§1The scenario
A realistic mid-size job, so the choices in the plan have something to push against.
The project: a conveyor and drive upgrade inside an operating food-manufacturing plant — fourteen weeks, one planned production shutdown for tie-in, an external HSE regulator interface, and neighbouring tenants inside noise range. Delivery is routine; the communication load is not. Eight audiences, each needing different information at a different rhythm through a different channel, is exactly the situation a written plan exists for.
How to use this page. Read the plan in §3 with the stakeholder map above, then §4 for why each row is shaped that way. Adapt names, keep the shapes.
§2From map to plan
The power–interest quadrant sets each audience’s default; the plan then earns its exceptions.
Manage closely (high power, high interest) gets synchronous channels and short cycles. Keep satisfied (high power, low interest) gets concise, formal, infrequent contact — enough to prevent surprises, never enough to create work. Keep informed gets broadcast channels on a reliable rhythm, and monitor gets triggered contact only. Every row in §3 can be traced back to a quadrant, and the two deliberate exceptions are explained in §4.
Contents§3The plan — eight audiences
Audience · message · channel · frequency · owner. One row per audience, no orphans.
| Audience | Core message | Channel | Frequency | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsor & steering group | Cost, schedule and risk position; decisions needed | One-page dashboard + steering meeting | Monthly | Project Manager |
| Operations manager | Shutdown windows, tie-in dates, production impact | Face-to-face + confirming email | Fortnightly | Project Manager |
| Maintenance team | What changes on their equipment and when | Toolbox talk | Fortnightly | Project Engineer |
| Site workforce | Look-ahead, access changes, safety alerts | Noticeboard + pre-start brief | Weekly | Site Lead |
| Procurement | Long-lead status, delivery risks | Shared tracker + call | Weekly | Project Engineer |
| HSE regulator liaison | Permit status, incident notifications | Formal letter / portal | As required | HSE Advisor |
| Finance | Accruals, forecast at completion | Cost report | Monthly | Project Manager |
| Neighbouring tenants | Noise, traffic and outage notices | Letter drop + noticeboard | Before each impact | Site Lead |
§4Reading the choices
A plan is a set of arguments. These are the ones worth copying.
Operations gets face-to-face
Highest-power internal stakeholder whose goodwill controls the shutdown window. Email alone lets misunderstandings compound silently; the confirming email after the conversation creates the record without carrying the relationship.
The regulator gets formality
Low frequency, maximum precision. Everything in writing, through the official channel, in the regulator’s own format — informal chat with a regulator is risk generation, not communication.
The workforce gets rhythm, not volume
A weekly look-ahead at the pre-start beats a daily bulletin nobody reads. Predictability is the message: people forgive inconvenience they were warned about.
Tenants are triggered, not scheduled
“Before each impact” beats monthly letters — a notice with nothing in it trains recipients to stop reading, which is the one failure this audience cannot afford.
§5Adapting the example
Change the nouns, keep the tests.
Three tests keep an adapted plan honest. Coverage: every stakeholder on the map appears in exactly one row. Ownership: every row names one person, and no person owns a channel they never use. Load: total up each owner’s column — a plan the project manager cannot actually execute in a normal week is a wish, and the register in §3 deliberately spreads the eight rows across four owners for that reason.
Contents§6Quick reference
The working core of the resource on one card rack.
Map first
Power × interest sets the default channel and rhythm.
One row each
Every audience appears once — with one owner.
Exceptions argued
Depart from the quadrant only with a written reason.
Load test
Sum each owner’s rows; wishes aren’t plans.