Business Improvement Tools Made Easy

Stakeholder Management Plan (Volume 1, Chapter 3) problem solving, project management, quality improvement, process improvement, and six sigma

Robert F. Howe 1

Business Improvement Tools Made Easy

Copyrights Copyright © April 2, 2013 by Robert F. Howe Registration Number: TXu 1-861-381 First Published – May 2014 Publisher – Robert F. Howe Printed by CreateSpace Available from Amazon.com Available at www.howeconsultingsf.com All rights reserved Library of Congress Control Number: 2014908653 ISBN ISBN Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this document. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this document via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

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Acknowledgements This “acknowledgement” reflects the larger body of work (Business Improvement Tools Made Easy, Volume 1 and 2. This paper is just one chapter from one of these books. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this work and it offers you value, whether in your job, in school or in your personal life. I can personally vouch for everything you read that it does work and works very well. I also use these tools within my own company, Howe Consulting, LLC www.howeconsultingsf.com. I am keenly aware I do not know everything and you may see improvements. I am also sure there are errors of one sort or another in this collection of works. Feel free to contact me with any errors. You will find a “lite” list of references and acknowledgement throughout this work. Given the breath of folks who have published books, online articles or training material on the enclosed subjects, I am at a loss on who the real originators are. I hope anyone I miss will forgive me and agree the most important issue is getting their work out in the universe. I do need to acknowledge I have “borrowed” heavily from the work of Donald Wheeler and Minitab®. Minitab® asked I include the following acknowledgement which I am grateful to do. The work using Minitab® is based on Version 16 of their software. "Portions of information contained in this publication/book are printed with permission of Minitab Inc. All such material remains the exclusive property and copyright of Minitab Inc. All rights reserved. MINITAB® and all other trademarks and logos for the Company's products and services are the exclusive property of Minitab Inc. All other marks referenced remain the property of their respective owners. See minitab.com for more information." I need to acknowledge my gratitude to my two former employers, John Deere (34 years) and U.S. Navy Reserve (20 years). I am now retired from both. These experiences have shaped me and contributed to the content of this work. I would be remiss in not thanking my wife, Evie, and our 7 children and 19 grandchildren who constantly support me in everything I do. Although I would like to list each of their names, I am afraid my level of love and pride would not match yours. 3

Finally, let me share my objective for this work. This collection of topics was created to help people better understand those business improvement tools I believe can lead to significant improvements to their operations. You often hear about providing a “value proposition” to a business. Rest assured; regular use of these tools across your business will increase your stakeholder value. Finally, to aid in your understanding, most of the chapters include a case study on “how to” use that tool. If you enjoy this work, more will come. Let me know. Thank you.

Robert Howe [email protected]

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Preface I have written two volumes covering twenty business improvement tools. Volume 1 consists of ten basic but very important tools to ensure your projects exceeds expectations. Volume 2 consists of ten additional tools to ensure your decision making and process performance exceeds expectations. This article covers just one tool (chapter) from one of these books.

Volume 1 covers Project Charter, SIPOC, Stakeholder Management Plan, Process Mapping, CTQ Flowdown, Interpreting Data (3 parts), and Measurement Systems Analysis (continuous and attribute data).

Volume 2 covers Process Behavior Charts, Problem Solving Methodology, 5-Why (root cause analysis), Simple Linear Regression, General Linear Model, Decision Analysis, Pugh Matrix, Prioritization Matrix, and Process Capability Study (normal and non-normal data).

The target audience for this book are people who have a basic familiarity with general problem solving, project management, quality improvement and six sigma tools. However, the book is written to accommodate any level of understanding or background. My goal is to help everyone, no matter their starting point; thus, the term “made easy” in the title. I would suggest you first lightly peruse the table of contents to identify chapters of interest, followed by reviewing the first page or two of those chapters to understand where that tool will be most helpful. Then, when you are prepared to use one of the tools, come back to this material to review its intended purpose, caveats and “how-to” work instructions.

The information contained herein can be found in hard cover paper book, soft cover paper book, e-book as well as each individual chapter can be purchased separately (e-file). The soft cover can be purchased on Amazon. The hard cover paper book and an 8.5x11 inch full book e-file along with individual chapter e-files can be purchased on my website at www.howeconsultingsf.com/store. The website offers e-file templates with 5

examples for several of the tools shown in my books. These fully functional templates were created using Microsoft products (Excel and PowerPoint).

As stated before and in the interest of continuous improvement, I am open to any refinements you might have. Please feel free to contact me. Enjoy.

Robert Howe Owner Howe Consulting, LLC [email protected]

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Chapter 3

Stakeholder Management Plan

We will look at a handy tool called Stakeholder Management Plan. Note: It is common to see this tool separated into two separate tools – Stakeholder Analysis and Communication Plan. I have found they are two sides of the same coin, that is, you would not typically use one without the other. With that, this article will combine the two into one tool. A review of relevant literature would find these tools also referred to as Stakeholder Analysis Matrix, Communication Matrix, Communication Management Plan and Communication Plan Checklist.

What is a Stakeholder Management Plan and why is it important to you? Stakeholders are people or organizations that will affect or be affected by a project or initiative. They are also defined as people who can directly or indirectly influence the project results. A “stakeholder analysis” is used to estimate the current level of commitment to a project from these individuals or groups. It also identifies the level of commitment needed from each stakeholder to ensure project success. Gaps are then addressed with appropriate stakeholder management strategies and a supporting “communication plan”. So, what’s in it for you! A well developed and executed Stakeholder Management Plan will ensure your project succeeds where others may fail.

You might ask the question “aren’t all stakeholders taken care of as a matter-of-course within every project?” The short answer is no. A common reason why projects fail is stakeholders are often neglected causing insufficient support for the project or initiative.

Explain? When leaders and process owners are not “fully” onboard, there is a likelihood they and their organizations will not be sufficiently engaged towards a successful outcome. Proper stakeholder management is critical to the success of every project in every organization I have ever worked with. By engaging the right people in the right way, you can make a big 7

difference in the project success and, by the way, to your career. Now that is something we can all get behind.

To help your understanding of Stakeholder Management Plan, we will refer to the following case study.

Case Study: A business has noted “low hour” product warranty claims gradually increasing the past several years on their trencher product line. An in-depth warranty analysis found these low hour claims were not related to “specific” high failure rate issues. In fact, the review found each failure mode consisted of only 1 or 2 claims. Because their trencher product line represents their greatest improvement opportunity, the factory elected to launch a Six Sigma DMAIC project team to review this product’s low hour failures and identify the “systemic” root cause associated with these claims. Systemic problems are underlying process problems that often contribute to a myriad of downstream problems that show up in the process output. The team was chartered to provide recommendations on how to correct any systemic problems found. The team was also directed to review their findings with other product lines as it is likely these same systemic problems are affecting their operations as well. The Trencher project team has completed their “kick off” meeting that, among other things, resulted in the team starting to develop their Stakeholder Management Plan. After interviewing their stakeholders, the team completed this work at their next meeting. Execution of their Stakeholder Management Plan will ensure needed stakeholder support throughout the duration of the project. This, in turn, will significantly increase the probability for all project deliverables being met within the agreed upon timeline, i.e. maximize project success. This article will review the steps required to complete a Stakeholder Management Plan. Note: This case study is fictional.

If you are like me, you would like to see what the final product looks like before studying it in more depth. Let’s take a look at the completed Stakeholder Management Plan for this case study. Be forewarned - the following is an eye-chart, i.e. too small to read. It is provided to give you an overall view of a completed plan. As we proceed, we will break down each part into readable elements.

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February 1, 2013

Rob Howe

Project Team

Jim Smith Don Smith Randy Smith Tim Smith Joe Smith Doug Smith Product Quality Eng's Product Mfg Eng's Product Design Eng's Supply Mgnt Production Supv Production Workers Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Rob Howe Other Prod Line BUM's

Stakeholder List

PC, SC SC, DI SC, PO SC, DI SC, DI II DI DI II DI DI DI II II C II

Director, Quality Factory Mgr Bus Unit Mgr (BUM) Cust Spt Mgr Fac Quality Mgr Director, Engineering

MBB

Project Role

Position Functional Area

Stakeholder Analysis

Date: 1 January 2013 (Kick off Mtg w/ Project Champion)

Project Leader: John Doe

Project Name: Reduce Trencher Low Hour Warranty

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Project Area Power-Interest Benefits / Concerns / Interest Impact Level Unaware Aware High cumulative quality impact H A Mounting costs, prod slowdown H A Missing shipment dates, costs H B Increasing cust complaints H A o Frustration re: ops support H A Important D/Eng is on board L B o Don't know where to start H C o Too busy fighting fires M D o Not us, it is a training issue L D o 1st confirm it is a supplier issue H C o Someone else's job M D Doing their best L D o About time, reputation at stake M C o Skeptical - heard this before M C o Great project L C Let me know how it goes H B o How to find time, limited support due low individual failure rates

o = stakeholder present level

o

o

x

x x

x o x

o,x

o,x

+

+ + +

x x x x x x

x

x

+ + + + +

o,x

UnderCommitted Influence stands Supports Involved Expectation

x = w here w e w ant stakeholder to be

Influence Strategy Add to Vital Few - Regular updates Add to Vital Few - Regular updates 1:1 w/ Fac Mgr - Regular updates Regular updates Regular updates 1:1 w/ PC - Regular updates Regular updates 1:1 w/ BUM - Regular updates 1:1 w/ Eng Dir - Regular updates Regular updates 1:1 w/ BUM - Regular updates 1:1 w/ Supv - Regular updates Regular updates Regular updates Regular updates Regular updates Leadership to provide support, commitment, freeing up time

Strategy Development

(maximizing project interest, support & success)

Stakeholder Management Plan

Project Leader

Project Leader (PL) Project Leader Project Leader Project Leader Project Leader Project Leader Project Leader BUM Eng Dir Project Leader BUM Production Supv Project Leader Dlr Spt Mgr Project Leader Project Leader

Communication Owner Progress review Project Update / Help Project Update / Help Project Update / Help Project Update / Help Project Update / Help Project Update Project Update Project Update Project Update Project Update Project Plans / Ask for Support Project Update Project Update Analysis Results Final Report / Replication Opp Meeting Minutes (attendance, agreements, action items)

Message / Objective What

Communication Plan

Email

1:1 Steering Committeee Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Staff Mtg Staff Mtg Staff Mtg Staff Mtg Staff Mtg Daily Production Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Staff Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Special Mtg

Communication Type

Audience Who

Project Team

Project Champion Steering Committee + Others Steering Committee + Others Steering Committee + Others Steering Committee + Others Steering Committee + Others BUM Staff BUM Staff BUM Staff BUM Staff BUM Staff Production Workers Steering Committee + Others Dlr Tech Spt Staff Steering Committee + Others Product Line BUM's + Others

Presenter Who

Frequency When

Project Leader Weekly Project Team Monthly Project Team Monthly Project Team Monthly Project Team Monthly Project Team Monthly QE Team Member Weekly QE Team Member Weekly QE Team Member Weekly QE Team Member Weekly QE Team Member Weekly Production Supv Beg & End of Project Project Team Monthly Dlr Spt Mgr Monthly Project Team Monthly Project Team Project Completion Following each Tim Smith meeting

Medium How

Dates Delivered

Email

One on One 20-Dec, 4-Jan 21-Dec Presentation Presentation 21-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 23-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Verbal Update 23-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Presentation

At first glance, this plan appears to be a lot of work. It is not. The entire Stakeholder Management Plan can be completed in 1-2 hours, possibly less, depending on the complexity of the project. Although the development work is easy-to-do, the positive impact on your project results will be profound. Please give it a try. There are four main elements or sections of a Stakeholder Management Plan. They are:

• • • •

Stakeholder Analysis Strategy Development Communication Plan Project Team Plan

(yellow section / left side) (purple section / center) (orange section / right side) (green section / bottom)

We will review the “how-to” for each step for all four sections.

Stakeholder Management Plan - Construct / How To Stakeholder Analysis > who are your stakeholders and where do they stand Stakeholder Analysis is the technique used to identify the key people to the project success who are or have to be won over. There are seven basic steps to completing the Stakeholders Analysis section. They are all easyto-accomplish (I estimate less than 30 minutes to complete this section, not counting stakeholder interview time). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Brainstorm List of Stakeholders Identify Stakeholder Project Roles Capture Stakeholder Comments Determine Project Impact to Functional Areas Evaluate Power – Interest Level Determine Current & Future State Involvement Assess Influence Expectation

Let’s briefly discuss each these steps.

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Brainstorm List of Stakeholders The first step in your stakeholder analysis is to brainstorm who your stakeholders are. The project team working with the project champion should think of all the people who can be affected by the project, who have influence or power over it or who have an interest in its successful or unsuccessful result. Although stakeholders may be both organizations and people, the team members must ultimately communicate with people. The team needs to identify the most appropriate representative within each stakeholder group to connect with. A good place to identify some, if not most, of the stakeholders is the results of a completed SIPOC (Six Sigma DMAIC tool). Although this tool is generally used to scope the project, it has the added benefit of identifying who the project suppliers (S) and customers (C) are. Other stakeholders are those people who have influence on the project scope or “own” critical resources the team needs. Finally, do not forget the supervisors for each project team member. Use all of this information to compile your initial list of stakeholders. Then visit with each of these stakeholders to surface other likely stakeholders. Continue this investigative process to the point the project team and its champion feel comfortable all stakeholders have been identified. Note: As the project progresses, it is not uncommon for additional stakeholders to be identified. Depending on their importance to the project success, the Stakeholder Management Plan may need to be revisited. The following are the stakeholders for our case study.

Stakeholder List

Jim Smith Don Smith Randy Smith Tim Smith Joe Smith Doug Smith Product Quality Eng's Product Mfg Eng's Product Design Eng's Supply Mgnt Production Supv Production Workers Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Rob Howe Other Prod Line BUM's

Position Functional Area

Director, Quality Factory Mgr Bus Unit Mgr (BUM) Cust Spt Mgr Fac Quality Mgr Director, Engineering

MBB

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Identify Stakeholder Project Roles

This section identifies the “role” each stakeholder will play in the project. It is important the team understand who their “project owners” are as well as the “process owners” who will be directly impacted. A suggested list of roles is noted below. The team is free to modify the role descriptions to suit their situation. Project Roles: PC SC PO DI II C

-

Project Champion Steering Committee member Process Owner Directly Involved Indirectly Involved Project Coach (ex. Six Sigma Master Black Belt – MBB)

For our case study, the team settled on the following stakeholder project roles:

Stakeholder List

Jim Smith Don Smith Randy Smith Tim Smith Joe Smith Doug Smith Product Quality Eng's Product Mfg Eng's Product Design Eng's Supply Mgnt Production Supv Production Workers Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Rob Howe Other Prod Line BUM's

Position Functional Area

Project Role

Director, Quality Factory Mgr Bus Unit Mgr (BUM) Cust Spt Mgr Fac Quality Mgr Director, Engineering

PC, SC SC, DI SC, PO SC, DI SC, DI II DI DI II DI DI DI II II C II

MBB

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Capture Stakeholder Comments To effectively complete this step, as well as successive steps, the project team or a team representative needs to talk to each of their stakeholders. When the stakeholder is an organization, then speak with a person that best represents that body. This interview should result in understanding where that person or organization stands regarding support of the project, benefits they see, concerns they have, and key constituencies that will be impacted. People are generally very open regarding their views. Asking their opinions or for their input is often the first step in building a successful relationship with them. The team needs to be especially sensitive to those stakeholders whose functional areas will be significantly impacted by the project. Special arrangements may be required to keep these areas involved in all aspects of the project so they will feel ownership in the final recommendations and related decisions as well as gain their support for any changes to their area. Stakeholder interviews should be completed before the team’s second meeting where their findings will be used to complete the plan.

Following a review of stakeholder interview findings, the team should document key “descriptor’s” they believe best defines that stakeholder’s position on the project. It is common for stakeholders to identify one or two key project-related issues that are most important to them. For our case study, team captured the following information:

Stakeholder List

Jim Smith Don Smith Randy Smith Tim Smith Joe Smith Doug Smith Product Quality Eng's Product Mfg Eng's Product Design Eng's Supply Mgnt Production Supv Production Workers Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Rob Howe Other Prod Line BUM's

Position Functional Area

Project Role

Project Benefits / Concerns / Interest

Director, Quality Factory Mgr Bus Unit Mgr (BUM) Cust Spt Mgr Fac Quality Mgr Director, Engineering

PC, SC SC, DI SC, PO SC, DI SC, DI II DI DI II DI DI DI II II C II

High cumulative quality impact Mounting costs, prod slowdown Missing shipment dates, costs Increasing cust complaints Frustration re: ops support Important D/Eng is on board Don't know where to start Too busy fighting fires Not us, it is a training issue 1st confirm it is a supplier issue Someone else's job Doing their best About time, reputation at stake Skeptical - heard this before Great project Let me know how it goes

MBB

13

Determine Project Impact to Functional Areas

This step documents the anticipated impact the project will have on stakeholders. This, in turn, is a likely proxy to the stakeholder’s interest in the project. This information will be consolidated with other stakeholder analysis information that will be used later by the project team for developing appropriate stakeholder management strategies. A suggested list of “impact criteria” is noted below. The team is free to modify the criteria to suit their situation. Project Impact to Stakeholders: H M L

-

High Medium Low

For our case study, the team settled on the following project impact assessments:

Stakeholder List

Jim Smith Don Smith Randy Smith Tim Smith Joe Smith Doug Smith Product Quality Eng's Product Mfg Eng's Product Design Eng's Supply Mgnt Production Supv Production Workers Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Rob Howe Other Prod Line BUM's

Position Functional Area

Project Role

Project Benefits / Concerns / Interest

Area Impact

Director, Quality Factory Mgr Bus Unit Mgr (BUM) Cust Spt Mgr Fac Quality Mgr Director, Engineering

PC, SC SC, DI SC, PO SC, DI SC, DI II DI DI II DI DI DI II II C II

High cumulative quality impact Mounting costs, prod slowdown Missing shipment dates, costs Increasing cust complaints Frustration re: ops support Important D/Eng is on board Don't know where to start Too busy fighting fires Not us, it is a training issue 1st confirm it is a supplier issue Someone else's job Doing their best About time, reputation at stake Skeptical - heard this before Great project Let me know how it goes

H H H H H L H M L H M L M M L H

MBB

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Evaluate Power-Interest Level It is important for the project team to have an appreciation of each stakeholder’s power level and their particular interest in the outcome of the project. This includes understanding what motivates each stakeholder’s interest “for or against” the project. You would think all the stakeholder motives would be admirable. This is not always the case. Be on the lookout for situations such as - “I don’t agree with this approach”, “not now”, “competitive conflicts between stakeholders” or “over pushing a particular solution”. The knowledge gained in this step will help shape the team’s strategy for managing each stakeholder situation.

Depending on the team assessment, consider the following strategies: • Stakeholders with high power - high interest engaged • Stakeholders with high power - low interest point they check out • Stakeholders with low power - high interest informed • Stakeholders with low power - low interest excessively

> leverage their help, keep them fully > keep them involved but not to the > leverage their help, keep them well > keep

them

informed,

but

not

A suggested “power-interest criteria” list is provided below. The team is free to modify the criteria to suit their situation. Because some people may take offense to how they have been categorized, a coding sequence of A-D is recommended for the publicly shared document. Power – Interest Criteria: High Power High Power Low Power Low Power

– – – –

High Interest Low Interest High Interest Low Interest

-

A B C D

For our case study, the team settled on the following “power-interest” level for each stakeholder:

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Stakeholder List

Jim Smith Don Smith Randy Smith Tim Smith Joe Smith Doug Smith Product Quality Eng's Product Mfg Eng's Product Design Eng's Supply Mgnt Production Supv Production Workers Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Rob Howe Other Prod Line BUM's

Position Functional Area

Project Role

Project Benefits / Concerns / Interest

Director, Quality Factory Mgr Bus Unit Mgr (BUM) Cust Spt Mgr Fac Quality Mgr Director, Engineering

PC, SC SC, DI SC, PO SC, DI SC, DI II DI DI II DI DI DI II II C II

High cumulative quality impact Mounting costs, prod slowdown Missing shipment dates, costs Increasing cust complaints Frustration re: ops support Important D/Eng is on board Don't know where to start Too busy fighting fires Not us, it is a training issue 1st confirm it is a supplier issue Someone else's job Doing their best About time, reputation at stake Skeptical - heard this before Great project Let me know how it goes

MBB

Area Power-Interest Impact Level

H H H H H L H M L H M L M M L H

A A B A A B C D D C D D C C C B

Determine Current & Future State Involvement The next step is for the team to evaluate where each stakeholder “currently is” regarding their knowledge and support of the project. This information can be determined by the aforementioned one-on-one (1:1) interviews and/or team member knowledge of their stated positions. Once this information is determined, the team should discuss where they believe the stakeholder “needs to be” in order to maximize the project success. Any gaps between current state and future state will be addressed later during the Strategy Development stage.

The convention often used for documenting the team findings are: o = where the stakeholder presently is regarding project understanding & support x = where then project team wants the stakeholder to be to maximize project success

For our case study, the team, through consensus, agreed on the following matrix results:

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Stakeholder List

Jim Smith Don Smith Randy Smith Tim Smith Joe Smith Doug Smith Product Quality Eng's Product Mfg Eng's Product Design Eng's Supply Mgnt Production Supv Production Workers Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Rob Howe Other Prod Line BUM's

Position Functional Area

Project Role

Project Benefits / Concerns / Interest

Director, Quality Factory Mgr Bus Unit Mgr (BUM) Cust Spt Mgr Fac Quality Mgr Director, Engineering

PC, SC SC, DI SC, PO SC, DI SC, DI II DI DI II DI DI DI II II C II

High cumulative quality impact Mounting costs, prod slowdown Missing shipment dates, costs Increasing cust complaints Frustration re: ops support Important D/Eng is on board Don't know where to start Too busy fighting fires Not us, it is a training issue 1st confirm it is a supplier issue Someone else's job Doing their best About time, reputation at stake Skeptical - heard this before Great project Let me know how it goes

MBB

Area Power-Interest Impact Level Unaware Aware

H H H H H L H M L H M L M M L H

A A B A A B C D D C D D C C C B

UnderCommitted stands Supports Involved

o,x o,x o o

x x o x

o o o o o

x x x x x x

o o o

x

o

x x

o

x

o,x

Assess Influence Expectation Finally, it is important for the team to be aware of each stakeholder’s “influence” position on the project. The level of stakeholder influence depends on their power and/or coalition they can marshal to support their position. This knowledge will be helpful to the team as they shape their strategy for completing their project and how they will communicate and involve stakeholders. As indicated earlier, not all stakeholders will be an advocate for the project (its intent and/or priority). The team will need to identify what motivates each stakeholder and what it will take to either maintain their engagement or win them around. In some cases, the team will not be able to win an influential stakeholder’s support. In these cases, countermeasure strategies need to be determined. A suggested “influence measurement criteria” is noted below. The team is free to modify the criteria to suit their situation. + blank

Positive influence Negative influence Neutral influence

- proponent of the project - opponent of the project - neither for nor against the project

For the case study, the team agreed on the following stakeholder influence assessments.

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Stakeholder List

Jim Smith Don Smith Randy Smith Tim Smith Joe Smith Doug Smith Product Quality Eng's Product Mfg Eng's Product Design Eng's Supply Mgnt Production Supv Production Workers Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Rob Howe Other Prod Line BUM's

Position Functional Area

Project Role

Project Benefits / Concerns / Interest

Director, Quality Factory Mgr Bus Unit Mgr (BUM) Cust Spt Mgr Fac Quality Mgr Director, Engineering

PC, SC SC, DI SC, PO SC, DI SC, DI II DI DI II DI DI DI II II C II

High cumulative quality impact Mounting costs, prod slowdown Missing shipment dates, costs Increasing cust complaints Frustration re: ops support Important D/Eng is on board Don't know where to start Too busy fighting fires Not us, it is a training issue 1st confirm it is a supplier issue Someone else's job Doing their best About time, reputation at stake Skeptical - heard this before Great project Let me know how it goes

MBB

Area Power-Interest Level Impact Unaware Aware

H H H H H L H M L H M L M M L H

A A B A A B C D D C D D C C C B

UnderCommitted Influence stands Supports Involved Expectation

o,x o,x o o

x x o x

o o o o o o o o o

x x

o

x

x

+ + + + +

x x x x x x

+ + +

o,x

+

We have now completed the Stakeholder Analysis section of the Stakeholder Management Plan. As this point, the team will have a very good understanding regarding project support from all their stakeholders. The information from this work will be input into the next section – Strategy Development.

Strategy Development > determine strategies to engage stakeholders By now, the team will have a good idea on the “lay of the land” regarding the level of project support they can expect. The team can proceed into the project “as is” or the team can decide to use the information from the Stakeholder Analysis to develop “strategies” to improve any concerns that may have surfaced – said another way - close or mitigate key stakeholder gaps. The team’s ideal objective should be full support from all stakeholders, no stakeholder controversies, and eliminate the possibility of a stakeholder “causing” the team to have to backtrack or go a different direction much later in the project. I highly encourage the team to spend sufficient time in the “strategy development” stage to adequately discuss and identify actions to both (1) capitalize on existing stakeholder support and (2) identify appropriate measures when stakeholder support is lacking.

There is only one step to this section. Belying its relative “small space” in a Stakeholder Management Plan, this step generally requires the largest amount of discussion among the project team and its champion. In many ways, this section can be the most important part of a Stakeholder Management Plan. Depending on the breath and complexity of the project, Strategy Development can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes. 1. Plan Stakeholder Strategies 18

Let’s briefly discuss this step. Plan Stakeholder Strategies Here the project team, working with their champion, will determine strategies to maximize overall stakeholder support for the project. As earlier noted, stakeholders generally include local and top leadership, process owner(s), support staff and “front-line” workers. Identified stakeholder concerns should be thoroughly discussed. The team needs to align on specific ideas to close gaps with key stakeholders. Gap closure opportunities should be vetted with the project champion and action plans created to deliver on them. The results of this work will lead to specific communication opportunities being identified with stakeholders to either maintain their support or to win them over. As the action items are deployed to targeted stakeholders, the team should reconvene, if needed, to address stakeholder reaction, counterpoints and/or previously unknown information. These follow-up discussions may lead to the project team and champion having to readjust their direction. The team should briefly document their “high level” strategies in their Stakeholder Management Plan. Those strategies that are communicationrelated will be the foundation for the next section, the Communication Plan. For the case study, the team determined the following stakeholder strategies:

Stakeholder An

Stakeholder List

Strategy Development Influence Strategy

Add to Vital Few - Regular updates Jim Smith Add to Vital Few - Regular updates Don Smith 1:1 w/ Fac Mgr - Regular updates Randy Smith Regular updates Tim Smith Regular updates Joe Smith 1:1 w/ PC - Regular updates Doug Smith Regular updates Product Quality Eng's 1:1 w/ BUM - Regular updates Product Mfg Eng's 1:1 w/ Eng Dir - Regular updates Product Design Eng's Regular updates Supply Mgnt 1:1 w/ BUM - Regular updates Production Supv 1:1 w/ Supv - Regular updates Production Workers Regular updates Dlr Tech Asst Mgr Dealer Support Techs Regular updates Regular updates Rob Howe Regular updates Other Prod Line BUM's

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Communication Plan > communication action items to gain stakeholder support

This final phase of a Stakeholder Management Plan is both the easiest and the hardest. The easy part is “creating and documenting” the Communication Plan. The hardest part is “executing” the Communication Plan. My experience has found too many examples when a project stakeholder communication plan was not properly executed, or in some cases, not at all. Generally, there are many reasons (excuses) given when challenged. These include “a missing key participant caused the cancellation of the planned meeting, poor attendance, leadership did not participate, project team presenters were not adequately prepared, the communication owner did not inform invitees why they needed to attend, etc.” I suspect the reader has heard these and many more. It is important the project team appreciate the required preparation work to get the most value from their communication sharing’s. This includes ensuring attendees understand why they need to participate, proper role modeling by leaders, and presenters delivering clear, concise presentations that include “expectations” from attendees following the meeting. Note: These communications should not be an “event” but include on-going updates to keep stakeholders apprised of the team’s work. The high-level planning for this section should not take more than 30 minutes. The Communication Plan includes eight (8) recommended elements. These elements are not “rocket science” and reflect common sense issues that need to be determined. The important parts of this planning work are the discussion, alignment and documenting associated with each item that will help “cause” the proper execution of the communication plan. Recall - execution of the communication plan is the hardest part. The project team should devote a part of every project meeting to reviewing the execution progress and stakeholder feedback related to their communication plan. They should document the actual completion date for each communication event in the Stakeholder Management Plan. If execution is coming up short, the team should challenge themselves to improve and determine how they will quickly get back on schedule. The importance of good planning and proper communications cannot be overemphasized towards the success of the project. Good project work is often derailed because parties are not skilled in the communication process 20

and insufficient attention is given to designing, managing and executing a communication plan. As noted earlier, there are eight elements in the Communication Plan section. We will briefly discuss each. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Communication Owner Message / Objective (what) Communication Type Audience (who) Presenter (who) Frequency (when) Medium (how) Date(s) Delivered

Communication Owner This element is critical to the Communication Plan success. There needs to be “one” person (not a group) accountable for each communication event in the plan. You often hear “if more than one person is in charge, nobody is in charge”. This especially holds true within the Communication Plan. The “owner” is accountable to the team for the proper completion of the planned communication. That is, the communication is completed to the right audience with the right message in the right manner right on time. Enough said. Message / Objective I cannot tell you how many times I have heard from stakeholders that they were not aware of some important project element until the final report. We then wonder why stakeholders might resist the team’s recommendations. Information is power, both to the deliverer and to the receiver. If we want stakeholders’ on board and engaged, we have to deliver timely information, process their feedback and gain their support. We want to ensure communications reflect the latest knowledge. When appropriate, we need to be very direct on any “requests for help” that are needed. If stakeholders cannot provide it, find out why. Then work on closing that gap.

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Communication Type This element will document how the team intends to connect with the intended audience. Examples include taking advantage of existing staff meetings or one-on-one interviews. Audience You would think this element is a “no brainer”. Unfortunately, I have observed meetings when the presenter was surprised when the meeting organizer only invited people he or she “thought” should be invited. Consequently, not everyone in the target audience attended. When someone else is setting up a meeting, ensure they know the intended audience. Presenter The presenter may or may not be the communication owner. If not the owner, the presenter needs to be identified early so he or she can have sufficient time to prepare for the communication. Pick the logical presenter(s) for the specific audience. Do not fall into the trap of “assuming” the right person knows or use the “last person standing” technique. Identify your presenter(s) early. Frequency Most often, one communication event to stakeholders is not enough. You will likely need to brief key stakeholders at the start of the project, provide progress reports, and share team recommendations (final report). Medium To ensure team alignment, it is worth the time to determine the medium that will be used. You may think a simple “one-on-one” will suffice while the rest of your team believes a more formal presentation is in order. There should be no surprises within a team. Some examples include faceto-face, telephone, email, formal presentation, etc.

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Dates Delivered This element gets to the accountability concern noted earlier. This simple step helps the project team and communication owners ensure the intended communications are delivered on time. As noted earlier, the documentation of the Communication Plan should not take more than 30 minutes. Final warning - be wary of the aforementioned execution concerns.

Communication Plan Communication Owner

Message / Objective What

Communication Type

Audience Who

Project Leader (PL) Project Leader Project Leader Project Leader Project Leader Project Leader Project Leader BUM Eng Dir Project Leader BUM Production Supv Project Leader Dlr Spt Mgr Project Leader

Progress review Project Update / Help Project Update / Help Project Update / Help Project Update / Help Project Update / Help Project Update Project Update Project Update Project Update Project Update Project Plans / Ask for Support Project Update Project Update Analysis Results

1:1 Steering Committeee Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Staff Mtg Staff Mtg Staff Mtg Staff Mtg Staff Mtg Daily Production Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg Staff Mtg Steering Committeee Mtg

Project Champion Steering Committee + Others Steering Committee + Others Steering Committee + Others Steering Committee + Others Steering Committee + Others BUM Staff BUM Staff BUM Staff BUM Staff BUM Staff Production Workers Steering Committee + Others Dlr Tech Spt Staff Steering Committee + Others

Presenter Who

Frequency When

Project Leader Weekly Project Team Monthly Project Team Monthly Project Team Monthly Project Team Monthly Project Team Monthly QE Team Member Weekly QE Team Member Weekly QE Team Member Weekly QE Team Member Weekly QE Team Member Weekly Production Supv Beg & End of Project Project Team Monthly Dlr Spt Mgr Monthly Project Team Monthly

Medium How

Dates Delivered

One on One 20-Dec, 4-Jan Presentation 21-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 22-Dec Verbal Update 23-Dec Presentation 21-Dec Verbal Update 23-Dec Presentation 21-Dec

Project Team Plan > taking proper care of the project team You may have noticed the additional line item on the bottom of the overall Stakeholder Management Plan shared at the beginning of this chapter. It was highlighted in green and identified as Project Team under the Stakeholder list. This item is added to emphasize the “very strong importance” for effective communications within the project team itself. Poor internal communications lead to team member frustration, lack of involvement, missed action item dates, etc. Too often, project teams do not align on how they will manage internal team communications. A proven communication strategy is the time-honored technique of drafting minutes following each formal team meeting. Minutes should include who attended the meeting (and consequently who missed and needs to be brought up-to-speed), what the attendees agreed to, what action items were identified & when they need to be complete, documents relevant to the team’s work, and any other items the team feels are worthwhile to share. This area is often skipped with excuses of “not having time, who will do it, and if you were there you would know”. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this step for almost every project of consequence. If effective “stakeholder” communications are important to project success, 23

it is even more important within the “project team”. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.

Stakeholder List

Project Team

Benefits / Concerns / Interest

Influence Strategy

Owner

Message / Objective

Type

Who

When

How to find time, limited support Leadership to provide support, Meeting Minutes (attendance, Following each Email Tim Smith Project Leader commitment, freeing up time due low individual failure rates meeting agreements, action items)

Summary I hope you now see the value in completing a Stakeholder Management Plan. A good plan can lead to better input from key project constituencies, enhancing support coalitions, strategies to overcome opposition, improved project understanding, increase the probability of a successful transfer to ongoing process owners, and last but not least, good internal team dynamics. Please ensure a Stakeholder Management Plan is in your Six Sigma tool chest. Good luck.

An Excel Stakeholder Management Plan template that includes the aforementioned example is available at www.howeconsultingsf.com/store.

FAQ (frequently asked questions)

Can you ever shortcut this process? The short answer is yes, it can be abbreviated. As we all know, projects are not equal in scope or complexity. A Stakeholder Management Plan is simply a tool to be used appropriately for the given situation. However, the underlying message of knowing who your stakeholders are and developing strategies to ensure their maximum support for your project is, and will always be, a key ingredient to your project success. Ensure modifications do not get in the way of achieving the desired objectives. Keep in mind the biblical phrase “for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” - Galatians 6:7. How often does a Stakeholder Management Plan need to be revisited? It depends. A short answer is “as often as the team feels is necessary”. I suspect you would like something more definitive. Certainly any time there is a key stakeholder change that can have an important 24

impact on the project. Also, when it becomes apparent the project is struggling due to insufficient leadership or process support. A leading indicator of likely stakeholder problems is when the team begins missing important milestone dates.

Bonus Points: Please answer the following? (Correct answers are below) 1. When should a Stakeholder Management Plan be reviewed? a. When you have a significant change in project direction. b. At the beginning of a project - generally after the project charter and SIPOC have been completed. c. Whenever a key stakeholder is replaced. d. All of the above. 2. T F Results of a Stakeholder Analysis can be a good predictor of stakeholder’s future behavior. 3. Which of the following is a potential limitation associated with a Stakeholder Management Plan? a. On-going interactions with stakeholders will likely increase their support. b. Stakeholders may not accurately represent or have support from groups they belong to. c. It is a dynamic process that allows for changing circumstances. d. It focuses on the decision makers and key participants at the start of the project. 4. Which of the following is true regarding a Stakeholder Management Plan? a. It can be used anytime in a project’s life. b. It can be done informally or quite rigorously if the project warrants. c. Its usefulness applies to projects, policy roll-outs, new initiatives and process improvement situations. d. All of the above.

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Answers: 1. 2. 3. 4.

d T b d

– – – –

All of the above True - but there are no guarantees. It is always good to test stakeholder responses with others. All of the above

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About the Author

Robert Howe is the owner of Howe Consulting, LLC located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He spent 34 years working in all aspects of business with John Deere and 20 years in U.S. Navy aviation, retiring as a Commander. His company specializes in business process improvement. He has been intimately involved in many process improvement projects for different clients that have all achieved significant levels of improvement. Rob’s credentials include graduation from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (BSEE), University of West Florida (MBA), University of Virginia Darden Graduate School of Business (Executive Strategic Planning) and Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Executive Operations & Technology). He is a former ISO 9001 Management Representative and an ASQ certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

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