Stakeholder mapping: a power-interest matrix example

Stakeholder mapping identifies the people and groups who can affect a project or are affected by it, then helps decide how to involve them. A power-interest matrix is one way to organise that conversation. Include people whose work changes even when they have little formal authority.

The warehouse scanning rollout has a sponsor, an IT lead and a training plan. The project meeting is at 10am. The night shift finishes at six.

Everyone on the project list has been consulted. The people who will use the scanners overnight haven't seen the proposed exception process.

APM's stakeholder guidance includes affected groups inside and outside the organisation. It considers power, interest and likely support, while emphasising different perspectives.

For this fictional rollout, the missing perspective is practical: what happens when a scanner fails at 2am and the daytime help desk is closed?

How to identify project stakeholders

The proposal replaces a paper pick list with handheld scanning. Operators confirm item and location at the pick face. Customer service receives an exception status when an order cannot progress.

That changes more than the operator's screen. Someone must maintain the devices, approve stock corrections and decide what the customer hears when an order is held.

Start with the route of the work. Ask who performs it, who provides support, who receives its output and who can approve or stop the proposed change. Check shifts and locations as well as departments.

The RACI matrix answers a related question: who does and owns each task? A stakeholder map can reveal people who need a voice without giving every one of them a delivery task or an approval right.

Power-interest matrix: a stakeholder mapping example

Power means the ability to affect this decision, including formal authority or control of a needed resource. Interest means how closely someone is likely to engage with this particular change. Neither is a permanent personality trait.

In the map below, IT can block an unsupported connection, and the sponsor can approve the rollout. Finance needs to approve the spend but has little involvement in daily picking. Operators have fewer formal decision rights and much more daily exposure to the result.

The familiar four-quadrant advice often tells teams to keep low-power, high-interest people informed. For the night shift, a project email is too little. They need to try the exception process before it becomes their normal work.

Interest and impact can also differ. Someone may not yet follow the project because nobody has explained what will change. Keep a separate note of the effect on their work, then check it with them.

Turn stakeholder analysis into an engagement plan

A map doesn't tell the project lead what to do on Tuesday. Each group needs a concern to explore and an action that can change the plan.

Group	Concern to check with them	Involvement before rollout
Sponsor	Who can delay release if the trial exposes a serious problem?	Agree the go/no-go evidence and the decision owner
IT support	Can devices connect, recover and receive support overnight?	Test the network and recovery route during the night shift
Night-shift operators and supervisor	How are damaged labels, failed scans and device swaps handled?	Run a paid shift-time trial with operators; record and review exceptions
Customer service	Does the new status explain the delay accurately?	Walk through a held order and agree who updates the customer
Finance	Does the proposal include replacement devices and support?	Review the full cost before the purchase commitment
Adjacent receiving team	Will charging or device storage interfere with receiving?	Check the shared area and raise clashes before installation

Invite representatives who can bring the group's experience, then give others a way to raise something they missed. One supervisor attending a meeting doesn't prove every shift has been heard.

Follow up when input changes the plan

Suppose the night trial finds that a damaged location label cannot be replaced without daytime approval. Record the problem, assign someone to resolve it and test the agreed route. Tell the operators what changed and what remains open. Put any new agreed requirement into the requirements traceability matrix so it reaches implementation and testing.

Calling the team resistant would leave the approval gap in place. Their objection may be evidence about a condition the rollout hasn't covered.

When people understand the purpose yet still cannot perform the new work, another announcement is unlikely to help. The ADKAR and Kotter comparison explains how awareness, ability and the wider change effort differ.

Revisit the map when the decision changes

During design, operators and IT may need to work closely together. At purchase approval, finance needs a clear cost decision. During rollout, customer service may need a daily check on held orders.

Update the map at those changes. Remove meetings that no longer serve a decision; add involvement where the work exposes a gap. Keep sensitive opinions out of a broadly shared chart and check assumptions directly with the people concerned.

Schedule the exception trial during the night shift, with time to resolve the findings before release.

Source and example notes

• Association for Project Management. Stakeholder engagement. Stakeholders, power, interest, support and using different perspectives to shape delivery.

The rollout, group placements, concerns and proposed actions are fictional. Check the initial placements and concerns with the people involved.