Stakeholder Prioritization

Stakeholder Prioritization: A Complete Guide for PMI-PBA Exam

Why Stakeholder Prioritization Is Important

Stakeholder prioritization is a critical component of effective business analysis because:

• It helps focus limited project resources on stakeholders who have the greatest impact
• It determines communication strategies for different stakeholder groups
• It reduces the risk of overlooking influential stakeholders who could derail the project
• It increases project success rates by ensuring key decision-makers are properly engaged
• It helps business analysts allocate their time efficiently during requirements gathering

What Is Stakeholder Prioritization?

Stakeholder prioritization is the systematic process of assessing and ranking stakeholders based on their level of interest, influence, power, and impact on a project or initiative. After identifying all stakeholders, the business analyst categorizes them to determine engagement approaches and communication strategies appropriate for each group.

For the PMI-PBA exam, understand that stakeholder prioritization typically follows stakeholder identification and precedes stakeholder engagement planning.

How Stakeholder Prioritization Works

Common Prioritization Methods:

1. Power/Interest Grid: Classifies stakeholders into four quadrants based on their power (ability to influence) and interest in the project:
• High Power/High Interest: Manage closely (key players)
• High Power/Low Interest: Keep satisfied
• Low Power/High Interest: Keep informed
• Low Power/Low Interest: Monitor

2. Salience Model: Categorizes stakeholders based on three attributes:
• Power: Ability to impose their will
• Legitimacy: Appropriate involvement in the project
• Urgency: Need for immediate attention

3. Influence/Impact Grid: Maps stakeholders based on their influence over project decisions and the impact the project has on them

4. Direction of Influence Assessment: Evaluates whether stakeholders influence upward, downward, outward, or sideways in the organization

Steps in Stakeholder Prioritization:

1. Gather the stakeholder register (list of all identified stakeholders)
2. Select an appropriate prioritization method based on project needs
3. Assess each stakeholder against the selected criteria
4. Document the prioritization results
5. Develop engagement strategies based on prioritization
6. Review and update prioritization throughout the project lifecycle

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Stakeholder Prioritization

• Recognize the methods: Be able to identify which prioritization method is being described in a scenario question

• Focus on engagement strategies: Remember that different priority levels require different engagement approaches (e.g., high-priority stakeholders need more frequent, detailed communication)

• Watch for changing priorities: In scenario questions, look for indicators that stakeholder priorities might need reassessment (e.g., organizational changes, project phase transitions)

• Connect to requirements: Understand how stakeholder priority affects requirements elicitation, analysis, and validation strategies

• Remember sequencing: Stakeholder prioritization happens after identification but before detailed engagement planning

• Apply context: Consider how project type, size, and complexity affect which prioritization method might be most appropriate

• Look for distractors: Exam questions may include stakeholders who seem important but actually have low priority based on objective criteria

When answering PMI-PBA questions, always consider the perspective of the business analyst and how they should allocate limited time and resources based on stakeholder priority levels. Questions often present scenarios where you must determine which stakeholders require the most attention or should be consulted first regarding important decisions.