HKSM

Purpose & When to Use

The goal of Identify Stakeholders is to find everyone who may affect, be affected by, or have an interest in the project, and to record their details and expectations in a stakeholder register. This allows the team to plan how to engage and communicate with the right people at the right time.

• Use at project start, right after the charter is approved, to build the initial stakeholder register.
• Revisit at each phase, major change, contract award, or when new information appears.
• Apply to any project size or delivery approach (predictive, agile, or hybrid).

Mini Flow (How It’s Done)

• Review foundation documents: charter, business case, contracts, proposals, and key assumptions.
• Scan organizational assets: org charts, lessons learned, risk and stakeholder lists from similar work, policies, and cultural guidance.
• Brainstorm and interview: sponsor, product owner, team leads, SMEs, and functional managers to surface internal and external stakeholders (end users, customers, regulators, suppliers, communities, finance, legal, operations, security, and others).
• Classify stakeholders: use simple tools like power–interest, influence–impact, salience, or attitude grids to group and prioritize.
• Capture data in a stakeholder register: name, role/organization, location and time zone, interests and requirements, level of influence and impact, current attitude and desired engagement, communication needs, constraints, and contact details.
• Analyze engagement gaps: compare current versus desired engagement and note potential supports or sources of resistance.
• Validate the list: confirm with the sponsor and core team, remove duplicates, and assign relationship owners.
• Share appropriately: store the register in a controlled location, respect confidentiality, and give tailored views to those who need them.
• Keep it current: update after changes, new risks, contract decisions, reorgs, or stakeholder feedback.

Quality & Acceptance Checklist

• All known internal and external stakeholders are identified and recorded in the register.
• Each stakeholder has clear role, influence, interest, and engagement status noted.
• Contact details, communication preferences, and time zones are captured where appropriate.
• Stakeholders are prioritized using a simple, documented classification method.
• Sensitive information is minimized and handled per confidentiality and data policies.
• Stakeholder relationship owners are assigned for key stakeholders.
• Key assumptions, constraints, and stakeholder-related risks are logged and linked.
• Register is version-controlled and accessible to authorized team members.
• Initial insights feed into the Plan Stakeholder Engagement and Communications planning.

Common Mistakes & Exam Traps

• Listing only internal stakeholders and overlooking customers, end users, suppliers, regulators, or community groups.
• Treating identification as a one-time task instead of updating continuously as the project evolves.
• Confusing the stakeholder register (who and what they need) with the stakeholder engagement plan (how you will engage them).
• Ignoring negative or resistant stakeholders instead of planning how to manage their concerns.
• Assuming “inform everyone the same way” rather than prioritizing based on influence and interest.
• Skipping sponsor and SME consultations, which leads to missed stakeholders early on.
• Storing overly sensitive personal data in the register, violating policy or privacy rules.
• Using a single grid without validating actual influence pathways in the organization.

PMP Example Question

A new government body announces rules that may affect your in-flight project. What should the project manager do first?

1. Issue a change request to update the schedule and budget.
2. Revise the communications plan to inform all stakeholders.
3. Update the stakeholder register to include the new regulator and related contacts.
4. Schedule training for the team on the new regulations.

Correct Answer: C — Update the stakeholder register to include the new regulator and related contacts.

Explanation: Identification is iterative. Add and classify the new stakeholder first; then plan engagement and assess impacts that could drive changes.