Guideline: Identify Stakeholders
Identify stakeholders for the project through various techniques.
Relationships
Related Elements
Main Description

Not all stakeholders are created equal. It is crucial for the development team to understand who the stakeholders are that will leverage the solution. If pertinent stakeholders and their needs are not captured, the requirements process and end solution can be significantly hampered. The following techniques aid in identifying stakeholders.

Directed interviews

An analyst must capture the major business process activities and whom or what executes them. What are their key needs in the system, what problems exist for this role today and why? What would a successful solution provide to this role? Success Tip: Questions need to drive a specific outcome or information about who, what, and when; questions must not be open ended.

Fishbone Diagram

A directed technique to understand who is having a problem, and why they are having the problem. Success Tip: Use a fishbone diagram to get to the heart of the business problem and whom is having the business problem. Each branch on the bone depicts a problem or an issue that contributes to the business problem, and whom is having it. Keep asking questions until a better understanding is reached of whom the stakeholders are and what are their problems.

Customer Survey

Pertinent stakeholders are identified in a textual form and business problems. Success Tip: Use a customer survey to quickly document whom the stakeholders are and their key issues. Often the customer survey is simply to provide a high level list of problems and stakeholders. More in depth techniques can leverage this information.

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