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What is a Project and who are Stakeholders?
By Raymond Keckler | November 22, 2007
In order to manage a project you must know what a project is. A project is a temporary endeavor. A project has a finite time span. It has a start date and an end date. Projects produce a unique product, service or result. When the stakeholders sign that the goals and objectives are met, the project is finished. If it does not have these constraints, it is probably a program or operation. A program or operation is ongoing or repetitive. This is work that is continuous and has no end date.
Stakeholders are people or groups that have a vested interest in the project. These are the people who are working on the project or have something to gain by the success of the project. Stakeholders have a lot of say in the project when the project is in the beginning stages. As the project continues, the amount of influence diminishes.
Each project has a project sponsor. The sponsor is the person with the authority to assign resources and compel decisions regarding the project. Therefore the project sponsor is a stakeholder. The project manager, project team, and other managers are stakeholders of the project as well. Stakeholders have expectations about a project. It is the project manager’s responsibility to manage these expectations. Understanding all the needs of the stakeholders and the constraints will ensure a successful project. Determining the features of a project requires communication with the stakeholders and understanding what they want. This act of gradually getting characteristics of the project is progressive elaboration.
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Raymond Keckler
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Topics: Project Management |