PP.SP 2.6 Plan Stakeholder Involvement

Stakeholders are identified from all phases of the project lifecycle by identifying the people and functions that should be represented in the project and describing their relevance and the degree of interaction for project activities. A two-dimensional matrix with stakeholders along one axis and project activities along the other axis is a convenient format for accomplishing this identification. Relevance of the stakeholder to the activity in a particular project phase and the amount of interaction expected would be shown at the intersection of the project phase activity axis and the stakeholder axis.

Stakeholders can include operational users and project participants as well as potential suppliers. When acquiring products that must interoperate with other products, the acquirer plans the involvement of relevant stakeholders from other projects or communities to ensure the delivered product can perform as required in its intended environment. Such planning often includes steps for establishing and maintaining supplier agreements with these stakeholders (e.g., interagency and intercompany agreements, memoranda of understanding, memoranda of agreement).

For inputs of stakeholders to be useful, careful selection of relevant stakeholders is necessary. For each major activity, identify stakeholders who are affected by the activity and those who have expertise that is needed to conduct the activity. This list of relevant stakeholders will probably change as the project moves through phases of the project lifecycle. It is important, however, to ensure that relevant stakeholders in the latter phases of the lifecycle have early input to requirements and design decisions that affect them.

Sometimes the supplier will be using an Agile method. The phrase “Agile method” is shorthand for any development or management method that adheres to the Manifesto for Agile Development [Beck 2001]. More guidance on the use of Agile methods can be found in CMMI-DEV Section 5.0 Interpreting CMMI When Using Agile Approaches and in the SEI technical notes CMMI or Agile: Why Not Embrace Both! [Glazer 2008] and Considerations for Using Agile in DoD Acquisition [Lapham 2010].

When the supplier is using an Agile method, the risk is shared with the acquirer and end users for the product being developed. To be effective, the end user or their proxy, acquirer, and supplier will need to operate as a team that crosses organizational and contractual boundaries. The results of the acquirer’s stakeholder involvement planning can be incorporated in a team charter that defines roles and responsibilities for the three parties. For example, the team charter can specify who has responsibility for making changes to project scope and requirements and how such changes will be made and managed.

 

Implementing this specific practice relies on shared or exchanged information with the previous Plan Needed Knowledge and Skills specific practice.

Example Work Products

1. Stakeholder involvement plan