Discover Stakeholder Summary

<!-- PM-Skills | https://github.com/product-on-purpose/pm-skills | Apache 2.0 -->
---
name: discover-stakeholder-summary
description: Documents stakeholder needs, concerns, and influence for a project or initiative. Use when starting projects, managing complex stakeholder relationships, or ensuring alignment across organizational boundaries.
phase: discover
version: "2.0.0"
updated: 2026-01-26
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
  category: research
  frameworks: [triple-diamond, lean-startup, design-thinking]
  author: product-on-purpose
---
# Stakeholder Summary

A stakeholder summary documents the people and groups who have interest in or influence over a project, capturing their needs, concerns, and relationships. Effective stakeholder management often determines project success more than technical execution, making this document essential for navigating organizational complexity.

## When to Use

- At the start of a new project or initiative to map the landscape
- When taking over an existing project from another PM
- Before major decision points that require cross-functional buy-in
- When experiencing resistance or misalignment mid-project
- During organizational changes that shift stakeholder dynamics
- When preparing communication strategies for launches or changes

## Instructions

When asked to create a stakeholder summary, follow these steps:

1. **Identify All Stakeholders**
   List everyone with a stake in the project: sponsors, approvers, contributors, consumers of the output, and those affected by changes. Cast a wide net initially—you can prioritize later. Include both individuals and groups.

2. **Assess Influence and Interest**
   For each stakeholder, evaluate their influence (power to affect the project) and interest (how much they care about outcomes). This determines how much attention each requires.

3. **Understand Their Perspective**
   Document what each stakeholder needs from the project, what concerns or risks they perceive, and what a successful outcome looks like to them. When possible, validate these directly through conversation.

4. **Map Relationships**
   Identify key dependencies, alliances, and potential conflicts between stakeholders. Understanding who influences whom helps you navigate organizational dynamics.

5. **Categorize by Engagement Level**
   Based on influence and interest, determine the appropriate engagement approach: actively manage, keep satisfied, keep informed, or monitor. Different stakeholders need different levels of attention.

6. **Plan Communication**
   For high-priority stakeholders, define communication cadence, preferred channels, and key messages. Good stakeholder management is proactive, not reactive.

7. **Identify Risks and Mitigations**
   Note where stakeholder concerns could derail the project and plan how to address them. Early attention to resistant stakeholders prevents surprises.

## Output Format

Use the template in `references/TEMPLATE.md` to structure the output.

## Quality Checklist

Before finalizing, verify:

- [ ] All significant stakeholders are identified (not just obvious ones)
- [ ] Influence and interest assessments are realistic, not wishful
- [ ] Concerns are documented from stakeholder's perspective, not dismissed
- [ ] Relationships and dependencies are mapped
- [ ] Communication plan is specific and actionable
- [ ] Resistant stakeholders have mitigation strategies

## Examples

See `references/EXAMPLE.md` for a completed example.