Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 11.2 Flexibility
diagram for a hypothetical
commercial software product
Features
10
8
6
4
Staff
Quality
2
0
Schedule
Cost
Figure
11.2
illustrates a simple template you can use to document essential
stakeholder information. Also assess the relative influence each stakeholder has on
the project's decisions. Some stakeholders might wield great political power while
others could dictate essential features, impose restricting constraints, or be a
potential source of substantial revenue. Key stakeholders are those who can strongly
influence the project's decisions—and those whom it's most important to satisfy.
Expect to encounter conflicting stakeholder interests. Finance might want the lowest
possible unit cost for the product, although the development team wishes to use
expensive, cutting-edge technologies to meet stringent performance demands.
Different market segments will value different combinations of time to market,
feature richness, and reliability. Identifying your key stakeholders will help you to
resolve such conflicts as they arise and to negotiate win-win solutions that maximize
benefits for the greatest number of stakeholders (Wiegers
2009
) (Table
11.2
).
• Voting, majority rules. This allows for a democratic style of leadership in which
all team members have a perceived equal influence on decision making.
• Reaching unanimous agreement is important for groups that work closely.
Maintaining unity and understanding is crucial when working closely with a few
individuals. It is not necessary for unanimous agreement in larger more heter-
ogeneous groups.
• Delegating the decision to a single individual is a method that allows for great
control and allows for an increased agility, though it may not allow for a large
range of creativity unless the person making the decisions is well advised.
• Achieving consensus is vital to maintain continuity. Consensus is not just
informing all parties it is an agreement and understanding between all parties on
relevant terms and details. Without this it is impossible to maintain a consistent
and productive environment.
• Having the person in charge make the decision after collecting input from others
aids in promoting consensus. This is derived from the instance immediately above.
• Other scenarios exist, such as boards of directors and oversight committees. It
may be found that any number of these methods works best with certain portions
of the team, but the goal is to alleviate confusion and create a sense of
togetherness among workers and oversight.
