Stakeholders can make or break a project, and the PMP exam tests whether you engage the right people in the right way. The power/interest grid is the simplest tool for this. You place each stakeholder by how much power they have over the project and how much interest they take in it, then match your engagement to their quadrant.
The four quadrants
| Quadrant | Strategy | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| High power, high interest | Manage closely | Involve them in key decisions, meet regularly, ask for their input early |
| High power, low interest | Keep satisfied | Short, targeted updates. Involve them at approvals without overloading them |
| Low power, high interest | Keep informed | Regular updates, demos and channels to share feedback |
| Low power, low interest | Monitor | Minimal effort, but watch for changes in their position |
A quick example
Imagine you're delivering a new patient booking app for a hospital:
- The chief of nursing can stop the rollout and cares deeply about it: manage closely.
- The IT director rarely attends meetings but must approve go-live: keep satisfied.
- The ward clerks will use the app every day but have little say in decisions: keep informed, and listen to them, because they know the real workflow.
- The hospital's cafeteria team is barely affected: monitor.
The stakeholder register
Record every stakeholder in the stakeholder register: who they are, their role, their interests, their influence and your engagement approach. It's a living document. Stakeholders appear, leave and change position during the project, so update it as things change.
What PMP questions look for
- Identify stakeholders early and keep going. If you discover a stakeholder you missed, add them to the register, understand their needs and engage them now. Don't wait until testing.
- Silence isn't support. A powerful stakeholder who hasn't objected may simply not have been asked.
- Tailor the communication. A senior sponsor who stops reading long reports needs a short summary of risks and decisions, not the same report twice.
Beyond the grid
The exam may also mention the salience model (power, urgency and legitimacy) and the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix, which compares each stakeholder's current engagement (unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive or leading) with where you need them to be.
Practise it
Read the free chapters on engaging stakeholders and managing stakeholder expectations, then try the free PMP practice questions. PMP Quest lets you practise these calls and watch stakeholder trust rise or fall.