Identifying Project Stakeholders

You can have a flawless Gantt chart, a meticulously detailed budget, and a project team of absolute specialists — and still watch the whole thing collapse because you failed to identify a single stakeholder who had the power to say "no."

Stakeholder identification is not an administrative checkbox. It is a survival skill. This article covers why stakeholder identification sits at the front of the project lifecycle, how to systematically find every person who matters, and how to classify them so you know exactly where to focus your energy.

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Why Stakeholder Identification Comes First

Definition: Stakeholder identification is the process of identifying individuals, groups, or organisations that could impact or be impacted by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project.

The reason this process lives in Phase 1 — Starting the Project rather than somewhere later is simple: a single stakeholder's influence can be powerful enough to stop a project at any stage in the lifecycle. If you discover a critical stakeholder in Month 6 of a 10-month project, you have lost 6 months of relationship management — and possibly the project.

The output of this process is the Stakeholder Register — a living document that records who matters, why they matter, and how you plan to engage them.

Project Charter — Approved

Identify — Stakeholders

Analyse & — Classify

Stakeholder — Register

Proceed to — Planning Phase

Relationship details

From	Relationship	To
Project Charter — Approved	leads to	Identify — Stakeholders
Identify — Stakeholders	leads to	Analyse & — Classify
Analyse & — Classify	leads to	Stakeholder — Register
Stakeholder — Register	leads to	Proceed to — Planning Phase

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The Inputs, Tools, and Outputs

The PMBOK® Guide (PMI, 2013, Chapter 13) structures stakeholder identification as a formal process with defined inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.

Each input serves as a source of stakeholder intelligence. Understanding where to look is half the battle.

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Where to Look for Stakeholders

Stakeholders can be found at all levels within the project organisation, within the project team, and externally to both the project team and the organisation. Here are the four primary sources:

The Project Charter

The Charter is your first stop. It should already identify some of the key stakeholders including the project sponsor(s), customers, project team members, and groups and departments participating in the project.

If you wrote a strong Charter (see the companion article), this section gives you the inner circle immediately.

Procurement Documents

If the project is based on established business relationships, contracts and documents from previous procurement activity will provide information on relevant parties such as customers, suppliers, and subcontractors.

In heavy engineering and defence projects, this source is particularly rich — subcontractor networks, supply chain partners, and regulatory bodies all leave paper trails.

Enterprise Environmental Factors

The nature of the business in which the project is being performed will dictate some stakeholders. These factors extend to government and industry standards, organisational culture and structure, and global, regional, and local trends.

For example, a demolition project on heritage-listed land automatically introduces local council heritage committees, environmental protection agencies, and community interest groups — whether or not anyone on the project team thought to invite them.

Organisational Process Assets

With good record-keeping, an organisation will build up useful resources that can be applied to the stakeholder identification process, including previous stakeholder registers and lessons-learned registers from similar projects.

Practical Tip: If your organisation has completed a similar project before, the previous stakeholder register is gold. Start there and adapt — do not start from scratch.

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Stakeholder Analysis: Examining and Prioritising

Identifying stakeholders is necessary but not sufficient. You also need to understand what each stakeholder cares about, how much influence they have, and whether they are likely to support or resist the project.

The Three Steps of Stakeholder Analysis

The analysis of project stakeholders should include the following steps:

Step 1 — Profile each stakeholder. Determine their role, department, interests, knowledge, expectations, and level of influence.

Step 2 — Assess impact and support. Analyse the potential impact or support each stakeholder could generate, and classify them accordingly.

Step 3 — Predict responses. Assess how key stakeholders are likely to react or respond in various situations — particularly in situations where the project affects their interests negatively.

Step 1: Profile

Role & Department

Interests & Expectations

Knowledge Level

Level of Influence

Step 2: Classify

Assess Potential Impact

Assess Likely Support

Apply Classification Model

Step 3: Predict

Scenario Analysis

Response Mapping

Engagement Strategy

Relationship details

From	Relationship	To
Step 1: Profile	leads to	Step 2: Classify
Step 2: Classify	leads to	Step 3: Predict

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Stakeholder Classification Models

Once you have profiled your stakeholders, you need a framework for deciding how to allocate your limited time and attention. Three established models exist:

The Power/Interest Grid

This is the most widely used classification tool. It groups stakeholders along two axes: their level of authority (power) and their level of concern or active involvement in the project (interest).

The grid produces four quadrants, each with a distinct management strategy:

Low Interest --> High Interest · Low Power --> High Power

Keep Satisfied

• Regulatory Bodies

Manage Closely

• Project Sponsor
• Project Team

Monitor

• Classify relevant stakeholders here

Keep Informed

• Community Groups
• End Users
• Media

Interest →

Power ↑

Manage Closely — High Power • High Interest

Sponsor

Project Owner

Key Client

Keep Satisfied — High Power • Low Interest

Board

Regulator

Monitor — Low Power • Low Interest

Vendors

Public

Keep Informed — Low Power • High Interest

Project Team

Community

Users

Relationship details

From	Relationship	To
Power ↑	leads to	Keep Satisfied — High Power • Low Interest
Power ↑	leads to	Manage Closely — High Power • High Interest
Interest →	leads to	Monitor — Low Power • Low Interest
Interest →	leads to	Keep Informed — Low Power • High Interest

The Influence/Impact Grid

Similar to the Power/Interest Grid but with a different lens. This model groups stakeholders based on their active involvement in the project and their ability to effect changes to the project's planning and execution.

This grid is particularly useful in matrix organisations where formal authority (power) does not always correlate with actual influence over project decisions.

The Salience Model

The Salience Model is more nuanced. It classifies stakeholders based on three attributes:

• Power — the stakeholder's ability to impose their will
• Urgency — the degree to which the stakeholder's claims require immediate attention
• Legitimacy — the appropriateness of the stakeholder's involvement

Stakeholders who possess all three attributes are considered definitive stakeholders and require the highest level of engagement.

Salience Model

Power

Urgency

Legitimacy

Dominant — (Power + Urgency)

Dormant — (Power + Legitimacy)

Dependent — (Urgency + Legitimacy)

Definitive — (All Three)

Relationship details

From	Relationship	To
Power	leads to	Dominant — (Power + Urgency)
Power	leads to	Dormant — (Power + Legitimacy)
Urgency	leads to	Dominant — (Power + Urgency)
Urgency	leads to	Dependent — (Urgency + Legitimacy)
Legitimacy	leads to	Dormant — (Power + Legitimacy)
Legitimacy	leads to	Dependent — (Urgency + Legitimacy)
Dominant — (Power + Urgency)	leads to	Definitive — (All Three)
Dormant — (Power + Legitimacy)	leads to	Definitive — (All Three)
Dependent — (Urgency + Legitimacy)	leads to	Definitive — (All Three)

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Building the Stakeholder Register

The Stakeholder Register is the deliverable of this entire process. It consolidates everything from identification and analysis into a single reference document.

A practical Stakeholder Register should capture the following for each stakeholder:

Important: The Stakeholder Register is a living document. Stakeholders can change positions, gain or lose influence, and new stakeholders can emerge as the project progresses. Review the register at every phase gate.

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The Stakeholder Environment Map

Beyond registers and grids, some practitioners use stakeholder environment maps — visual representations that place the project at the centre and draw concentric circles of related groups outward. Within each circle, individual names are identified along with the nature of their relationship to the project.

This approach is particularly effective for complex projects with many interdependent stakeholder groups, because it makes the relationships between stakeholders visible — not just their relationship to the project.

THE PROJECT

Project Team

Customer / Client

Suppliers

Regulators

Community

Executive / Board

End Users

Relationship details

From	Relationship	To
Project Team	leads to	THE PROJECT
Customer / Client	leads to	THE PROJECT
Suppliers	leads to	THE PROJECT
Regulators	leads to	THE PROJECT
Community	leads to	THE PROJECT
Executive / Board	leads to	THE PROJECT
End Users	leads to	THE PROJECT

Project

Project Manager

Engineering

Construction

Finance

HR

Operations

Community

Regulators

Suppliers

Media

Relationship details

From	Relationship	To
Project	leads to	Project Manager
Project	leads to	Engineering
Project	leads to	Construction
Project Manager	leads to	Finance
Project Manager	leads to	HR
Engineering	leads to	Operations
Finance	leads to	Regulators
Operations	leads to	Suppliers
Project Manager	leads to	Community
Community	leads to	Media
Regulators	leads to	Media

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Completing the Phase

The 'Starting the Project' phase can be considered complete when all of the following have been accomplished:

1. All necessary approvals have been obtained
2. A project budget and a cost centre (or equivalent account code) has been assigned to the project
3. The Project Charter and any approval documents have been carefully filed for future reference
4. Stakeholders have been identified, analysed, and documented in the Stakeholder Register

The project may then move into the second phase of the Project Lifecycle — Organising and Preparing.

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Common Pitfalls

Only identifying obvious stakeholders. The project sponsor and the project team are easy. The local councillor who chairs the heritage committee and has a personal connection to the site? That one takes deliberate effort to find — and missing them can be fatal.

Treating stakeholder identification as a one-time activity. The stakeholder landscape shifts throughout the project. A Phase 1 register that is never updated becomes a liability, not an asset.

Confusing high interest with high power. A community group may be deeply interested in your project but have no formal authority to stop it. Conversely, a regulatory body may have immense power but little day-to-day interest. The management strategy for each is fundamentally different.

Failing to assess disposition. Knowing who the stakeholders are is step one. Knowing whether they are supportive, neutral, or resistant is what determines your engagement strategy. A resistant stakeholder with high power requires a fundamentally different approach than a supportive one.

Not drilling down to individuals. Groups do not make decisions — people do. A stakeholder register that lists "the community" as a single entry is not useful. You need names, roles, and contact points.

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Key Takeaways

• Stakeholder identification belongs in Phase 1 because a single unidentified stakeholder can derail the entire project
• The four primary sources of stakeholder intelligence are the Project Charter, procurement documents, enterprise environmental factors, and organisational process assets
• Stakeholder analysis involves three steps: profiling, classifying, and predicting responses
• The Power/Interest Grid is the most widely used classification model, producing four distinct management strategies
• The Salience Model adds nuance by assessing power, urgency, and legitimacy simultaneously
• The Stakeholder Register is a living document that must be reviewed at every phase gate
• Always drill down to named individuals — groups do not make decisions