What does stakeholder management precede?

Stakeholder management is a critical process that involves identifying, analyzing, and engaging with stakeholders to understand their interests, influence, and potential impact on a project or initiative. It lays the groundwork for many subsequent activities in the project lifecycle, most notably requirement definition.

In requirement definition, clear and comprehensive input from stakeholders is essential to ensure that the needs and expectations are accurately captured and documented. By effectively managing stakeholders before moving into this phase, a business analyst can gather valuable insights and perspectives that will inform the requirements and ensure they align with the organization's goals. The involvement of stakeholders during this stage helps to reduce misunderstandings later on and fosters greater acceptance of the final deliverable.

While other processes like project initiation, requirement validation, and implementation planning also benefit from stakeholder engagement, requirement definition is particularly reliant on this management because it directly shapes what is to be built or achieved in the project. Their feedback and involvement are crucial to ensuring that the requirements reflect the true needs of users and stakeholders.