What is a stakeholder? Simply put, stakeholders are people who have an interest in the success of your project. This includes anyone vested in the result; they could be customers, managers, or even friends and family. The Stakeholder Cube is a tool for understanding how different statements can affect these different groups of stakeholders and their respective levels of satisfaction with your project.
It enables increased awareness of those around you and keeps everyone focused on the projects at hand. It also ensures that the right people know, and others will not be surprised when they hear about your project’s success or failures. I have included a detailed example of how to use the cube below to understand exactly what is involved in this process and see its value for yourself.
The best way to use the Stakeholder model is to have a team of stakeholders work with you in its creation. That includes members of your organization, clients, and family or friends. This enables everyone’s different needs to be met and keeps everyone up to date on what is happening with your project.
Stakeholder Cube Definition
Stakeholder cube. This is a refinement of the grid models previously mentioned. This model combines the grid elements into a three-dimensional model that can be useful to project managers and teams in identifying and engaging their stakeholder community. It provides a model with multiple dimensions that improves the depiction of the stakeholder community as a multidimensional entity and assists with the development of communication strategies.
PMBOK (13.1.2.4)
Stakeholder Cube Explanation
The Stakeholder Cube is created via stakeholder mapping. Stakeholder mapping is a process that determines who your stakeholders are and what levels of satisfaction they have with the project. It also allows you to figure out who will be affected by your project, as well as those who may not care either way about it. The stakeholder model entails three parameters, which include power, influence, and interest.
Power
Power is the stakeholders “ability to make things happen the way they want.” While this is often quantifiable, it can be hard to measure. Power vs Interests are what stakeholders will gain or lose, while influence is how much power each stakeholder has in your project.
Influence
Influence is the second parameter of the Stakeholder model. It includes four sub-parameters, which are power, interests, communication, and actions. Power is relative to your project; you should document stakeholders who can affect conditions or outcomes related to it. Influencers could be projects leaders or even any potential impact on people not directly involved with the project.
Interests
Interests are the gains, and losses stakeholders will experience as a result of your project. They include money, property, respect, and reputation. In our example, you can see that two of my stakeholders have no financial interest in this project at all. One does stand to lose respect from those who work for her because she did not take a project management class. One of my stakeholders could also be a financial gain involved in this project, but it is relatively small.
How to Create Stakeholder Cube
You should create a cube by inputting data into Excel using four columns:
Your list of stakeholders.
Their level of satisfaction (include the plus and minus signs).
Who will be affected by your project (if you can’t think of anyone, add this column in as well)?
Create your own copy of stakeholder cube here
Stakeholder Cube PMP Example
Stakeholder Cube Model FAQ
What is a stakeholder cube?
A stakeholder cube is a visual way to display information related to stakeholders. It provides useful data that allows you to quantify this information and better understand your relationships with those around you.
What are the 3 I’s of stakeholders?
The 3 I’s of stakeholders include interest, influence and involvement. They help determine how important a stakeholder is to your project and whether they need to be informed about it or not. Interests are the gains, and losses stakeholders will experience as a result of your project. Influence is how much power each stakeholder has in your project. Involvement is how involved stakeholders are with it.
What is a stakeholder tool?
A stakeholder tool is communication or analysis that connects stakeholders to your project. It allows you to understand their needs and how this information can be used effectively throughout the life of your project.
What is a stakeholder matrix used for?
A stakeholder matrix is a visual way of mapping out your project and showing how it will affect others. It provides information regarding the people involved with your project and allows you to make decisions that meet everyone’s needs (at least as much as possible).
What are the five levels of stakeholder engagement?
The five levels of stakeholder engagement include unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, and leading. The unaware level is when stakeholders are unaware of your project. The resistant level is when they feel threatened by the changes you are making to your project. They are not supporting it at all. Neutral level stakeholders don’t care about your project either way, while supportive stakeholders are on board with whatever you’re doing. Leading level stakeholders lead the rest of the group in supporting your project.
Stakeholder Cube vs Salience Model
The stakeholder cube and the salience model are two different ways of analyzing and understanding your project and its stakeholders. The Salience Model is a visual way to map out how vital each stakeholder is. It maps out who has power in your project and what their interests, skills, and support levels are for it.
The Stakeholder model is a visual way to map out how your project affects others. It provides information regarding the people involved with it and how important they are to you. It also shows what their interests, skills, and support levels are for it.
To choose which one of these tools will work best for you, ask yourself, ‘what am I trying to accomplish with my project?’ and ‘who am I working with?’. If you’re looking to bring in more people interested in your project, the Salience Model will let you know which stakeholders are most important. On the other hand, if you want to understand how each person involved with your project is affected and how they feel about it, then the Stakeholder model will work best.
The two models go hand in hand and can be used together. While the Salience Model lets you know who your stakeholders are, their importance, and levels of involvement, the Stakeholder model shows how these people will be affected by your project and what to do with them specifically. So using both tools allows you to understand your projects and their stakeholders better.
How can you use the Stakeholder Model and Salience Model together?
You can map out how the people involved with your project feel about it by using both models. The Salience Model shows each stakeholder’s attitude towards your project and their levels of involvement. Meanwhile, the Stakeholder model tells you what information to collect for each stakeholder based on their attitude.
Once you have this information for both models, you can map out what each person wants from your project and get these things done. If someone is resistant, find out why by asking yourself, ‘what are they resisting?’ The salience model will help you determine the best way to communicate with them.
