BA Techniques: Stakeholder List, Map, or Personas

Purpose 

Stakeholders list, maps, and personas assist the business analyst in analyzing stakeholders and their characteristics. This analysis is important in ensuring that the business analyst identifies all possible sources of requirements and that the stakeholder is fully understood so decision made regarding stakeholder engagement, collaboration, and communication are the best choices for the stakeholder and for the success of the initiative.

Business Analysis Body of Knowledge^® (BABOK^®)

The stakeholder are all the interested parties in a project, the people who affect and influence the project, as well as those who are influenced by it. Without stakeholders, there would be no project to manage. Before starting the project it is important to identify and analyze the stakeholder according to their involvement,financial investment, and other criteria related to the project. Stakeholder mapping is the visual representation of a stakeholder analysis, organizing those people according to the key criteria with which to manage them during the project. The key stakeholders with the most weight and influence can help to gain resources or time lines, and can give a clear potential solution. Software solutions can help you analyze all the project stakeholders and then map them according to their interest, impact, influence, and importance.   

Stakeholder analysis involves identifying the stakeholders that may be affected by a proposed initiative or that share a common business need. Stakeholder analysis notes, consider, and analyzes the various characteristics of the identified stakeholders. When analyzing the stakeholder, business analysts utilize one or more techniques to draw out a list of stakeholders and analyze them. Stakeholder list, map, and personas are three tools that can be utilized when conducting the work. The common types of stakeholders characteristics that are worth identifying and analyzing include,

• Level of authority within the domain of change and within the organization
• Attitude toward or interest int he change being undertaken
• Attitude toward the business analysts work and role
• Level of decision making authority.

Some of the articles related to Stakeholder list, maps, and personas techniques are as follows,

• Stakeholder list, map, and personas - https://www.sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/14.0/guidebooks/tech_stakeholder_list_map_or_personas.html
• Guide to stakeholder list, map, and personas - https://miro.com/blog/stakeholder-mapping/
• Stakeholder Mapping - http://gsvc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Stakeholders-Identification-and-Mapping.pdf
• Stakeholder Analysis and Mapping - https://www.smartsheet.com/what-stakeholder-analysis-and-mapping-and-how-do-you-do-it-effectively
• Introduction to Stakeholder list, map, and personas - https://www.slideshare.net/MoreThanMetrics/stakeholder-maps-cheatsheet
• Practical Guide to Stakeholder Map, List, and Personas - https://www.uxpin.com/studio/blog/the-practical-guide-to-empathy-maps-creating-a-10-minute-persona/
• Identify and Describe Stakeholders - https://www.fhi360.org/sites/default/files/webpages/se-toolkit/SE_Toolkit_and_Steps_PDF_files/Stakeholder_Engagement_Toolkit-Step_5.pdf
• Stakeholder Analysis and Management - https://www.managers.org.uk/~/media/Files/Checklists/CHK-234-Stakeholder-analysis-and-management.pdf
• Stakeholder Analysis Guidelines - https://www.who.int/workforcealliance/knowledge/toolkit/33.pdf

Some of the factors to be considered in Stakeholder list, maps, and personas technique are,

• Stakeholder Lists - The goal is to ensure a thorough list is produced because this list is central to both stakeholder analysis activities and the planning work the business analyst perform for elicitation, collaboration, and communication. The list may become quiet lengthy. As the analysis conducted, the business analyst categorizes and adds structure to the list.
• Stakeholder Map - They are the diagrams that depict the relationship of the stakeholder to the solution and to one another. The two common mapping are,
• Stakeholder Matrix - Map the level of stakeholder influence against the level of stakeholder interest. It is based on four main analysis,

1. High Influence/ High Impact
2. High Influence / Low Impact
3. Low Influence / High Impact
4. Low Influence / Low Impact

• Onion Diagram - Indicates how involved the stakeholder are with the solution and which stakeholder will directly interact with the solution.
• Responsibility (RACI) Matrix - It stands in the four types of responsibility that the stakeholder may hold on the initiative that is Responsibility, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. It is a common practice to define each term so that a consistent understanding of the assignment and associated roles are understood by any stakeholder utilizing the RACI matrix.
• Personas - It is defined a fictional character that exemplifies the way a typical user interacts with a product. It is helpful when there is a desire to understand the needs held by a group or class of users. It is written in a narrative form an focus on providing the insight into the goals of the group.