Every project succeeds or fails partly on how well it manages the people around it. A stakeholder matrix turns a vague list of “people who matter” into a clear map of who needs what level of attention. This builder places each stakeholder into the right quadrant and tells you how to engage them.
The four quadrants — and what each requires
The tool uses Mendelow’s power/interest grid, sorting stakeholders by two axes:
- Power / influence: their ability to affect decisions, budget, scope, or approval.
- Interest: how much they personally care about the project’s outcome.
High power + high interest → Manage Closely (involve in decisions, weekly contact)
High power + low interest → Keep Satisfied (high-level updates, monthly)
Low power + high interest → Keep Informed (regular progress updates, bi-weekly)
Low power + low interest → Monitor (minimal effort, quarterly check-in)Manage Closely stakeholders should co-own key decisions where possible. Surprises are expensive here — they have both the power to act and the motivation to care, so keep them in the loop before decisions are made, not after.
Keep Satisfied stakeholders can derail a project if they feel ignored, even if day-to-day they show little interest. Typically these are senior executives, legal, or regulatory bodies who will notice and object only when something goes wrong. Concise, milestone-level communication is usually enough.
Keep Informed stakeholders are often end users, subject-matter contributors, or downstream teams who cannot change the project’s direction but will be directly affected by its output. Under-communicating to this group risks late-stage rejection of the deliverable when it reaches them.
Monitor stakeholders require the least effort, but keep an eye on whether their position is stable. A vendor that starts as low-power can become high-power if they become the critical dependency; a passive team can become a vocal interest group if their workflow is disrupted.
How to identify real power (beyond job titles)
Power often does not correlate with seniority. A few questions to surface actual influence:
- Who can say no? Budget authority, sign-off rights, or veto power over scope makes someone high-power regardless of their title.
- Who controls access? Access to data, systems, teams, or customers can be just as powerful as formal authority.
- Who has informal influence? A respected team lead or subject-matter expert who can sway opinion without a title is effectively high-power in some environments.
- Who has public platform? A low-seniority person with a large internal or external audience can move stakeholder opinion faster than a VP with no constituency.
Worked example — software rollout project
| Stakeholder | Power | Interest | Quadrant | Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTO (executive sponsor) | High | High | Manage Closely | Weekly status, decision consultation |
| Legal / Compliance | High | Low | Keep Satisfied | Monthly sign-off on data handling |
| End users (200 staff) | Low | High | Keep Informed | Bi-weekly email updates, demo sessions |
| Finance (budget approval) | High | Low | Keep Satisfied | Quarterly budget reports |
| IT helpdesk | Low | High | Keep Informed | Training ahead of rollout |
| Marketing (adjacent team) | Low | Low | Monitor | Quarterly newsletter mention |
When to re-run the matrix
Stakeholders shift quadrants as projects evolve. The matrix should be reviewed:
- At the start of each project phase or milestone
- When a new sponsor, partner, vendor, or regulatory requirement enters the picture
- After any organisational change (restructuring, leadership change) that might shift who has actual power
- When a “Monitor” stakeholder starts appearing in project conversations unexpectedly
The exported Markdown table makes it easy to share the matrix in documentation or paste into a project management tool.