Chapter 3

Knowing Your
Project’s
Audience:
INVOLVING THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Objectives
In this chapter we will be….

vFiguring out your project’s diverse audiences

vNaming the drivers, supporters, and observers

vDetermining who has authority in your project

Introduction
Often a project is like an iceberg: Nine-tenths of it lurks below the surface. You receive an
assignment and you think you know what it entails and who needs to be involved. Then, as the
project unfolds, new people emerge — one by one — people who will affect your goals and your
approach to the project.
You run two risks when you don’t involve key people or groups in your project in a timely manner.
First, you may miss important information that can affect the project’s performance and ultimate
success. Second, and sometimes more painful, you may insult someone. And you can be sure that,
when someone feels slighted or insulted, he’ll take steps to make sure you don’t do it again!
As soon as you begin to think about your project, start to identify people who may play a role. This
chapter shows you how to identify these candidates; how to decide whether, when, and how to
involve them; and how to determine who has the authority to make critical decisions.
Understanding Your Project’s
Audience
A project audience is any person or group that supports, is affected by, or is
interested in your project. Your project audiences can be inside or outside
your organization. Knowing your project’s audiences helps you to
ØPlan whether, when, and how to involve them.
ØDetermine whether the scope of the project is bigger or smaller than you
originally anticipated.
Developing an Audience List
Start to develop your list as soon as you begin to think about your project. Write down any
names that occur to you; when you discuss your project with other people, ask them who
they think may be affected or interested. Then select a small group of people and conduct
a formal brainstorming session. Continue to add and subtract names until the list is
complete. To increase your chances of identifying all appropriate people, develop your
audience list in categories.
Start your audience list by developing a hierarchical group of categories that covers the
universe of people who may be affected by, needed for their support, or interested in your
project.
Developing an Audience List
Internal: People and groups inside your organization
ØUpper management: Executive-level management responsible for the general oversight of all the
organization operation.
ØRequester: the person who came up with the idea for your project and all the people through whom the
request passed before you received it.
ØProject manager: the person with overall responsibility for successfully completing the project
ØTeam members: People whose work the project manager directs
ØGroups normally involved: Groups typically involved in the most projects in the organization, such as
human resources, finance, contracts, and the legal department
ØGroups needed just for this project: Groups or people with special knowledge related to this project
 Developing an Audience List
External: People and groups outside your organization

ØClients or customers: People or groups that buy or use your organization’s products and services

ØCollaborators: Groups or organizations with whom you may pursue joint ventures related to your project

ØVendors, suppliers, and contractors: Organizations that provide human, physical, or financial resources to
help you perform your project’s work

ØRegulators: Government agencies that establish regulations and guidelines that govern some aspect of your
project work

ØProfessional societies: Groups of professionals that may influence or be interested in your project

ØThe public: The local, national, and international community of people who may be affected by or interested
in your project
Developing an Audience List
Continue to develop your audience list by subdividing these categories
further until you arrive at position descriptions and the names of the
people who occupy them.
As you develop your audience list, be sure not to overlook the following
potential audiences:
 Developing an Audience List
All support groups: These people don’t tell you what you should do; instead, they help you accomplish the
project’s goals. If support groups know about your project early, they can fit you into their works schedules
more readily they also tell you information about their capabilities and processes that may influence what your
project can accomplish and by when. Such groups include:

§Facilities §Procurement or contracting services

§Finance §Quality

§Human resources §Security

§Information services

§Legal services
Developing an Audience List
End-users of your project’s products: In some cases, you may omit end-users on your
audience list because you don’t know who they are. In other situations, you may think
you have taken them into account through liaisons — people who represent the
interests of the end-users.
People who will maintain or support the final product: People who will service your
project’s products affect the continuing success of these products. Involving these
people throughout your project gives them a chance to make your project’s products
easier to maintain and support. Their involvement also allows them to become
familiar with the products and effectively build their maintenance into existing
procedures.
Developing an Audience List
Sample audience list for a blood drive project
Category Subcategory Audiences
Internal Upper management Executive oversight committee, vice president of sales
and marketing, vice president of operations, vice
presidents of administration

Team members Customer service representative, community relation

representative, administrative assistant

Groups normally included Finance, facilities, legal department

Groups or people with Project manager and team from last year’s blood drive,
special knowledge or public relations
interest
Developing an Audience List
Sample audience list for a blood drive project
Category Subcategory Audiences
External Clients, customers Donors from prior years, potential donors

Regulatory agencies Local Board of Health

Vendors, contractors Nurses in attendance, food service provider, landlord of

the facility

Professional societies American Medical Association, American Association of

Blood Banks

Public Local community, local newspaper, local television and

radio stations
Developing an Audience List
(Ensuring your audience list is complete and up-to-date)

To ensure your audience list is complete, consider the following guidelines:

ØEventually identify each audience by position description and name
ØSpeak with a wide range of people
ØAllow sufficient time to develop your audience list
ØInclude audiences who may play a role at any time during your project
ØInclude a person’s name on the audience list for every roles he/she plays
ØContinue to add and remove names from your audience list through-out your project
ØWhen in doubt, write down a person’s name
Developing an Audience List
(Making an audience list template)

An audience list template is a predesigned audience list that contains typical audiences for
projects similar to yours. The template reflects the cumulative experiences of a particular type of
project. As you perform more projects, you can add audiences to the template that you overlooked
in earlier projects and remove audiences that proved unnecessary. Using templates can save you
time and improve your accuracy.
Developing an Audience List
(Making an audience list template)

When using audience list templates, keep the following in mind:

ØDevelop templates for frequently performed tasks and for entire projects

ØFocus on position descriptions rather than the names of prior audiences

ØDevelop and modify your audience list template from previous projects that actually worked, not
from plans that looked good.

ØUse templates as starting points, not ending points

ØContinually update your templates to reflect the experiences from different projects.
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
After identifying everyone in your project audience, determine which of the following groups they
fall into. Then you can decide whether to involve them and, if so, how and when.

Drivers: People who have some say in defining the results of your project. You’re performing your
project for this people.

Supporters: The people who help you perform your project. Supporters include individuals who
authorize the resources for your project and who actually work on it.

Observers: People who are interested in the activities and results of your project. Observers have
no say in your project and they are not actively involved in it. However, your project may affect them
at some point in the future.
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Deciding when to involve them

Projects pass through the following five stages (Conceive, Define, Start, Perform, and Close) as
they progress from an initial idea to completion. Plan to involve drivers, supporters, and observers
in each phase.

Drivers

Involve drivers from the start to the finish of your project. Keeping them involved is critical because
they define what your project should produce, and they evaluate your project’s success when it’s
finished
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Involving Drivers in the Different Phases of the Project
Phase Involvement Level Rationale
Concept Heavy Identify and speak with as many drivers as possible. Their
desires and your assessment of feasibility can influence
whether you should pursue the project. If you uncover
additional drivers later, explore with them the issues that led
the project; ask them to identify and asses any special
expectation they may love.
Definition Moderate to Heavy Consult with drivers to ensure your project plan addresses their
needs and expectation. Have them formally approve the plan
before you start the actual project work.
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Involving Drivers in the Different Phases of the Project
Phase Involvement Level Rationale
Start Moderate Announce and introduce the drivers to the project team. Having
drivers talk about their needs and interest reinforces the
importance of the project and helps team member form a more
accurate picture of project goals. Having the drivers meet team
members increases the drivers’ confidence that the member
can successfully complete the project.
Perform Moderate Keep drivers apprised of project accomplishments and
progress to sustain their ongoing interest and enthusiasm.
Involving drivers during this phase also ensures that the results
are meeting their needs.
Close Heavy Have drivers assess the project’s results and determine
whether their needs and expectations were met. Identify their
recommendations for improving performance on similar project
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Supporters

Just as with drivers, involve supporters from start to finish. Because they perform and support the
project work, they need to know about changing requirements so they can promptly identify and
address problems. Involvement also sustains their ongoing motivation and commitment to the
project.
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Involving Supporters in the Different Phases of the Project
Phase Involvement Level Rationale
Concept Moderate Wherever possible, have key supporters assess the feasibility of
meeting driver expectations. If you identify key supporters later
in the project, have them confirm the feasibility of previously
set expectations.
Definition Heavy Supporters are the major contributors to the project plan.
Because they facilitate or do all the work, have them determine
necessary technical approaches, schedules, and resources.
Also have them formally commit to all aspects of the plan.
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Involving Drivers in the Different Phases of the Project
Phase Involvement Level Rationale
Start Heavy Familiarize all supporters with the planned work. Clarify how
the supporters will work together to achieve the results. Have
supporters decide how they’ll communicate, resolve conflicts,
and make decisions throughout the project.
Perform Heavy Supporters perform the work of the project. Keep them
informed of project progress, encourage them to identify
performance problems they encounter or anticipate, and work
with them to develop and implement solutions to these
problems.
Close Heavy Have supporters conclude their different tasks. Inform them of
project accomplishments and recognize their roles in project
achievements. Elicit their suggestions for more effective
performances of future projects.
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Observers

Choose the observers with whom you want to actively share project information. Involve them
minimally throughout the project because they neither tell you what should be done nor help you
do it.
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Involving Supporters in the Different Phases of the Project
Phase Involvement Level Rationale
Concept Minimal Inform observers that your project exists and what it’ll produce.
Definition Minimal Inform observers about the planned outcomes and timeframes.
Start Minimal Tell them that the project has started and confirm the dates for
planned milestones.
Performance Minimal Inform observers of key achievements during the project.
Closure Minimal When the project is complete, inform observers about the
project’s products and results.
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Using different methods to keep them involved
Keeping drivers, supporters, and observers informed as you progress in your project is critical to
the project’s success. Choosing the right method can stimulate a group’s continued interest and
encourage them to actively support your work. Consider the following approaches for keeping your
project audiences involved throughout your project:
ØOne-on-one meetings
ØGroup meetings
ØInformal written correspondence
ØWritten approvals
Identifying the Drivers, Supporters,
and Observers in your Audience
Using different methods to keep them involved
To maximize your audiences’ contributions, consider the following guidelines throughout your
project:
ØInvolve an audience early in planning if the have a role later on.
ØIf you’re concerned with the legality of involving a specific audience, check with the legal
department or contracts office.
ØDevelop a plan with each key audience to meet their information needs and interests as well as
yours.
ØAlways be sure you understand each audience’s What’s In It For Me (WIIFM)
Getting People with Sufficient
Authority
Authority is the right to make project decisions that others must follow. Having opinions about how
an aspect should be addressed is different from having the authority to decide how it will be
addressed.

Confirm that the people you’ve identified as audiences can make the necessary decisions to
perform their tasks. If they don’t have that authority, find out who does and how to bring those
people into the process.
Getting People with Sufficient
Authority
Steps to define each audience member/s authority:

1. Clarify each person’s task and decisions

2. Ask each person her authority regarding each decision and task

3. Ask people how they know what authority they have

4. Check the history

5. Verify whether anything has recently changed

“It’s one small step for man, one
giant leap for mankind.”

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
 Thank you!

- NEIL ARMSTRONG