrows

  5. Star key points of contact, especially if a department circle contains multiple people

Success/Expected Outcomes

You’ve succeeded when there exists a shared understanding of stakeholders involved so that teams can establish relationships, dive deeper where necessary and communicate appropriately.

Facilitator Notes & Tips

This exercise has a tendency to go long. Your job is to keep each description brief and give the team people to follow up with.

Resources

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