Keep Satisfied Manage Closely
Influence
Monitor Keep Informed
Interest
Stakeholder Map
A stakeholder map is a visual or physical representation of the various individuals and
groups involved with a particular challenge or system—the stakeholders of your design
process in other words.
Stakeholder maps come in incredibly handy when you want to:
◼ Identify the core parties you want to collaborate with throughout the rest of the
design process.
◼ Understand where the power and influence might come from in regard to design decisions.
◼ Check you’ve considered and included every group of stakeholders.
◼ Learn more about the perspectives of stakeholders, how they are related to the project
and what area they therefore represent.
3 Steps to Create a Stakeholder Map
Stakeholders are affected by and can affect your design project to varying degrees, and
you can use the process below to create your very own stakeholder map that clearly
outlines as many of these effects as possible.
It’s good to remember that stakeholder maps are best created with a team. If you already
have some idea of who the main stakeholders are, try to include them in this team! This
will help challenge assumptions, provide different perspectives and ensure participation
and involvement from key stakeholders right from the get-go. Once you’ve assembled
your team, it’s time to get properly stuck into the process!
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Step 1: Brainstorm Who Your Stakeholders Are
All members of your team should brainstorm who they think your stakeholders are—
both internally and externally.
◼ Run a 5-minute braindump session where all team members write down stakeholders
on different Post-it notes in silence. You can remind the group to think of anyone who
will be affected in any way by the design project, either directly or indirectly.
◼ Team members take it in turns to place their Post-its on a whiteboard or table, briefly
describing each one.
◼ Each team member should place their Post-its to form groups where necessary—i.e.,
where one of their stakeholders is the same or similar to that from another team
member.
◼ Once all the Post-its have been placed, create a list of all the different types of
stakeholders the group has come up with.
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Also, if you remix, transform, or build upon this template, you must distribute it under the same CC BY-SA license.
Step 2: Prioritize Your List of Stakeholders
Draw an outline of the chart below and, as a group, discuss where to plot each of the
stakeholders you highlighted in Step 1 based on their influence over and interest in the
design project.
Keep Satisfied Manage Closely
Influence
Monitor Keep Informed
Interest
You will get a good idea of how to manage the range of stakeholder needs depending on
where you plot them on the chart. For example, it’s a good idea to do the following with
the stakeholders who sit within each section:
◼ Manage Closely: You should aim to fully engage with these highly influential, highly
interested stakeholders, and make the greatest efforts to satisfy them during the
design process.
◼ Keep Satisfied: This group of stakeholders are highly influential, yet less interested in
your design project. You should put in enough effort that they remain satisfied, yet take
care not to overdo it.
◼ Keep Informed: On the other hand, these stakeholders are highly interested but not
very influential. These people have the potential to provide great advice during the
design process and help you spot and overcome any issues, so make sure you keep
them adequately informed of what’s going on.
◼M
onitor: Stakeholders in this section are the least influential as well as the least
interested. Keep an eye on these stakeholders but don’t bother them with excessive
communication; it’s a waste of your time.
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Creative Commons BY-SA license: You are free to edit and redistribute this template, even for commercial use, as long as you give credit to the Interaction Design Foundation.
Also, if you remix, transform, or build upon this template, you must distribute it under the same CC BY-SA license.
Step 3: Engage and Communicate with Your Stakeholders
Now you’ve identified and ranked your various stakeholders, it’s time to get them
engaged in your design process—the best way to do this is through communication. The
questions below are good examples of what to ask your stakeholders to help you enhance
and make sense of the map even further.
◼ Will you be affected either financially or emotionally by the outcome of our project and,
if so, how?
◼ What is your main motivation behind your interest in this project?
◼ What information can I provide?
◼ What is the best way to communicate with you?
◼ How do you currently feel about the project?
◼ Who do you think influences you and your opinions, and whom do you influence?
If any stakeholders respond or act negatively towards your design project, you will need
to think about and answer the following questions to develop a well-rounded plan:
◼ How can you win over their support?
◼ If that doesn’t work, how will you manage their opposition?
◼ Who else might be influenced by their (negative) opinions?
The insights gathered through this round of questioning will help you understand whom
to include in your design and development team, and whom you’re likely to come across
during the process, both externally and internally. They will also provide you with a
good idea of whom you should empathize with most in the upcoming phases, when you
will explore the human needs and experiences in your challenge space.
interaction-design.org
Creative Commons BY-SA license: You are free to edit and redistribute this template, even for commercial use, as long as you give credit to the Interaction Design Foundation.
Also, if you remix, transform, or build upon this template, you must distribute it under the same CC BY-SA license.
Keep Satisfied Manage Closely
Influence
Monitor Keep Informed
Interest
interaction-design.org
Creative Commons BY-SA license: You are free to edit and redistribute this template, even for commercial use, as long as you give credit to the Interaction Design Foundation.
Also, if you remix, transform, or build upon this template, you must distribute it under the same CC BY-SA license.
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