Stakeholders | Value Model

Project Management for R&D

Stakeholders, roles, responsibilities, and powers of authority

In a project, there are usually two different groups of stakeholders:

external - people outside your organization
internal - people inside your organization

External stakeholders

The external stakeholders can be anything from a single person to a very complex network of many different people. A definition of all those stakeholders affected can be created by following the product physically, or by following the financial transaction it causes, or by the flow of information.

These flows partly coincide and can be combined to form a common customer chain. Other players influencing can also be added to the customer chain, for example, public authorities, mass media, or environmental movements. The end of the customer chain is made up of users or end-consumers.

Customer Chain

In the template

In the Project definition template, we have only included a simplification of the customer concept. You may have to develop the customer concept on a separate board.

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Internal stakeholders

The organizational form we recommend for a project closely resembles that of a limited company. The description below are guidelines that must be adjusted to each organization and project.

The sponsor

The sponsor holds the ultimate responsibility for the successful execution of the project. The sponsor can be one person or a group of people. The sponsor must command all the resources necessary for carrying out the project. The sponsor's task is to:

ensure availability of the required resources for carrying out the project
appoint the steering committee and its chairperson if applicable
approve the Goal statement
establish the project within the organization
start and finish the project.

Steering Committee

The steering committee acts as a proxy for the sponsor concerning monitoring and controlling the project. The steering committee shall preferably not be too large, and three to five individuals are usually the best. These individuals must possess the expertise required for supporting and guiding the project. They must also have enough time, commitment, and interest to play an active part in the project. The steering committee's task is to:

appoint a project manager
appoint project members, in consultation with the project manager
approve the project plan
follow up and ensure the project plan is followed
contribute to creating a positive working climate
support the project and make contributions in crises
ensure the project follows the company's Gate model if applicable
approve deviations from the project plan
inform the sponsor of project results.

Project Manager

The steering committee appointed the project manager and is responsible for running the project. The project manager's task is to:

select members of the project, in consultation with the steering committee
formulate a Project Definition, Project Plan, and Project Control System in consultation with the members of the project
run the project in a professional manner
put together progress reports and report to the steering committee
keep a continual record of the results of the project and all deliverables approved
take corrective action and draw attention to deviations from the project plan.

Project team members

Team members have collective responsibility for the Goal statement and individual responsibilities for their deliverables. The project members' task is to:

produce high quality work within their respective areas of responsibility
contribute within other areas if required
keep a record of the results of their work
share experiences and expertise with the team and
the organization
contribute to a positive working climate in the team.

We distinguish between core and extended team members in the template. Core team members are the people driving the project and participate regularly. People in the extended team are usually experts that are called in to provide advice or work within their area of expertise.

Gate Assessor

The sponsor appointed the gate assessor and is responsible for reviewing the project and preparing and running the gate meeting. The gate assessor should be a person capable of making an independent and unbiased evaluation of the project. The task of the gate assessor is to:

review the project and the business case
report to the sponsor regarding readiness for running the gate meeting
prepare and run the gate meeting
ensure the production of a protocol from the gate meeting.

Internal stakeholders

In the template