This is a handout from a session at NTC 2011

1. Managing Stakeholders: The Art of Managing Up, Down, and Across
Moderated by Sadie Honey, Strategist
Aaron Crosman, Web Director
Give decision makers clear decisions to make. People who aren’t used to thinking about IT
projects may find it hard to contextualize open-ended questions. Give them clear options to
act on.
Find ways to keep non-decision makers out of decision-making mode. If you’re just asking for
input, make sure that is clear to everyone. For example if you form a group of staff that is
being asked to advise on the project, do not have the whole group meet together. Knowing
there are other meetings being asked the same questions can send a clear message that they
are offering advice and input, not making final decisions.
Dan Gomes, Director of Technology
If your organization spans multiple locations, don’t assume that any two locations will have
implemented the same solution or approach to any given business challenge.
Keep stakeholders engaged with their original requirements and the project scope by revisiting
them regularly. This is especially important for longer projects and one of the nice things that
Agile directly addresses by promoting short iterative sprints.
Lin Hundt, Director of CyberInfrastructure
From the beginning, and as needed, set the expectation that your role includes balancing
everyone’s needs. Let stakeholders know you don’t expect they will always agree with one
another about the relative importance of project components…and it is your job to keep the
big picture (e.g., budget, mission, high-level project goals) in mind. Thus, they should expect
that you will help shape the project outcome to reflect the best overall solution rather than
one focused solely on their individual ideas.
Use a variety of communication tools to keep stakeholders informed & engaged. Choose the
form most applicable to your purpose/needs & be clear with your audience (and yourself)
about the intended purpose/outcomes of the communication.
Ursula Gross, Director of Web Communications
Before making any decisions, decide which decisions matter
When suggesting (or selling) an idea to stakeholders, prepare examples from “aspiration” sites
-- those associations or nonprofits that your stakeholders see as the next tier up.