In any project, effectively managing stakeholders and customers is critical for success. As a Business Analyst, we play a pivotal role in identifying, understanding, and addressing the needs of these groups, ensuring the project meets its objectives.

Who are Stakeholders?

Stakeholders are individuals or groups with a vested interest in the project’s success. They can be internal or external and include:

Project Sponsors: Fund and support the project.
Team Members: Directly work on the project.
Managers & Executives: Oversee progress and ensure success.
Regulatory Bodies: Enforce compliance with laws.
Suppliers & Vendors: Provide essential goods or services.

Identifying all potential stakeholders early ensures no critical inputs or constraints are missed. Focus on key players whose contributions shape project success!

Who are Customers?

Customers, a subset of stakeholders, are individuals or organizations benefiting directly or indirectly from a product. In software projects, customers may request, pay for, or use the product, while some receive outputs without direct interaction, like a warehouse manager getting automated reports. Importantly, user requirements should come from end-users who interact with the product, not just from customers who define business needs and value.

For commercial software, customers and users are often the same, but involving end-users during requirement development remains crucial. Customer surrogates, like product managers, may infer preferences, but direct user engagement ensures accurate requirements.

As Business Analysts, we identify stakeholders and customers by mapping stakeholders to understand their influence and interest and clearly defining customer needs and interactions with deliverables. This structured approach aligns solutions with expectations, driving project success.

Understanding their needs and expectations through:

1. Requirements gathering

Use techniques such as interviews, surveys, focus groups and workshops to gather requirements from both stakeholders and customers.
Document requirements clearly and ensure they align with the project’s objectives.

2. Expectation Management

Set realistic expectations by communicating project constraints, timeliness and potential risks.
Regularly update stakeholders and customers on project progress and any changes that may affect them.

Engaging and communicating effectively

1. Communication plan

Develop a communication plan that outlines how and when you will communicate with stakeholders and customers.
Ensure that communication is two-way, allowing for feedback and active participation.

2. Provide regular status updates through meetings, reports and dashboards.

Ensuring alignment with project goals

1. Vision and scope alignment

Ensure that stakeholder and customer requirements align with the project vision and scope.
Avoid scope creep by maintaining a clear focus on agreed upon deliverables.

2. Benefit realization.

Focus on delivering value by aligning project outcomes with the stakeholders’ and customers’ strategic goals.
Monitor and measure benefits throughout the project lifecycle to ensure objectives are met.

Change Management

Be prepared to adapt to changes in stakeholder and customer requirements.
Implement a change management process to evaluate and incorporate changes without disrupting the project.

As a Business Analyst, managing stakeholders and customers in a project is a complex but crucial task. By identifying stakeholders & customers, understanding their needs, engaging and communicating effectively, managing conflicts, ensuring alignment with project goals, and adapting to changes, a BA can significantly contribute to the project’s success. It is hard balancing the different expectations of them and it requires a strategic approach and strong communication skills.

Kajana

Business Analyst, Apptimus

Understanding the key differences that drive project success