AtlasFree guide
Stakeholder management plan
Most projects do not fail on schedules. They fail because a senior person nobody mapped turns against the project in month two. A stakeholder plan is how you see that coming.
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Start with who, not what
Before the plan, before the schedule, list everyone affected by the project and everyone who can affect it. Those are different sets, and the second one is the one that surprises coordinators.
On a hospital rollout, the obvious stakeholders are the sponsor and the clinical leads. The dangerous ones are quieter: the ward manager whose rotas the training disrupts, the records clerk whose job the system changes.
The influence and interest map
Place each stakeholder on two axes: how much influence they have over the project, and how interested they are in it. That gives you four kinds of people and four different jobs.
- High influence, high interest — manage closely. Weekly contact, early drafts, no surprises.
- High influence, low interest — keep satisfied. Short, well-timed updates; do not flood them, but never let them hear about a problem from someone else.
- Low influence, high interest — keep informed. They often become your allies and your early-warning system.
- Low influence, low interest — monitor. Do not ignore them; influence changes when the project starts to bite.
What each person actually wants
Under every stakeholder's stated position is a practical worry. The sponsor worries about being blamed for the budget. The clinical lead worries about patient safety headlines. The ward manager worries about staffing the ward while nurses are in training.
Write that worry down next to their name. When you communicate, answer the worry first and the project detail second.
Revisit the map monthly
People move. A stakeholder who was supportive goes quiet. A quiet department starts emailing concerns. The map is only useful if it reflects this month, so review it before every steering committee and after any difficult conversation.
Worked example — stakeholder map entries from a records rollout
| Stakeholder | Role | Influence / Interest | What they worry about | Your approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Okafor | Sponsor | High / High | Being blamed if the £1.2m budget or go-live date slips | Weekly written update; raise risks early with options attached |
| Dr. Rachel Adeyemi | Clinical lead | High / High | Patient safety and clinical time lost to a poorly designed system | Involve in design decisions; never present a clinical change as settled |
| Margaret Hughes | Ward manager | Medium / High | Staffing the ward while nurses attend training sessions | Plan training around rotas; agree session sizes with her directly |
| IT service desk lead | Support | Medium / Low | A flood of go-live calls landing on an understaffed desk | Early briefing on volumes; agree a floorwalker plan before go-live |
Free stakeholder map template
One row per person, not per department. Departments do not get nervous in steering committees — people do.
Name and role
A person, not 'the finance team'
Influence
High, medium or low over this project
Interest
How much they care, today
What they worry about
Their practical concern, in their terms
What you need from them
Decisions, time, sign-off, information
How you will engage
Format and frequency
Current sentiment
Supportive, neutral, resistant — and why
Last contact
A date, so nobody drifts
Common questions
What is a stakeholder management plan?
A working document that lists the people who can affect or are affected by a project, maps their influence and interest, and records how you will engage each one.
How do you identify stakeholders?
List everyone the project changes something for, then everyone whose decision or support the project needs. Talk to the sponsor and team leads to catch people the org chart does not reveal.
How often should you update a stakeholder map?
At least monthly, and immediately after any significant conversation, decision or staffing change that shifts influence or sentiment.
Manage stakeholders who write back
In the Atlas simulation you answer real-shaped emails from a sponsor, a clinical lead and a ward manager. They remember what you promised, react to how you write, and report on you at the steering committee.
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