Stakeholder Expectation Management

5 minutes 5 Questions

Stakeholder expectation management is the process of understanding, documenting, and effectively managing stakeholders' expectations throughout the lifespan of a project. This involves gathering and evaluating stakeholders' needs, interests and constraints and aligning project objectives and delive…

Stakeholder Expectation Management in PMP: A Complete Guide

What is Stakeholder Expectation Management: Stakeholder Expectation Management is a crucial part of project management that involves identifying, managing, and fulfilling stakeholders' expectations. The process allows project managers to understand stakeholder needs, align their expectations with project goals, and navigate potential difficulties.
Importance of Stakeholder Expectation Management: Stakeholder expectation management has immense importance. It generates stakeholder’s engagement and support, identifies and mitigates potential risks, ensures smooth project execution, and enhances project reputation.
How it Works: Stakeholder expectation management works in steps such as identifying stakeholders, analyzing their power and interest, developing engagement strategies, managing communication, handling feedback, and monitoring changes.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Stakeholder Expectation Management: For PMP exam, practice questions, understand each process in stakeholder management, pay attention to conflicts and power dynamics questions, and comprehend stakeholder expectation management’s real-world application. Tip: Often questions about stakeholder expectation management focus on the 'how.' Make sure you understand application, not just the theory.

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PMP - Stakeholder Expectation Management Example Questions

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Question 1

You are a project manager for a software migration project. During a meeting with the stakeholders, one of them suggests a complete switch to another platform that would certainly increase costs and implementation time. What would be an effective way to manage this stakeholder's expectation?

Ignore the stakeholder's suggestion because it's not part of the original project scope. Explain the impact on budget and timeline, provide data from the project plan as a reason why the switch is not feasible at the moment, and involve the stakeholder in the risk management stages. Accept the stakeholder's suggestion without making any evaluations. Immediately switch to the new platform because the stakeholder is always right.

Correct Answer: Explain the impact on budget and timeline, provide data from the project plan as a reason why the switch is not feasible at the moment, and involve the stakeholder in the risk management stages.

The most effective way to manage this stakeholder's expectation is to 'Explain the impact on budget and timeline, provide data from the project plan as a reason why the switch is not feasible at the moment, and involve the stakeholder in the risk management stages.'. This addresses the stakeholder's suggestion with factual data about the potential costs and delays that the switch would incur, and presents an open and transparent conversation about the risks, which could help to align the stakeholder's expectations with the project realities. The other answers are incorrect because they either involve accepting the stakeholder's suggestion without analysis, ignoring it entirely, or immediately implementing it without considering its impact, all of which are not good practices in stakeholder expectation management.

Question 2

During the requirements gathering phase of a project, a stakeholder shares that they expect the final deliverable to have features that were not initially discussed. What is the best course of action for the project manager to manage this stakeholder expectation effectively?

Implement the new features without consulting the project team to keep the stakeholder satisfied quickly. Communicate to the stakeholder that the project scope is fixed and cannot be changed. Arrange a meeting with the stakeholder to understand the new requirements in detail and assess the impact on the project timeline and budget. Send an email to the stakeholder requesting the new features in writing for documentation purposes.

Correct Answer: Arrange a meeting with the stakeholder to understand the new requirements in detail and assess the impact on the project timeline and budget.

The best course of action is to arrange a meeting with the stakeholder to understand the new requirements in detail and assess the impact on the project timeline and budget. This approach allows the project manager to gather more information about the additional features, determine their feasibility, and evaluate how they would affect the project's scope, schedule, and cost. By having an open discussion with the stakeholder, the project manager can set realistic expectations and find a mutually agreeable solution. Simply communicating that the project scope is fixed and cannot be changed may not address the stakeholder's concerns effectively and could lead to dissatisfaction. Requesting the new features in writing for documentation purposes is a good practice but does not resolve the issue at hand. Implementing the new features without consulting the project team is not advisable as it may lead to scope creep, resource overallocation, and potential project delays.

Question 3

You are managing a significant infrastructure project. Your team has identified several key stakeholders with different expectations. A high-impact stakeholder has just communicated a change in their expectations. You have a new project plan that has not yet been communicated to the team. What should be your next step?

Start redesigning the project in accordance with newly set demands but don't immediately disclose these to the team. Discuss the expectation change with the stakeholder and understand its impact before updating the project plan. Augment the project plan's scope based on the stakeholder's changed expectations prior discussion. Communicate the change to your team first, then have a discussion with the stakeholder about the impact.

Correct Answer: Discuss the expectation change with the stakeholder and understand its impact before updating the project plan.

The best next step is to discuss the expectation change with the high-impact stakeholder first to understand its impact before updating the project plan. This allows for a clear understanding of the stakeholder's needs and how they affect the project scope, timeline, and resources. Communicating the change to the team without first discussing it with the stakeholder may lead to confusion and rework. Augmenting the project plan's scope based on the changed expectations without a thorough discussion with the stakeholder could result in misalignment and potential project issues. Redesigning the project according to new demands without disclosing them to the team would create a lack of transparency and could negatively impact team morale and trust.

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