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Stakeholder Management for the PMP Exam: Identify, Engage, Monitor
Identify stakeholders early and keep doing it; then actively engage them. Engagement is two-way; sending information is not enough.
In simple words
Stakeholders are all the people affected by your project. Find them early, keep looking for new ones, and actually talk with them. Sending emails isn't the same as engaging them.
What the PMP exam wants
Identify stakeholders starts in initiating and continues through the project; results go into the stakeholder register (interests, influence, attitude). Tools: power/interest grid, salience model. The stakeholder engagement plan compares current and desired engagement (unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, leading) and plans how to move people.
Manage stakeholder engagement means working with them: listening, addressing concerns, negotiating. Monitor stakeholder engagement checks whether the strategies work. Communication sends information; engagement builds involvement and support.
Real example
The customer's maintenance manager was never added to the stakeholder register and is resistant because nobody consulted him on spare parts. The PM meets him, captures his requirements, and he becomes supportive.
The common trap
Identification is not a one-time register dump. A newly discovered stakeholder is analyzed and added. Resistance is handled by engaging, not by sending more emails.
Remember: Communicate = send. Engage = involve.
🗝 Words to notice in the question
“new stakeholder”, “resistant” → register, analyze, engage
Try 2 practice questions
Choose an answer, or open “Show the answer.”
Question 1 Late in the project, a new influential stakeholder appears. What should the PM do first?
Show the answer
Answer: B. Identification continues throughout the project.
Question 2 A key stakeholder is resistant. Which approach best reflects stakeholder engagement?
Show the answer
Answer: B. Engagement is two-way: listen and address concerns.
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