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13 - PROJECT STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

Persona modeling can be used as an aid to developing product requirements during the initiation and planning
phases of a predictive life cycle software project and throughout the iteration cycles an adaptive life cycle software
project.

Persona modeling supports better decision making by keeping a team focused on delivery of value-adding
requirements and product features. Teams can shorten discussions by referencing personas that team members
are familiar with to settle issues of needs, wants, and exclusions.

13.1.3 Identify Software Project Stakeholders: Outputs

The output in Section 13.1.3 of the PMBOK Guide, is applicable for identifying software project stakeholders.
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13.1.3.1 Stakeholder Register

See Section 13.1.3.1 of the PMBOK Guide.
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13.2 Plan Stakeholder Management

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As stated in the introduction to Section 13 of the PMBOK Guide, stakeholder management also focuses on 13
continuous dialogue with stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations, addressing issues as they occur, and
fostering appropriate stakeholder engagement in project decisions and activities.

For software projects, it is especially important to plan for frequent involvement of customers, product owners,
and other key stakeholders to provide validation that the project is progressing towards the desired goal and
that the evolving product is suitable, because software functionality and behavior are difficult to assess until
demonstrated. The acronym IKIWISI (I’ll Know It When I See It) is often used to describe this issue and highlights
the need for frequent demonstrations to fine-tune required (and desired) functionality and behavior of the evolving
software. Because of the opportunity for divergent expectations among external stakeholders and project team
members, software project managers should plan for software demonstrations in timeframes of weeks rather than
months whenever possible.

13.2.1 Plan Stakeholder Management: Inputs

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The inputs in Section 13.2.1 of the PMBOK Guide are applicable for planning stakeholder management for
software projects, with the modification of Section 13.2.1.3 and the additional input for identifying software project
stakeholders provided in 13.2.1.5.

13.2.1.1 Project Management Plan

See Section 13.2.1.1 of the PMBOK Guide.
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©2013 Project Management Institute. Software Extension to the PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition 233
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