2.4  Key Stakeholders

List the key stakeholders and their need and support for the project.

•  How powerful are they?

•  Is their interest high, medium, low?

•  Rank them in importance

•  Is there documented evidence of commitment by the key stakeholders to the programme/project?

•  Do the key stakeholders understand their role in achieving a successful outcome?

•  How do they interact with each other?

•  Do they have conflicting objectives?

•  Which ones have the most influence on the investment decision and do they understand the scale of the potential cost of the project?

•  How will you communicate with/involve them?

All stakeholders must understand what is required in terms of cost, sacrifices, timescales and risks to be faced from the outset.  

A particular issue with CATS projects is that they are often "people businesses" and redundancies are often a reality of efficiency savings.  This needs to be managed carefully with reference to trade unions etc.

A further issues is certainty of scope.  The services to be included must be very carefully defined and the reasons for their inclusion tested very robustly to avoid challenge at a later date.