Step 2: Vision building

2.3. Selecting core group stakeholders

Part of the project success depend on adhesion and acceptance of players that do not belong to the project management team, the stakeholders. Satisfying their expectations is widely recognized as a major issue for project success. But knowing what their expectations are, and how to satisfy them is not straightforward. And identifying who are the project key stakeholders and how to approach them is tricky.

In ESTEEM, we propose you a process through which you gradually come to identify a group of representatives of the project stakeholders. These actors will then be interviewed individually or collectively to collect their reactions and opinions about the project vision and expectations as described by the project management team.

Actors table (step 1.4) and social network maps (step 2.1 and 2.2) provide natural starting point for identifying relevant stakeholders. The ESTEEM consultant is however crucial here to inject a third party viewpoint about who should be considered along ‘objectived representativity criteria’ such as advocates and opponents, centrality and social structure position.