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Stakeholder Mapping and How to Create a Stakeholder Map

What are stakeholder mapping and analysis?
It's quite necessary to create stakeholder maps for both investors and customers. When you create a stakeholder map, you should know who the stakeholders are in the project and how to manage them. This post explains what stakeholder mapping is. Moreover, it tells how to create a stakeholder map step by step.

Stakeholder Maps

Part 1. What Is Stakeholder Mapping

Stakeholder mapping refers to the process of drawing a visual representation of all the stakeholders involved in or affected by a project. Stakeholders are the organizations or people who have a vested interest in the project. Through a stakeholder map, you can show a clear picture of various stakeholder groups, their motives, and their interests.

Stakeholder map meaning

How does the stakeholder matrix mapping help managers?

There are usually many stakeholders in a project. Stakeholder mapping is mainly used for evaluating the influence and interest of the project stakeholders. It can identify and categorize key stakeholders involved in achieving the success of your organization. It sorts and manages stakeholders that affect or will affect the outcome of a project. Stakeholder mapping can help to mitigate risk and find a stakeholder's real goals for the project.

With stakeholder mapping and analysis, you can also know the interest can have a positive or negative impact on the project execution. A stakeholder map can also help to find effective solutions to assess the potential impacts and risks associated with projects. You use a stakeholder map to effectively navigate your way around obstacles.

Stakeholder mapping examples

You can easily find lots of useful stakeholder mapping examples to start your stakeholder maps. Before you create a stakeholder value map, you'd better check some fully-fledged stakeholder mapping examples first.

To quickly locate mature stakeholder mapping examples, you can open a web browser like Google Chrome, Safari, or Edge and then try searching for stakeholder mapping examples to get associated templates of the matrix, analysis, grid, project, power interest matrix, program, design, healthcare, pharma, and others. From these search results, you can click a specific tab to view the related ones. Besides, you can find many useful examples from some stakeholder map creators or online mapping tools.

Stakeholder Mapping Examples

Part 2. How to Create a Stakeholder Map

A stakeholder map is generally the first step toward stakeholder management. As mentioned above, it defines the stakeholder's relationship to a project. When you want to make a stakeholder map, you should ask for some analysis first and list all the stakeholders and the impact of the project and its objectives. After all these preparations, you can start to do the stakeholder mapping.

Here we strongly recommend an easy-to-use stakeholder mapping tool, MindOnMap, for you to effectively start a stakeholder map. It is specially designed for making various diagrams, including stakeholder maps, mind maps, organizational charts, fishbone diagrams, tree diagrams, and more. You can free use it on any web browser.

Best Flowchart Maker Mindonmap

Step 1Open a browser and navigate to the official website of MindOnMap. Click the Create Your Mind Map button and sign into an account. Here you can use a Google account to sign into it.

Create Button

Step 2Click New on the left panel to display read-made templates and themes. This free stakeholder map creator offers some themes, examples, and templates for you to quickly start your stakeholder mapping. Here you can select a suitable one to generate your stakeholder map.

Mindonmap Flowchart Mindmap Templates

Step 3As a new user, you can easily know how to use it through the on-screen instructions. You can access shapes, icons, outlines, and other elements and then use them to make your stakeholder map.

Mind Map Add Node

Step 4This online stakeholder map maker also gives you a convenient way to share or export your creation. You can click on the specific button in the top-right corner to do that. You can output your stakeholder map as a PDF, JPG/PNG/SVG image, or Word file according to your need.

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Part 3. FAQs of Stakeholder Mapping and Analysis

Question 1. What are the different types of stakeholders?

Stakeholders can usually be sorted into two main groups, internal stakeholders and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders are mainly the project sponsor, project manager, high-level executives, team members, and business departments. External stakeholders refer to the related suppliers, government, local authorities, action groups, customers, and end-users. All people who have an interest in your project and are affected by your business activities are also your stakeholders.

Question 2. What are the main purposes of stakeholder mapping?

There are many advantages of stakeholder mapping. Stakeholder mapping can help you to identify the people who will devote your project and its success. You can easily figure out who has the most influence over a project, who will benefit most, who has restraints on the project, who has more resources, and other important information through a proper stakeholder map. Moreover, stakeholder mapping is also the start of an effective communication plan. You can better understand your stakeholders' desires and proceed with your project.

Question 3. Can I create a stakeholder map in Excel?

Yes. You can use Excel to edit and generate a stakeholder map. Excel is equipped with many basic features, including colors, fonts, shapes, lines, and other elements to help you start your stakeholder mapping. You can easily input texts in sheets, print with different colors, and use lines to indicate their relationships.

Conclusion

After reading this post, I hope you can learn more useful information about stakeholder mapping. We give you a basic definition of the stakeholder map and tell you how to create one using the recommended MindOnMap. If you still have any questions about stakeholder mapping, don't hesitate to contact us.

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