How do you decide who is a stakeholder

There is a method to figuring who stakeholders are I assume. I’ve heard of power-interest matrixes and thought maybe people take that and then categorize by group. But it’s a lot to take in. Does anyone have any tools that do this? Templates/videos demonstrating a general strategy?

hi chaiii

Yes — there are tools, templates and strategies for figuring out stakeholders & how to engage them more effectively.

Method: Power-Interest Matrix

A widely used strategy is the Power‑Interest Grid (also called Power-Interest Matrix) which sorts stakeholders by two axes: power/influence vs interest/engagement.

Steps:

  1. Identify stakeholders — list everyone (internal & external) who may affect or be affected by your project.

  2. Assess each one’s “power” (how much influence/control they have) & “interest” (how much they care or will be impacted) in the project.

  3. Place them into one of four quadrants:

    • High power & high interest → manage closely

    • High power & low interest → keep satisfied

    • Low power & high interest → keep informed

    • Low power & low interest → monitor with minimal effort

  4. Create your engagement strategy based on each quadrant’s needs (how frequently you update them, how much you involve them, what info they need).

  5. Review & update regularly, since stakeholder dynamics can change over time. SixSigma.us


Useful Tools & Templates

  • A set of downloadable stakeholder mapping templates (including Power-Interest Grid) from Simply Stakeholders.

  • Online matrix & diagram tools like Visual Paradigm Online where you can create stakeholder matrixes digitally.

  • Free visual templates for stakeholders on Miro and Figma, which let you collaborate & map stakeholders together.

im agree with hammad too

Absolutely — there are excellent tools, templates and strategies for identifying and categorising stakeholders (using for example the “power-interest matrix” you mentioned). I’ll walk you through a general method, and then point you towards ready-to-use tools/templates/videos so you can pick one that fits your workflow.

General strategy to identify & map stakeholders

  • List all potential stakeholder.
  • For each stakeholder, assess key attributes.
  • Plot them on a visual map / matrix.
  • Group & Prioritise
  • Define communication/engagement plan.
  • Use a register or document.

Video & template resources

Here are some specific tools/templates and videos you can use immediately:

Tools that you can use.

  • Spreadsheet (Excel / Google Sheets)
  • Miro / Mural
  • Powerpoint / Google Slides.

By following the above tools or the key information then you can decide better who is a Stakeholder.

If you need further help then you can let me know.

Thanks