Project Stakeholder Management in PMBOK 5th Edition

PMBOK, PM Training, อบรมบริหารโครงการ, โครงการ, บริหารโครงการ, มืออาชีพ, PMBOK 5thPMBOK or Project Management Body of Knowledge has arrived in its 5th Edition, which would be officially used for people intending to take PMP examination after June 2013 onwards.    PMBOK5th includes the changes on many issues, which were developed from PMBOK4th.   However, the interesting point is that PMBOK 5th isolates the knowledge about Project Stakeholder Management to be another body.  As a result, PMBOK 5th has 10 total parts of knowledge that are essential for people aspiring to be project management professionals or demanding PMP Certified (Project Management Professional). Initially, Project Stakeholder Management was incorporated in the body of knowledge related to Project Communication Management before being separated to be the 10th part of knowledge in PMBOK 5th.  This is considered a great improvement because Project Stakeholder Management is regarded as a top- ranked factor which can determine the success and failure of the project. It is necessary for Project Manager to understand the expectations and authority levels of all stakeholders involved in the project. However, such information is not easily accessible and understandable. This is because persons involved in the project are not inclined to express their expectations straightforwardly. Besides, persons with power to control resources and influence all kinds of decision making in the project may not show the identity clearly. Or, the levels of power may be altered when the events change. Building good relationships with everyone involved in the project, attempts to understand the standpoint and limitations of each individual as well as constantly positive interactions with everybody will allow Project Manager to understand well the expectations and power levels of those involved.
 
As to novelties for Project Stakeholder Management in PMBOK 5th, this is still similar to PMBOK 4th overall. But, the tool called Stakeholder Analysis is applied in examining the methods more profoundly. Additionally, there is the presentation of new Project Stakeholder Management Plan, which tries to create Guidelines for Project Manager to organize ideas about stakeholder management. This is documented as Project Stakeholder Management Plan, which contains the information on the strategies and methods of managing Stakeholder on an individual basis, relationship between stakeholders in each group or each person. There are also communication methods and information for transmission to each Stakeholder. The information can be said to repeat the former Stakeholder Analysis and Communication Management Plan in PMBOK 4th.  However, the real benefit and novelty appearing in PMBOK 5th seem to be an attempt to make Project Manager arrange Stakeholders into groups as follows.
 
1. Unaware: Signification - The group is not interested in the project due to the belief that it is irrelevant or has no impact on themselves or their work.
2. Resistant: Signification- The group has interest in the project, but is resistant due to receiving the negative impact.
3. Neutral: Signification -The group expresses interest in the project and does not oppose or support it.
4. Supportive: Signification - The group shows interest in the project and supports it. 
5. Leading: Signification - The group is interested in and strongly supports the project in the level of being leader of changes to make the project successful.
 
Apart from classifying stakeholders into groups as mentioned above, PMBOK 5th also refers broadly to the practices of Stakeholder Management to serve as guidelines for Project Manager in operation as follows.
1. Communication, persuasion and motivation so that Stakeholder has joint Commitment to pushing for a successful project.
2. Attempt to create common goals as regards both personal viewpoints and the perspectives of the project.
3. Explanation so that everyone realizes the benefits and Outcome of the project in relation to the organization and the individual.
4. Managing Stakeholder’s expectations to meet or follow the same direction as the goals of the project
           
5. Identify and forecast the expectations of Stakeholder which are likely to disrupt the goals of the project and determine the handling methods as soon as possible before they become problems.
6. Managing conflicts that arise in the project due to incompatible perspectives and expectations of each Stakeholder
 
In view of Project Manager, there is a need to work with Stakeholder in a committed and continuous manner. It is also vital to create a good image from the perspective of persons involved such as being reliable and trustworthy person, expert fully conversant with the details of the project, good listener and being open-minded, having a commitment to working by mainly adhering to the collective interest.
 
In summary,   PMBOK 5th attaches the importance to Project Stakeholder Management by isolating it to be a new body of knowledge. Apart from this, PMBOK 5th is also supplemented with guidelines helpful in managing stakeholders and good characteristics of Project Manager, which are necessary for Stakeholder management. Such guidelines are considered very useful for person aspiring to be professional Project Manager.
                                                       
                                                                         Paiboon Punyayuttakan (PMP)