Customers and Stakeholders

[David Pedersen]

With the projects that I manage, there is usually one person responsible for
completing a task and others who might be considered customers or
stakeholders (they provide information or approvals, but aren't really
responsible for completing tasks). I know that I can break project tasks
down into greater detail so that there is a task for which the customer or
stakeholder is the responsible resource (for example, a task such as "approve
document"), but I'd prefer not to do so, since that would mean I'd have to
manage the stakeholder's individual resource or task calendars. Also, if I
add a stakeholder as a resource (in addition to the resource who's really
responsible for the task) and the responsible person is out on vacation
(indicated by non-working time in their resource calendar), project "sees"
the other resource and determines that the stakeholder can work on the task
in the responsible person's absence. In most cases, this won't happen.

Do you typically just put customers and stakeholders in a text field?

Could you add customers and stakeholders as a resource but dedicate 0% of
their time to the task?

What are the pros and cons of each approach?
Thanks,
David

 

[Jack Dahlgren]

Customers and stakeholders can easily go into a text field or have their
approval specifically called out on a milestone.
Usually I'd leave out minor approvals in a schedule and only include them if
they are definite parts of the critical path, that is an approvers failure
to approve within a week would delay the completion of the project. Many
times, approvals are softer and work continues around them. In those cases,
tracking the approval state outside the schedule (through any sort of system
which has document workflow) is better.

-Jack Dahlgren

 

[David Pedersen]

Jack,
You hit upon one of the other reasons I didn't really want customers or
stakeholders to be resources...

Many times, approvals are softer and work continues around them.

Thanks,
David