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PMP Practice: Categorize stakeholders

Question 2 of 5 in Engage Stakeholders

Ishaan Goswami is managing a municipal water infrastructure upgrade project for the city of Ridgemont. During initial stakeholder identification, he has mapped 47 stakeholders across city government, neighborhood associations, environmental groups, and utility contractors. The project charter authorizes a 14-month timeline and $8.2M budget. Dante needs to prioritize which stakeholders require the most intensive engagement strategies, as his communication resources are limited. Several stakeholders have expressed strong but conflicting opinions about pipeline routing through historic districts. The sponsor has asked Dante to present a stakeholder engagement approach at next week's steering committee meeting. Which technique would be MOST effective for prioritizing stakeholder engagement efforts?
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Correct answer: Conduct a detailed stakeholder analysis using a power-interest grid to categorize stakeholders by their authority level and concern with project outcomes, then tailor engagement strategies accordingly

Explanation

With 47 stakeholders, limited resources, and conflicting opinions about routing decisions, Dante needs a systematic method to determine which stakeholders require active management versus simple monitoring. A power-interest grid allows him to categorize stakeholders based on two critical dimensions: their ability to impact the project and their level of concern about project outcomes. This creates four quadrants that guide engagement strategy—high power/high interest stakeholders need close collaboration and frequent communication, while low power/low interest stakeholders may only need periodic updates. This analytical approach ensures resources are allocated efficiently and prevents the project manager from either over-engaging stakeholders who need minimal attention or under-engaging those who could significantly impact success. Given the routing conflicts mentioned, identifying which stakeholders have both strong opinions AND the authority to influence decisions is essential for proactive engagement planning.

**Why not A:** Meeting individually with all 47 stakeholders is time-consuming and does not efficiently address the prioritization challenge. With limited communication resources, the PM needs a systematic way to determine who requires intensive engagement before investing time in individual meetings with every stakeholder.

**Why not B:** Treating all stakeholders equally with weekly updates and monthly town halls fails to account for differing levels of influence and interest. Some stakeholders need close collaboration while others only need periodic updates, and a uniform approach wastes resources on over-engagement while potentially under-serving high-impact stakeholders.

**Why not C:** Focusing only on the sponsor and city council members ignores stakeholders who may have significant influence through other channels. The scenario specifically mentions environmental groups and neighborhood associations with strong opinions about pipeline routing, and overlooking these groups could create opposition that derails the project.

Key Concept

This question covers Categorize stakeholders under Engage Stakeholders (Process).

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