Course Outcomes

This stakeholder management skills course for developers and designers will:

  • Help providers articulate their value and the scope of services they offer.
  • Outline 13 stakeholder needs and specific actions people in development and design roles can take to meet them.
  • Suggest a methodology for asking questions and confirming understanding.
  • Offer language frameworks for managing expectations.

Course Overview

The users wanted a feature, but when the designers and developers met to gather requirements, they realized the users’ ask did not fit within the organization’s strategic goals. Failing to explain that well to the requesting group, the design and development team members found themselves labeled as uncooperative and hard to work with. To make matters worse, the next time a need arose, that same user group outsourced the work. The outside team met the requirement. However, support and maintenance are back in house, and the external work is not overly compatible with the existing infrastructure and has caused hundreds of extra work hours for the support team. Sound familiar? It might if you build solutions for internal stakeholders.

This course is designed to help people who support internal user groups. The program addresses skills for asking meaningful questions, explaining services, connecting individual projects to any corporate strategies, and managing user expectations. The class also suggests language for offering alternatives when a design and development group cannot meet expectations due to resource constraints or requests that do not align with larger goals. 

Program Objectives

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Explain in plain English what their group does.
  • Incorporate partnering language into conversations.
  • Follow a requirements intake template.
  • Develop a decision-tree tool to explain their reasoning.
  • Apply active listening skills when gathering requirements.
  • Ask specific and meaningful questions to ascertain priorities and expected outcomes.
  • Use the RAP method to confirm understanding and manage expectations.
  • Offer alternatives when the answer is “no” or “not anytime soon”.

Program Modules

  • What Stakeholders Want: Exploring 13 Common Needs and Expectations
  • Value Statements: Articulating Your Role, Explaining Services, and Discussing Strategy
  • Effective Interviews: Gathering Requirements
  • The Same Page: Confirming Understanding with Words and Pictures
  • Logical Conclusions: Explaining “Yes” and Troubleshooting When the Answer Is “No” or “Not Anytime Soon”

By this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to apply a range of tools to show the value of their service and effectively manage stakeholder relationships.