Stakeholder analysis is the process of identifying, categorising, and prioritising individuals or groups who have an interest in or influence over a project, and using that insight to plan appropriate communication and engagement strategies.
It is one of the most critical steps in project management, helping teams reduce risk, build trust, and deliver better outcomes by ensuring no key voice is overlooked.
Stakeholder analysis is one of the key steps to establishing support when starting a project. Every project has individuals who have some sort of interest or will be influenced by it. They are the project stakeholders. Failing to engage with them can have a direct influence on the project's outcomes.
To engage with stakeholders successfully, you need to know exactly who they are. That is where stakeholder analysis comes in.
In this guide, you'll learn:
- What stakeholder analysis is
- Why stakeholder analysis is important
- How stakeholder analysis is used in project management
- How to carry out stakeholder analysis, step by step
- Real-world examples of stakeholder analysis in practice
- Which templates and tools you can use
What is stakeholder analysis?
Stakeholder analysis is the process of identifying and collecting information about individuals or groups impacted by or able to influence your project.
Modern stakeholder analysis increasingly involves co-creation, where stakeholders actively participate in shaping project goals and outcomes, and digital tools that streamline communication and engagement.
Conducting a stakeholder analysis will enable you to identify all your stakeholders as well as their needs and expectations, forming the foundation of an effective stakeholder engagement plan.
Why is stakeholder analysis important?
Every stakeholder has a different perspective on a project and on the change it is intended to deliver. Without a structured analysis, organisations risk misallocating resources, missing critical voices, and facing preventable opposition.
Stakeholder analysis helps you:
- identify key stakeholders before engagement begins
- understand stakeholder needs and expectations
- recognise supporters and potential opponents early
- plan appropriate engagement and communication strategies
With this understanding, you can allocate time and effort more effectively, reduce risk, and address issues before they affect project outcomes.
Benefits of stakeholder analysis
Conducting a stakeholder analysis supports your team in six key ways:
- Being inclusive
Ensuring all individuals and groups affected by the project are systematically identified and considered, reducing the risk of overlooking critical voices. - Engaging effectively
Grouping stakeholders to plan targeted communications that improve positive engagement outcomes. - Promoting understanding and alignment
Building trust by clarifying project goals and benefits with the right audiences. - Anticipating issues
Identifying potential problems and opposition early, so mitigating actions can be planned. - Gaining insights
Capturing stakeholder perspectives that improve decision-making and final outcomes. - Building trust
Demonstrating transparency and accountability by incorporating stakeholder feedback into the process.
Stakeholder analysis in project management
Projects that lack engagement with influential stakeholders often struggle, not because of technical failure, but because of avoidable people problems.
If a project is already in motion and facing difficulty, stakeholder analysis can help reassess issues and identify corrective actions. Ideally, however, it should begin in the early stages of a project to reduce the risk of failure.
Stakeholder analysis should also be repeated throughout longer projects, as stakeholder interests and influence can change over time. The frequency of analysis should reflect the duration and complexity of the project.
How to do a stakeholder analysis: a step-by-step guide
Stakeholder analysis consists of three stages: identify, categorise and prioritise. Once complete, you will have the insights needed to plan communications and create a stakeholder engagement plan.
In practice, stakeholder analysis is rarely a one-off activity. As projects evolve, stakeholders change, priorities shift, and engagement history becomes just as important as initial categorisation. This is why many organisations use stakeholder management software to keep stakeholder information centralised, track influence and engagement over time, and ensure analysis stays connected to day-to-day decision-making.
1. Stakeholder identification
The first step is identifying who your stakeholders are. This includes anyone who is impacted by, has an interest in, or can influence your project. Stakeholders may include individuals, groups, or organisations such as:
- employees and internal teams
- clients and investors
- suppliers and partners
- regulators and government bodies
- media organisations
- local communities and residents
Ways to identify stakeholders include brainstorming with your team, reviewing stakeholders from past projects, consulting colleagues about overlapping initiatives, and researching similar projects in the market.
When identifying stakeholders, consider factors that may influence their perspective, such as age, location, values, income, and political, financial, or business interests. Engaging directly with stakeholders to understand their expectations and concerns will improve the quality of your analysis.
2. Stakeholder categorisation
Once stakeholders are identified, they should be grouped based on shared characteristics, interests, or influence. Two commonly used models are:
The Interest/Influence Matrix
The Interest/Influence Matrix assesses stakeholders based on their level of interest in the project and their ability to influence it. This helps determine appropriate engagement approaches for each group.
For example, in a major infrastructure project, local residents may have high interest but relatively low influence over decision-making. Regulatory bodies, by contrast, typically have both high interest and high influence, requiring very different engagement strategies. The matrix helps teams visualise these differences and plan accordingly.
Stakeholder analysis example using the Interest/Influence Matrix:
The Salience Model
The Salience Model categorises stakeholders using three attributes: power, legitimacy, and urgency.
By assessing each stakeholder against these three dimensions, the model identifies eight distinct stakeholder types, from 'dormant' stakeholders who hold power but lack urgency, to 'definitive' stakeholders who score highly on all three and demand immediate attention.
In the energy sector, for example, a local environmental group might have high legitimacy and urgency around a new development, but limited formal power, placing them in the 'dependent' category and signalling the need for consultation rather than co-decision-making.
You can learn in more detail about both categorisation models and how to apply them in our Guide to categorising stakeholders.
Stakeholder types
Stakeholders generally fall into one of three categories:
- Key stakeholders
Individuals or groups with high influence and a direct impact on project outcomes. - Primary stakeholders
Those most affected by the project, either positively or negatively. - Secondary stakeholders
Individuals or organisations indirectly affected, with lower levels of interest or influence.
3. Stakeholder prioritisation
Not all stakeholder needs can be addressed at the same time, making prioritisation essential. Stakeholders may require different levels of stakeholder engagement:
- Inform: provide timely and relevant information
- Consult: seek feedback and input
- Collaborate: involve stakeholders in decision-making
Priorities will vary depending on project scope, timelines, available resources, and stakeholder expectations and concerns. A transport project, for example, might prioritise community residents for consultation while collaborating closely with planning authorities throughout.
Stakeholder analysis examples
Seeing stakeholder analysis applied in practice makes the process far clearer. Here are three brief examples across sectors Tractivity commonly supports:
Infrastructure project (Transport)
A major road development programme conducts a stakeholder analysis ahead of public consultation. The analysis identifies local residents (high interest, low influence), logistics companies (high interest, high influence), and the national highways agency (high power, high legitimacy). The team plans targeted consultation events for residents, collaborative workshops with logistics partners, and formal approval processes with the agency, all informed by the initial analysis.
Energy sector
A renewable energy company planning an offshore wind installation uses the Salience Model to identify a local fishing collective as a 'dependent' stakeholder. High legitimacy and urgency, but limited formal power. Rather than informing them after decisions are made, the team introduces the group to the planning process early, avoiding a later legal challenge that had derailed a similar project in the region.
NHS Healthcare Trust
A healthcare trust launching a new patient pathway service maps its stakeholders ahead of rollout. Patient advocacy groups, GP networks, and ICB commissioners are all identified. The analysis reveals that GP networks, initially treated as secondary stakeholders, have significant informal influence over patient uptake. Engagement strategy is revised accordingly, with dedicated briefings and feedback loops introduced.
Stakeholder analysis template
A stakeholder analysis template helps you capture, structure, and share the outputs of your analysis. A basic template should include:
- Stakeholder name/group
- Type (key/primary/secondary)
- Level of interest (low/medium/high)
- Level of influence (low/medium/high)
- Key interests and concerns
- Preferred engagement approach (inform/consult/collaborate)
- Assigned owner and next action
For small projects with limited stakeholders, a Word or Excel template may be sufficient. For larger, more complex projects, a dedicated stakeholder management platform provides a more robust solution with real-time updates, secure data storage, and integrated engagement tracking.
Here's a stakeholder analysis template:
Download your free stakeholder analysis template here: 
Stakeholder analysis tools
Templates in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint may be suitable for small projects with limited data. For more complex projects, purpose-built stakeholder analysis tools provide significant advantages.
How Tractivity supports stakeholder analysis
Tractivity is a dedicated stakeholder management platform used by organisations across the energy, transport, healthcare, and public sector. It supports the full stakeholder analysis process in one place:
- Centralised stakeholder records: all contacts, organisations, and relationships held in a single, searchable database
- Influence and interest tracking: map stakeholders visually and update their status as projects evolve
- Engagement history: every interaction, consultation response, and communication logged against each stakeholder record
- Team collaboration: multiple users across departments can contribute to and access the same analysis in real time
- Data security: ISO 27001 certified, Cyber Essentials Plus accredited, and GDPR compliant
Unlike a spreadsheet, Tractivity ensures that stakeholder analysis stays connected to day-to-day engagement activity, so insights aren't lost between project phases and teams aren't starting from scratch at each review.
Key takeaways
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Stakeholder analysis involves three stages: identify, categorise, and prioritise
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The Interest/Influence Matrix and Salience Model are the two most widely used categorisation frameworks
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Analysis should be repeated throughout a project's lifecycle, not just at the start
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Different stakeholders require different engagement levels: inform, consult, or collaborate
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Software tools like Tractivity centralise stakeholder data and track engagement over time, keeping analysis connected to real-world activity
Streamline your stakeholder analysis with Tractivity
Stakeholder analysis is an essential component of effective stakeholder management. But its value is only realised when the insights it generates are acted upon consistently.
Tractivity is a comprehensive stakeholder management platform that supports the analysis, mapping, and engagement of stakeholders in one place. It helps teams across departments and projects manage data securely, track engagement over time, and keep their analysis connected to day-to-day activity.
Get in touch for a live preview of our stakeholder engagement system and discover a better way to analyse and engage with your stakeholders.
