PRINCE2 7 Foundation · Study lesson 08
Who inhabits this project?
See the people and cultures behind the organisation chart.
9 minute study lesson · People · Original learning material
What you will understand
- Identify people who influence or are affected by a project.
- Explain how organisational culture affects collaboration and reporting.
- Distinguish the temporary project organisation from wider working relationships.
The idea
A project chart shows formal responsibilities, but it cannot show every relationship that makes the work succeed or fail. People bring habits, loyalties, expectations and different experiences of change. Understanding that environment helps a project avoid a false assumption: that assigning a role or sending an announcement means the people involved will interpret and support the work in the same way.
A stakeholder is someone who can affect the project, is affected by it or perceives that they are affected. Look beyond the people invited to meetings. Frontline workers, neighbouring organisations, service users, suppliers and informal community representatives may hold important knowledge or experience significant consequences. An individual can support the goal while objecting to the way a particular change is being introduced.
The project organisation is temporary, but its participants usually belong to other structures as well. A team member may report to a line manager for professional development, contribute to a project manager’s plan and follow a supplier’s working rules. Make those interfaces explicit. A project role does not automatically remove other responsibilities or guarantee access to someone’s time when priorities conflict.
Culture concerns shared expectations about how people behave: who may challenge a decision, how bad news is received and which achievements are rewarded. Different departments and suppliers can have different cultures inside the same project. A team used to avoiding mistakes publicly may hesitate to report emerging risk. Leaders need to make useful challenge and honest reporting possible through their own behaviour.
Consider perspectives and power together. Seniority is one source of influence, but a respected technician or community organiser may shape acceptance more strongly than a formal sponsor. Do not treat an early stakeholder classification as permanent. Interest, influence and impact can change when a design is published, a new supplier joins or a previously minor group discovers a consequence for its work.
Use respectful enquiry rather than assuming resistance is irrational. Ask what each group needs to do, what may become harder and which information or support is missing. Different perspectives can reveal requirements and risks that the core team overlooked. Understanding people is not an excuse to promise everyone everything; it supplies better evidence for choices, communication and the management of trade-offs.
Three overlapping groups
| Group | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| People within the project | They create and manage the agreed results. |
| People affected by the project | Their work, services or experience may change. |
| The wider organisational ecosystem | Other teams and external bodies can enable or constrain success. |
An original fictional example
A rehearsal venue introduces shared booking
A music venue plans a shared booking service. Management consults the ticket office but overlooks freelance sound engineers who prepare equipment using informal messages. Engineers worry that the new service will hide late changes and make them appear unreliable.
The decision
Include the engineers in discovery and trial sessions, clarify which channel contains approved changes and agree how urgent updates reach them. Discuss working expectations with their coordinators as well as venue managers.
Why it makes sense
The engineers are affected stakeholders with practical influence. Their concern exposes an information risk, not simply an unwillingness to use technology. Formal reporting lines alone would not reveal the issue.
A common confusion
The mistaken idea: The stakeholder list is simply the project team and its managers.
The distinction: Affected people and informal influencers outside the team can materially change requirements, risks and adoption.
Look beyond the chart: who feels the change, and who shapes the response?
Points to remember
- Stakeholders extend beyond formal project roles.
- Culture can affect whether information reaches decision makers.
- Stakeholder interest and influence can change during delivery.
Your takeaway
Understand the project as a temporary network of people within wider organisations and communities. Better questions about influence, culture and impact produce better management information.
This independently written explanation is supplementary study material. It is not official examination content. Read about our content and its limitations.