Introduction

Do you believe that managing stakeholders’ expectations is nothing more than properly managing project scope? Do you believe that managing stakeholders’ expectations is nothing more than effective project communications? Do you believe that every project is successful that completes on time and on budget? If you answered yes to any of these questions.

Value of Reviewing Stakeholder Expectations Management

Although managing stakeholder expectations speaks to the essence of project management and is a key objective of all project definition, planning, and control activities, it is often ignored in introductory project management. Why? Well, I think there are many reasons, but there are two main ones:

1. Many consider it to be an advanced project management topic.
2. Many people do not know how to manage expectations and thus just lump it with other project management activities.

Although I agree that it is very difficult to isolate strict expectations management activities or talk about managing expectations without discussing other aspects of project management, there is tremendous value in taking a concentrated look at this:

• Expectations are a critical success factor—Although scope, budget, and schedule are core elements of managing expectations, there is more—and if you ignore it, the odds for real project success are greatly diminished.
• You can make a difference—Because expectations deal with perceptions and often get into the “art” of project management, they can be less tangible, which makes it more challenging to offer guidance. This won’t stop us. We review several powerful, tangible techniques you can employ to better guide stakeholder expectations.
• Sign of project management maturity—Nothing says “experience” and “I’m not a rookie” more than a project manager who understands the importance of guiding stakeholder expectations and who constantly focuses on this aspect of their project.

Although we have referenced many tools and techniques in earlier that help manage expectations, this provides the opportunity to highlight those important items one more time and the opportunity to take a focused look at this vital area of project management. We explore the critical aspects of expectations, the key components of successfully managing stakeholder expectations, the common mistakes to avoid, and the essential principles and techniques that will guide us in any project environment.