3.2.3.1P Managing Stakeholder Expectations

(3.2.3.1P.P1)

You performed an initial stakeholder analysis when you performed analysis in step 1.0P (See 1.1P Identify Stakeholders.) The stakeholder analysis should also be updated periodically to ensure that the stakeholders are being engaged successfully. This includes validating the relative importance of the stakeholder groups as well as your interest for each group. If the stakeholders are not being engaged as you wished, you should update or change your activities. It is possible that you will also discover new stakeholders as the project progresses, and they should be accounted for in this process as well.

You need to execute the stakeholder management activities from your original plan. The communications aspect of your stakeholder analysis will already be executed as a part of your Communication Management Plan. However, there may be other elements of your stakeholder analysis that need to be executed as well.

Managing the expectations of the stakeholders is important on all projects, but especially when the project is large, highly visible, political and / or business critical. When expectations are managed well, all parties feel good about the outcome, even if the project experiences a number of changes and challenges. When expectations are not managed well, even a project that comes in on time and on budget might be seen as unsuccessful from a client perspective.

Managing expectations means keeping the stakeholders informed as to how the project is going and the changes, if any, that are made to previous agreements and understandings. Major surprises can be fatal to a project. The project manager should ensure that the stakeholders are involved in the project and that the expectations of the stakeholders and project manager are always aligned. The bottom line is that you want to make sure you provide advance communication so that your stakeholders know what is going on and what is likely to happen. You should make sure that you inform your clients of any major news (good or bad) before they find out from some other source.

The following process helps set an overall framework for successfully managing expectations:

 

Role

Managing Expectations

1

Project Manager, Client

Establish an agreement

This is probably the most overlooked yet most obvious piece. It is difficult or impossible to manage client expectations if you do not have some agreement to begin with. There are two places to gain the original agreement. The first is the Project Charter. One of the purposes of the Project Charter is to ensure that there is agreement on the project scope, deliverables, assumptions, risk, budget, timeline, etc. The next obvious area for gaining agreement is the business requirements. Documenting the business requirements and having the client approve them is a major step in establishing the initial agreement.

2

Project Manager

Manage change

If you do not have an agreement to start with, you have no chance to manage expectations effectively. However, once an agreement has been reached, changes should be managed through the change management process. This ensures that the business client approves all changes and helps keep expectations in line.

3

Project Manager

Communicate proactively

When the agreement has been reached, continue to communicate proactively through the status reporting process or as part of a broader Communications Plan – especially if there are any problems meeting the expectations. This helps the client keep up-to-date on progress, issues, risks, etc. The main motivation is to avoid surprises. You want to inform your clients before they call you after hearing of news elsewhere.

4

Project Manager

Periodically assess performance

The project manager should be assessing expectations on an ongoing basis. This is usually done by managing the schedule and budget, which will help you determine quickly if the expectations of the project are not being met. If it looks unlikely that you will meet expectations, immediate steps should be taken to get back on track.

5

Project Manager

Deliver against the expectations

Again, this may seem obvious. However, once an agreement has been put into place, you need to make sure that you deliver as expected. One of the weaknesses on the part of many people is that they do not fulfill their agreed-upon expectations, and they do not communicate with the client to inform them of the status and acknowledge the missed expectation.

6

Project Manager

Reset expectations if necessary

If you determine that the original agreement cannot be satisfied, the agreement should be re-negotiated. This process includes gathering the facts surrounding the inability to meet the original agreement. In addition, alternative courses of action should be formulated to determine how to perform as closely to the original agreement as possible in a way that will satisfy both parties. This may include more time, increased budget or delivering something less than the client originally wanted. Once a modified agreement has been reached, reset the expectations and begin the work necessary to meet the requirements of the new agreement.

7

Project Manager, Client

Complete the agreement

Review the completed work with the client to ensure that the terms of the agreement have been fully met. If not, negotiate what will be required to fulfill the agreement.