Stakeholder Project Communication Plan
Launching into execution without considering stakeholder communication can lead to delays, confusion, and missed targets. Avoid these challenges and increase success by creating a project communication plan to deliver the right information, at the right time, via the right channels.
PREP TIME
0m
Run TIME
30m
Persons
2-10+
5-second summary
- Identify the people who need to stay informed about and involved in your project.
- Establish the right channels and cadence to provide updates.
- Clarify expectations to ensure everyone understands their roles and involvement from the start.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
- Project management tool, like Atlassian Home or Jira
- Team communication tool, like Slack or Teams
- Shared whiteboard or document, like a Confluence page or whiteboard
PLAY resources
How to improve project communication with stakeholders
Create a project communication plan to provide stakeholders with the right information, at the right time, via the right channels.
What are stakeholders?
Stakeholders are any people who have a vested interest in a project or initiative and who are impacted (positively or negatively) by its success.
Stakeholders include:
a) Contributors: People or teams who’s time, decisions, or expertise are critical to doing the work. (i.e., members of the core project team)
b) Beneficiaries: People or teams who aren’t directly responsible for delivery, but who benefit from or are impacted by the work and therefore need to know what’s happening, but aren’t directly responsible for delivery. (i.e., cross-functional partners, leaders, executive sponsors, and adjacent or downstream teams)
What is stakeholder project communication?
Stakeholder project communication involves exchanging information about a project to ensure everyone who is critical to and benefits from the project understands what’s happening and why, is aligned, and has what they need to meet their goals.
The best project managers not only plan the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a project, but also map out the same elements for communication.
- Who will lead stakeholder project communication, and who needs to receive it?
- What needs to be communicated?
- When and how will updates be shared and discussed?
When should you share stakeholder communication?
Run this Play at the beginning of every project to plan how you will manage stakeholder communication. Then, execute the plan to keep them informed throughout the project.
Even if timelines are tight and you’re in a rush, put together a very basic stakeholder project communication plan that you can implement quickly, but don’t skip it completely. Otherwise, there’s a higher risk of challenges later on.
Benefits of strong stakeholder communication
Running this Play helps prevent misunderstandings, foster collaboration, and keep everyone focused on common goals – all contributing to completing projects efficiently and successfully.
Research shows:
- By systematically mapping your “stakeholder landscape” at the start of a project – not just the obvious approvers – you reduce blind spots and surface hidden influencers. (Source)
- Planning stakeholder communication upfront (who needs to know what, when, and through which channel) supports more resilient change processes. Structured, timely communication routines during change foster stakeholder participation and a more collaborative project culture. (Source)
- Treating stakeholder communication as “management for stakeholders” (focusing on the value they receive, not just the updates you need to push) is a necessary shift if projects are to contribute to more sustainable, mutually beneficial outcomes. (Source)
- Establishing a clear, predictable rhythm of stakeholder updates helps create a positive “project climate” – characterized by shared goals, trust, and good information flow – which is associated with higher rates of on‑time, on‑budget, and goal‑aligned project success. (Source)
1. Prep the Play
Est. time: 1 MIN
To start, make a copy of this Confluence Template, or create a table on a whiteboard or collaborative document.
At the top of the table, write the name of the project or initiative and the goal of this stakeholder communication plan. What is the purpose of this plan? For example:
- Build trust with our stakeholders.
- Reduce risks stemming from duplicated effort and dependency bottlenecks.
- Educate downstream teams about what we're doing and how it may affect their work.
2. Identify different types of stakeholders
Est. time: 5 MIN
Stakeholders include:
a) Contributors: People or teams who’s time, decisions, or expertise are critical to doing the work. (i.e., members of the core project team)
b) Beneficiaries: People or teams who aren’t directly responsible for delivery, but who benefit from or are impacted by the work and therefore need to know what’s happening, but aren’t directly responsible for delivery. (i.e., cross-functional partners, leaders, executive sponsors, and adjacent or downstream teams)
Make a list of each type of stakeholder by answering the following questions. This can either be done individually or as a group, asynchronously or in real time. If done individually, share the list with the project team to refine and gain consensus.
- Who will be involved day to day in this project? → Contributor
- Who is critical to this project’s success? → Contributor
- Whose input do we need to make progress? → Contributor or beneficiary
- Who can unblock or accelerate this work? → Beneficiary
- Who approves this project or key parts of it? → Beneficiary
- Beyond the contributors, who else is impacted by the project’s success? → Beneficiary
Who needs what we’re doing and may not even realize it? → Beneficiary
Add these people to the table created in Step 1.
Comms plan goals:
- Lessen risks
- Build trust
- Create awareness
- Educate
- Promote action
Tip: Map out networks, and use AI to fill the gaps
Use the Network of Teams Play to identify your stakeholder network. You can also share a draft of your project plan with your AI tool, like Rovo, and ask it to recommend people who may be missing.
3. Fill out the stakeholder project communication table
Est. time: 15 min
Different stakeholders need different information, at different times, communicated in different ways.
Contributors need more frequent updates and information like:
- Detailed tasks, issues, and backlog
- Status at the work-item level (e.g., tickets moving across a board)
- All the in-the-weeds decisions and tradeoffs
Working notes and drafts that may be messy or in progress
Beneficiaries likely need less frequent updates and information like:
A clear, high-level source of truth for:
- What this project is, who’s involved, and why it matters
- The goals, scope, and key milestones
- Current status and recent changes/decisions that affect them
- Only the most relevant links to detailed work, so they don’t have to sift through every task to understand what’s going on
Guidance on how and when they should engage, like whether they need to simply stay informed or be consulted
Using this breakdown as a guide, fill out the table you created in Step 1, considering the channels that are most appropriate for each stakeholder, the type of information they need, how often they need it, and any relevant notes or links to artifacts.
Agree on an owner for the overall communication plan or assign an owner to specific communications.
Tip: Scale back if needed, but don’t skip
Time is of the essence, and when teams are moving fast, communication often suffers. This can create challenges downstream. If you’re in a rush, put together a very basic stakeholder project communication plan that you can execute on quickly, but don’t skip it completely.
4. Add stakeholders to your project and communication channel
Est. time: 2 min
Next, add contributors and beneficiaries to the project in your tool of choice, like Atlassian Home or Jira. (The name for these users varies by project management tool. For example, in Atlassian, beneficiary stakeholders are called “followers” or “watchers.”)
Then, create a Slack or Teams channel with the same people for daily communication. If possible, integrate your project management system and communication tool (e.g., Jira and Slack) so that updates made in the project management system are automatically posted to the communication channel.
Tip: Communicate early and often, and focus on value
Proactively provide stakeholders with notice about what you need from them, the timeline for their input, and any other considerations on their involvement. Focus all communication on what’s in it for them, making it clear why the work is relevant to them and what your team is doing to deliver impact for your shared priorities.
5. Start communication and set expectations
Est. time: 2 min
Post a message in the communication channel to kick off the initiative, introduce everyone, and set expectations. You’ll want to provide an overview of:
- What the project is
- The goals of this individual project, plus the broader goals it ladders up to
What communication can they expect to receive, when, and how you would like them to engage
You can also talk with these stakeholders to better understand their priorities. That way, your team can adjust your communication plan and deliver even more value.
Sample Slack message kicking off the project:
Hi team,
Starting this channel to kick off our new Project Inbound marketing campaign
As part of our OKR to increase leads from inbound marketing, the goal of this campaign is to convert people who download the Teamwork Report and get them to sign up for a product.
We're aiming for 100 demo signups by March 30. Check the page for details on the project and our communication plans. We'll post weekly updates here for the group, and daily contributors will collaborate through Jira and Confluence.
Follow-up
Post Weekly Updates
Commit to keeping your project status up-to-date and proactively providing stakeholders with relevant updates. When an update is particularly important for someone, tag them for visibility.
Still have questions?
Start a conversation with other Atlassian Team Playbook users, get support, or provide feedback.
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