The Stakeholder Perspective: Relationship Management to Increase Value and Success Rates of Complex Projects

The Stakeholder Perspective places people at the center of both projects and project management. It gives to the project management community a helpful, innovative, stakeholder-centered approach to increase projects’ delivered value and success rate. It presents a logical model also called the "Stakeholder Perspective," which acts as the reference point in a structured path to effectiveness. Starting from the analysis of a project’s stakeholders, the model integrates both rational and relational innovative approaches. Its continuous focus on stakeholder requirements and expectations helps to set a proper path, and to maintain it, in order to target success and to achieve goals in a variety of projects with different size and complexity. The book presents a set of innovative and immediately applicable techniques for effective stakeholder identification and classification, as well as analysis of stakeholder requirements and expectations, key stakeholders management, stakeholder network management, and, more generally, stakeholder relationship management.

The proposed stakeholder classification model consists of just four communities, each one based on the commonality of main interests and behavior. This model features an accurate and stable identification process to increase effective communication and drastic reduce relationship complexity. A systemic approach is proposed to analyze both stakeholder requirements and expectations. The approach aids in detecting otherwise unclear stakeholder requirements and/or hidden stakeholder expectations. An interactive communication model is presented along with its individual and organizational frames of reference. Also presented are relevant cues to maximize effective and purposeful communication with key stakeholders as well as with the stakeholder network.

The importance of satisfying not only the project requirements but also the stakeholder expectations is demonstrated to be the critical success factor in all projects. An innovative approach based on the perceived value and key performance indicators shows how to manage different levels of project complexity. The book also defines a complete structured path to relationship effectiveness called "Relationship Management Project," which can be tailored to enhance stakeholder and communication management processes in each one of the project management process groups (i.e. initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing). The book concludes with a look ahead at Project Management X.0 and the stakeholder-centered evolution of both project and portfolio management.

Massimo Pirozzi earned a MSc cum laude in electronic engineering from the University of Rome "La Sapienza." Principal consultant, project manager, lecturer, and educator, he is actively involved with the Istituto Italiano di Project Management (Italian Institute of Project Management), where he is a member and the secretary of the executive board, a member of the scientific committee, and an accredited Master Teacher. He is certified as a Professional Project Manager, as an Information Security Management Systems Lead Auditor, and as an International Mediator. He researches and writes about stakeholder relationship management, complex projects management, and effective communication.

Massimo has wide-ranging experience in managing large and complex projects in national and international contexts and in managing relations with public and private organizations, including multinational companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, research institutes, and non-profit organizations. He has worked successfully in several sectors, including defense, security, health, education, cultural heritage, transport, gaming, and services to citizens. He was also for many years a top manager in ict industry, and an adjunct professor in organizational psychology. He is registered as an Expert of the European Commission, and as an Expert of the Italian Public Administrations. Massimo is the international correspondent for the PM World Journal and the PM World Library in Italy.