Web Site Redesign: prioritize stakeholders

So who is your day-to-day client for the redesign project? Does she have decision making authority? Does he have a boss to please? Who else has input on the project?Understanding and getting input from all relevant stakeholders is critical to the success of the project. But managing their expectations and prioritize their importance is just as critical.

A single point of contact (SPOC) is critical to take all the internal input, distill what is critical and DECIDE on what will and wont be accepted. That person must also be able to push back on some of his/her colleagues and not allow someone with lower importance insist on something or derail the project.

Face it, there is no way to make everyone happy. But there are ways to managing expectations.

Upfront, make it clear that input is welcome from all parties — business unit owners, customer relations, Marketing, Product, IT, R&D, HR, etc. — as part of the discovery phase. But do not invite all these disciplines to comment on creative design, copywriting, development. That’s inviting too many cooks into the kitchen, will delay the process and possibly muck up your project with political posturing.

Once you know what’s important to each stakeholder, it all gets prioritized against the main site goals AND THE VISITOR GOALS. Then you stick to your plan.

What do you think? Please post your comments.
Thanks.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at NewMediaSandbox.com and Chaos365.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.