Module 2 · Business Analysis Fundamentals
Stakeholders
Find everyone affected by a change, map their power and interest, decide how to involve each one, and agree who does what with a RACI chart.
About 20 minutes
The problem
Six months ago, a Lagos firm bought a billing system its partners loved in a demo. The accounts officer, who would use it every day, was never asked. It couldn't print the paper invoices two of the firm's largest clients insisted on, so she kept the old spreadsheet running alongside it. Within three months the new system was abandoned.
Projects rarely fail because the analysis was too technical. They fail because someone who mattered was missed: a user who couldn't do their job, a manager who blocked it, a client who refused the new invoice format. Stakeholder analysis is how a BA makes sure everyone who matters is found and heard.
The concept
Who counts as a stakeholder
Anyone who affects the change or is affected by it: the people who'll pay for it, use it, run it, support it, or be on the receiving end of it. Look in four directions:
- Up: sponsors and decision-makers (the managing partner).
- Across: the people who do the work today (lawyers, paralegals, the accounts officer).
- Out: customers and suppliers (clients, the software vendor, the bank).
- Around: support and control (IT, the auditor, regulators such as the data protection authority).
The power and interest grid
Place each stakeholder on two scales: their power over the change and their interest in it.
| Low interest | High interest | |
|---|---|---|
| High power | Keep satisfied: brief updates, involve at key decisions | Manage closely: involve throughout, agree decisions with them |
| Low power | Monitor: occasional information | Keep informed: regular updates, ask for their input; they often know the details best |
The people who do the work every day often sit in "keep informed", but their knowledge is essential, and their resistance can sink a project. Don't confuse low power with low importance.
RACI: who does what
For each key decision or deliverable, a RACI chart says who is:
- Responsible: does the work.
- Accountable: owns the outcome and signs off. Exactly one person per row.
- Consulted: asked for input before (two-way).
- Informed: told after (one-way).
Example
Part of Ashgrove's stakeholder register:
| Stakeholder | Role in the change | Power | Interest | Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Adeyemi-Cole, managing partner | sponsor, approves the budget | high | high | manage closely: weekly 15-minute update |
| Accounts officer | issues and chases invoices today | low | high | keep informed, and involve in design: she knows the process best |
| Lawyers (8) | record work and approve bills | medium | low | keep satisfied: short demos, minimal extra admin |
| Clients (50) | receive and pay invoices | medium | medium | consult a few major clients on the invoice format |
| IT contractor | supports the current spreadsheets | low | medium | consult on data migration |
And a RACI row: Approve the new invoice process: Responsible, BA; Accountable, managing partner; Consulted, accounts officer and two senior lawyers; Informed, all staff.
Walkthrough
- List everyone affected by a change to Ashgrove's billing, looking up, across, out and around.
- Place each one on the power and interest grid. Be honest about the lawyers: their interest in billing admin is probably low, but they can block anything that costs them time.
- Use the matters data to see who carries the most open work. The busiest lawyers will have the least time for new billing steps.
- Write an approach for each stakeholder (the task below).
- Draft a RACI for three decisions: choosing the solution, designing the new invoice, and switching off the spreadsheets.
Practice
Practice
Which lawyer is responsible for the most Open matters? Type their name.
Task
8 minWrite a stakeholder register for Ashgrove's billing change with at least five stakeholders. Put each on its own line starting with -, in the form Stakeholder | Power | Interest | Approach, where power and interest are high, medium or low.
Your work is checked for
- At least five stakeholders, each a line starting with -
- Each line has four parts separated by |
- Power and interest given as high, medium or low
- Includes the people who do the billing work (accounts officer or paralegals)
- Includes clients
Check your understanding
Answer every question to check.