Stakeholder Analysis, Essay Example

A stakeholder in project management is a group, individual, organization or an institution with vested interests in the resources of a certain project, and/or who will experience the effects of the project activities either directly or indirectly. It is crucial to consider all the stakeholders involved in the project to ensure successful implementation (Schwalbe, 2008). In this project, the sponsor of this project is the senior management. The stakeholders comprise of the project manager, finance manager, business unit heads, and lower level staff members. The key customers are the lease customers.

Roles

The project manager has the role of ensuring the project keeps off as planned and finished within the set timeliness and budget. The company has problems with IT projects since they never finish up in a reasonable time or within the budget, the project manager will ensure that this happens. In addition, the project manager ensures that the project has enough staffs to ensure success of the project. Moreover, the project manager will have the responsibility of explaining to the unit heads of the importance of project management in undertaking such projects as this one (Schwalbe, 2008).

The senior management has the responsibility of overseeing the whole project and giving its authorization. The senior management identified this project as critical and has given its go ahead. The management ensures that the project is has the necessary resources to ensure smooth running of the project. In addition, the management will have the final approval on the implementation of the project. The finance manager has the main role of ensuring the project funds are available timely. He also ensures that the project runs within the budget and makes provisions for any unexpected expenditure or any unplanned contingency (Zwikael & Smyrk, 2011).

The business heads have the responsibility of mobilizing and selecting members of the departments to take part in the project. They have the role of ensuring that members of their department are well represented. The new project will affect them directly, and thus it is crucial that they be part of the project.

The lower level staff has the responsibility of ensuring smooth implementation of the new project (Schwalbe, 2007). They will be the principal users of the new software and for this reason; they have the role of making up the project team. The role of customers in the project is to ensure that the project is effective. If their needs are met efficiently and effectively, then the project is a success. If service delivery fails to improve, then the project is ineffective.

Interests

The project manager has lots of interest in the project since the organization, and the project team relies on his directions for the success of the project. He is interested in ensuring completion of the project within the set time and budget. In addition, he has interests in ensuring the project is implemented successfully after completion and lastly, that all the users accept the outcome of the project.

The senior management has interests in this project since they consider it as crucial for the entire organization. They see this project as a means of attaining the 35% growth rate expected in the coming years. They, therefore, would want successful completion of the project. The Finance manager has interests in that; there are not IT projects completed with the time and budget. He would, therefore, be interested in knowing whether this project will be completed within the set time and budget. Moreover, he would want to know if the costs for the project manager were worth (Zwikael & Smyrk, 2011).

The business heads have interests in this project since the project will directly affect the operations of their departments. They are also interested since the lower level staffs have more knowledge than them, and thus they would fear for the loss of their jobs. The lower level staffs are also interested in this project since it will affect their day-to-day operations. In addition, the organization lacks the technical expertise needed for this project and they would fear that they will lose their jobs in case the vendor has to provide staff with the technical knowhow. Customers will have interests in the project since they need improvement in services delivery from the company.

Influence level.

The project manager has a lot of influence over the project. He determines the direction of the project. He can either ensure that the project completed within the set time or not. The senior management has the power to influence the adoption of the project or not. Moreover, they have the power to approve or not approve the project (Erling, Grude & Haug, 2009). The finance manager has the power to provide or fail to provide the funding needed for the project. This can affect the availability of resources necessary for the implementation.

The business heads have the power to mobilize their staff to reject or accept the project, depending on whether the project favors them or not. The lower level staffs have the power to reject the new system or adopt it, depending on whether it improves their working condition or not, and depending on whether the project is a threat to their job security.

The customers can influence the success of the implementation of the new project. This because, if they feel that the system is not catering for their needs, then they would raise that would affect the success of the project.

References

Erling, S. A., Grude, K.V. & Haug, T. (2009). Goal Directed Project Management: Effective Techniques and Strategies. London: Kogan Page Publishers.

Schwalbe, K. (2008). Introduction to Project Management. New York: Cengage Learning.

Schwalbe, K. (2007). Information Technology Project Management. New York: Cengage Learning

Zwikael, O. & Smyrk, J. (2011). Project Management for the Creation of Organizational Value. London: Springer.