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ArticlePublished 11 Aug 20261 min readBy Kevin Jogin
DOMAIN 1
PMBOK 7 Performance Domain · Deep Dive

Stakeholders

Build and sustain productive relationships so stakeholders actively support the project. Effective engagement is continuous and two-way — it surfaces requirements & risks, reduces resistance, and keeps the project's social licence intact.

Visual Map — The Engagement Cycle & the Engagement Ladder

Identify▸ Understand & analyse
power · interest · attitude · proximity▸ Prioritise▸ Engage
communicate · involve · build trust▸ Monitor & adapt↺
Unaware Resistant Neutral Supportive Leading CURRENT DESIRED Map each stakeholder's CURRENT vs DESIRED level — then close the gap.

Engagement is a relationship, not a broadcast. The detailed tools — Power/Interest grid, salience model, communication methods & channels — live on Poster 26.

Analysis Dimensions

  • Power — ability to influence outcomes/resources.
  • Interest — how much they care about the result.
  • Attitude — supportive ↔ resistant.
  • Proximity — how closely involved in the work.
  • Salience — power + legitimacy + urgency.

Exam Concepts

  • Engagement is continuous & two-way.
  • Salience = power · legitimacy · urgency.
  • Engagement levels current vs desired (U-R-N-S-L).
  • Manage relationships, not just communications.

Executive View

  • Stakeholders are the project's social licence.
  • Sponsor engagement is make-or-break.
  • Manage up, down & out.

Industry Example

Infrastructure & IT
  • Infrastructure: community, regulators, landowners. IT: users, business owners, vendors — each engaged differently.

Interactions & Results

  • Shapes Planning (requirements), Delivery (acceptance), Uncertainty (risks).
  • Good signs: productive relationships, needs met, desired levels reached, few disruptive surprises.

Through the Life Cycle

  • Re-identify & re-assess as stakeholders change over time.
  • Engagement intensity shifts by phase (heaviest at change points).

Memory Hooks

  • "Identify · Understand · Prioritise · Engage · Monitor."
  • Ladder U-R-N-S-L; salience P-L-U.
  • Engagement is a relationship, not a memo.
60-sec Review5 steps of the cycleU-R-N-S-L ladderSalience = P·L·UCurrent vs desiredTools? → Poster 26
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