2013
STAT: Stakeholder Analysis Tool
Okechukwu Wyche
Team blue
5/9/2013
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1.1 Current manual method of stakeholder analysis .......................................................................... 4
1.1.2 Poor stakeholder identification and analysis ................................................................................ 8
1.1.3 Why projects can fail from bad stakeholder analysis ................................................................... 9
1.2 Solution Statement .............................................................................................................................. 9
1.2.1 Wizard .......................................................................................................................................... 9
1.2.2 Dynamically changing visual environments ................................................................................ 9
1.3 What Stakeholder Analysis and Management tool is used for.......................................................... 10
2 STAT Product Description ...................................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Key STAT Features and Capabilities................................................................................................ 10
2.1.1 Creates breakthroughs in system of systems engineering .......................................................... 11
2.2 Major Components (Hardware/Software) ......................................................................................... 11
2.2.1 Stakeholder analysis and management logic of Hester/Adams ................................................. 12
2.2.3 Embedded database .................................................................................................................... 13
2.2.3 Hardware .................................................................................................................................... 13
3 Identification of Case Study ............................................................................................................. 14
4 STAT Product Prototype Description ...................................................................................................... 15
4.1 Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software) ................................................................................... 16
4.2 Prototype Features and Capabilities .................................................................................................. 17
4.2.1All customer risks/technical risks ............................................................................................... 18
4.3 Prototype Development Challenges .................................................................................................. 19
Glossary ...................................................................................................................................................... 20
References .................................................................................................................................................. 20
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Table of Figures
Figure 1: Sticky Notes Brainstorming [1] ...................................................................................................... 5
Figure 2 Power, Legitimacy, Urgency, and Venn diagram [1] ....................................................................... 6
Figure 3 Stakeholder Relationship diagram [1]............................................................................................. 7
Figure 4 Stakeholder Management Table [1] ............................................................................................... 8
Figure 5 GUI example [2] ............................................................................................................................ 12
Figure 6 Relationship Circle Algorithm [2] .................................................................................................. 13
Figure 7 Attitude vs. Classification matrix [1] ............................................................................................. 14
Figure 8 Real Word vs. Prototype Table [2] ................................................................................................ 15
Figure 9 Prototype MCFD [1] ...................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 10 STAT Classification Venn Diagram [1] ......................................................................................... 18
Figure 11 Risk Matrix[1] .............................................................................................................................. 19
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1 Introduction
In the current high stakes fast moving environment there isn’t often times when the little
person is looked over. Though this can be seen a as a small miss sight it can have dire
consequences. Halting of the project or cancelation of a project/development can be a couple of
these consequences. That’s why in a relatively recent time the practice of stakeholder analysis
was into the forefront, first introduced in 1963 by Robert Freeman in his book Strategic
Management: A Stakeholder Approach[4], stakeholder analysis details the importance of paying
attention every person of value in a project or organization. Due to the importance of stakeholder
analysis there have been multiple techniques to implement the theory unfortunately these seem
outdated in these technologically fueled society, STAT is here to bring a new more streamlined
way to handle stakeholder analysis.
1.1 Problem Statement
“When problem solving, stakeholders play a vital role in the success or demise of a
project. A better monitoring solution is needed to easily identify and analyze stakeholders to
maintain situational awareness throughout the problem solving process.” – Team Blue
1.1.1 Current manual method of stakeholder analysis
The current method of stakeholder management consists on a round table like discussion
between a one or multiple system of systems engineers and some of the potential stakeholders. In that
discussion a there is a mass brainstorming where stakeholders are added their wants and relationships
are added one after another. They are usually done with a sticky notes on the board or sometimes in in
an office document. This sounds like it could become very large and complicated to view, well it can be
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as you can see in the picture below:
Figure 1: Sticky Notes Brainstorming [1]
As you can see this way of recording data can be inefficient. Even looking past the cosmetic
problems with this brainstorming technique, there are other issues like the ability to move
stakeholders around when occasion occurs. Also there are other inefficiencies in showing more
than the minimal amount of stakeholder data. After the brain storming there is a phase where the
stakeholders are placed into a Venn diagram based on their power, legitimacy, and urgency
(shown below):
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Figure 2 Power, Legitimacy, Urgency, and Venn diagram [1]
Inside the Venn diagram the stake holder would be placed where they belong, using sticky notes,
after careful decision making of the system of systems engineers. This along with the factored in
with the attitudes of the stakeholders and a diagram having the most important stakeholders
ranked highest by size (shown below):
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Figure 3 Stakeholder Relationship diagram [1]
All of these diagrams are used to give the user a visual of which stakeholders they should be
prioritized and which have the most connections to other stakeholders. Also the diagram there is
a table usually done in word or PowerPoint that has the stake holders sorted by most influential,
to give the stakeholders a strategy on which to go with for their project. This table is shown
below:
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Figure 4 Stakeholder Management Table [1]
1.1.2 Poor stakeholder identification and analysis
Although I mentioned in the above section that the current method of stakeholder
analysis was inefficient it is very important. Poor stakeholder management/selection can lead to
the downfall of a project. The selection of a stakeholder how has no power could waste valuable
time and resources whereas no paying attention to small stakeholder that has a lot of power could
be dangerous.
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1.1.3 Why projects can fail from bad stakeholder analysis
When there stakeholder analysis isn’t done well a project can be canceled. In the journal
presented to the STAT team by our mentors a real life example was given detailing exactly that.
A housing developer was trying to start construction in downtown’s waterside area and they
neglected to notice the power of a smaller stakeholder. That stakeholder holder ended up through
connections with other stakeholders ended the project, thus showing the importance even the
smallest stakeholder or group of stakeholders.
1.2 Solution Statement
“STAT is a standalone software solution that looks to alleviate the currently primitive methods
of stakeholder analysis. This tool will encompass identifying, prioritizing, and analyzing
stakeholders in a practical, visual environment. “ – Team Blue[1]
1.2.1 Wizard
STAT offers to help clean up some of the inefficiencies with our simple more efficient
wizard. STAT will also allow for easier navigation between steps and room for continuous
editing ability throughout all the analysis. Instead of sticky notes STAT will have stakeholders
have saved so they can always looked up for future reference or future updates.
1.2.2 Dynamically changing visual environments
STAT will also have the ability to dynamically change the above mentioned diagrams
with different user input. There will be tools to adjust the view of the diagrams so more attention
to certain stakeholders or just for common convenience. There will also be an algorithm set in
place so the relationship diagram will not get to incomprehensible.
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1.3 What Stakeholder Analysis and Management tool is used
for
STAT is specifically made to be used to view and edit the stakeholder analysis process. It
is not meant to create or schedule meetings although it will save the contact the information of
the stakeholders. STAT is also not a customer relation tool, it analyzes the stakeholders through
our algorithms based on the input the user gives or software. While it doesn’t create meeting the
STAT management table was instituted to give the stakeholders an idea on who to contact and
prioritize.
2 STAT Product Description
STAT will be a standalone java application that will be able to be used on any operating
system for convenience and portability.
2.1 Key STAT Features and Capabilities
STAT will allow the users to go through the different steps of the stakeholder analysis
(shown is section 1.1) editing and adding stakeholder information while they go. Also steps that
are already done can be revisited and changed if the user feels so. All information is stored while
going through the step into a chart that will be constantly updated while the user inputs. As said
before while the user is inputting the stakeholder information the STAT algorithms will be
working in the background constantly updating the diagrams and tables.
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2.1.1 Creates breakthroughs in system of systems
engineering
With the dynamically changing stakeholder relationship diagram (see Figure 3) system
of systems engineers are also able to see how the tiniest of changes can change a stakeholder's
weight in a project. With this their research can helped by bring easy real time instead of having
to constantly redraw the diagram when changes are made. The stakeholder management plan
(see Figure 4) will be the biggest help to the system of systems engineers mostly because it
holder all the contact information of stakeholders and it can be sorted by any field the user
chooses. This will also help the stakeholder create a strategic plan of action for their project.
2.2 Major Components (Hardware/Software)
The software will consist of a simple client java application that can be loaded onto the
current system’s operating system. The software will consist of an easy to use GUI that will walk
the user through the various steps of stakeholder analysis. The GUI will have all the steps shown
in tabs that the user can go through in any order (shown below):
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Figure 5 GUI example [2]
As shown above the GUI will always show the tabs of all the steps in stake holder analysis,
making for easy navigation. STAT will also have tools for viewing the various diagrams such as
zoom and pan (see Figure 5).
2.2.1 Stakeholder analysis and management logic of Hester/Adams
The algorithms that run in the background and that are the basis of how the diagrams will
look are all products of the logic of Dr. Adams & Dr. Hester. The Relationship Diagram (see
figure 3) itself is built off of collaborations of the classifications, attitudes and influences on
other stakeholder. The size of the circles in that diagram directly correlates with the user inputs
in those steps. This is shown in this example shown here:
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Figure 6 Relationship Circle Algorithm [2]
2.2.3 Embedded database
Instead of using a huge database Team Blue decided to use an easily exportable STAT
project file. The idea for using a huge database seemed to as overkill as of right now, the project
file will be able to be exported to office programs for easy viewing later. The project file will
still contain the contact information of stakeholders deemed not important until the user decides
to delete them, just in case they become of use later in the project.
2.2.3 Hardware
The STAT will need no other hardware than a computer, laptop, or tablet with basic
computing abilities.
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3 Identification of Case Study
The underlying logic behind our algorithms will be based on the research of Dr. Hester
and Dr. Adams. They are system of systems of engineers NCSoSE(pronounced nexus). As
systems of systems engineers they have adapted Robert Freeman’s theories on stakeholder
analysis. In their research every stake holder has at least one of the following classification;
power, legitimacy, and urgency. After deciding what the stakeholder’s classification is the
attitude that the stakeholder has toward the project is recorded. Depending on the how many of
the classifications they are placed in certain spots on the Classification Venn Diagram(see figure
2).The classifications and the attitudes are then graphed against each other into a matrix that will
be shown below:
Figure 7 Attitude vs. Classification matrix [1]
The color code you see in the matrix is the same as you will see in the Stakeholder Relationship
Diagram (see Figure 3). Also the algorithm that decides the size of the circles in the Stakeholder
Relationship Diagram (see Figure 6) is also taken from the above matrix. More information
regarding their research will be included in the references.
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4 STAT Product Prototype Description
Knowing that the time period to finish STAT is short there have been certain features that
will not be included in the prototype due at the end of the semester. Although they have been
taken off at the moment if time permits some might be implemented into the prototype. Below is
a table containing what will and will not be in the prototype:
Figure 8 Real Word vs. Prototype Table [2]
As you can see from above certain features like the ability for multiple users to add input
simultaneously and the ability to have a script that will automatically insert stakeholder
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information from a file have been left out, but otherwise STAT fulfills the wants of our
customers.
4.1 Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software)
Below is a picture of what features our prototype will have by the end of next semester:
Figure 9 Prototype MCFD [1]
The STAT prototype along with user input will have a way test data to test the software. Also
there is will be a way to insert test data directly into the STAT project file to populate it. As
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shown above in Figure 5 there will be a tab where the user can add the stakeholder wants,
classification, attitudes, and relationships. The majority of the editing of stakeholders will be
done in the stakeholder tab, while the rest of the tab will be mainly for views of the output and
specific stages. Also the STAT prototype will also be able to delete stakeholders, encrypt data,
and export the stakeholder files.
4.2 Prototype Features and Capabilities
As said before the STAT prototype will be very close to the idealized software. So all the
features except for the ones explained in Figure 7 will be in the prototype. One of the features
not covered in the above sections is a new Classification Venn diagram, which in the STAT
software will have stakeholders in the correct classifications in the diagram. Along with the
stakeholders being shown in the in the Classification Venn diagram there will also being a pop
up of the stakeholder’s individual information when clicked. Example of new Classification
Venn Diagram:
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Figure 10 STAT Classification Venn Diagram [1]
4.2.1All customer risks/technical risks
There will be a couple consumer and technical risks with developing software like STAT.
Team Blue understands that and below have created a risk matrix showing the possible consumer
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and technical risks that may occur:
Figure 11 Risk Matrix[1]
The biggest risk that STAT can foresee on the technical side is that the cluttering of data in the
Classification Venn Diagrams & the Relationship Diagrams making the hard to comprehend.
Team Blue has proposed a solution is having tools to pan and zoom tools into the GUI. There has
also has plans to highlight selected sections on the diagrams to make them more viewable. The
biggest customer risk would just be the consumer not being to understand the software, which
can be easily remedied with proper documentation or helpful pop ups.
4.3 Prototype Development Challenges
There are some development challenges Team Blue can foresee having during the coding
the process. One is having a method to have the user get notified when changes are made to the
stakeholders. This needs to be implemented just in case that the user makes a mistake by deleting
or editing a stakeholder. Being that all the diagrams are dynamically updated this can drastically
change the software’s output. Another problem that could take a lot of time to code would be the
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security portion of our program. Now that our software is no longer a client-server application
having administer profile to cover the security is no longer needed, but security is important
especially because a lot of the stakeholder information can be very sensitive. Lastly, Team Blue
realizes that making this portable in every operating system will be very difficult.
Glossary
stakeholder: A person, group, or organization that has interest or concern in an organization.[1]
stakeholder analysis: studying those in a project/organization and deciding who should be
prioritized and handled certain ways.
system of systems engineer: the users of our software their main job is researching the
stakeholder’s effect on projects/systems.
power: A relationship among social actors in which one social actor, A, can get another social
actor, B, to do something that B would not.[4]
legitimacy: A generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable,
proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs,
definitions.[4]
urgency: The degree to which stakeholder claims call for immediate attention.[4]
project file: the file STAT will use to store the stakeholder data in i.e. contact, information, and
want’s attitudes.
XML: extensive markup language used to store data in fields.
relationships: the connections between the various stakeholders.
References
[1] Blue, T. (2013). STAT Presentation. Retrieved from STAT:
http://www.cs.odu.edu/~410blue/deliverables.html
[2] Blue, T. (n.d.). STAT webpage. Retrieved from 410Blue:
http://www.cs.odu.edu/~410blue/deliverables.html
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[3] Freeman, R. (1983). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Boston: Pittman.
[4] Mitchell, R. A. (1997). Academy of Management.