How can you manage product engineering projects with many stakeholders?

Product engineering with many stakeholders may be executed with concurrent engineering practice. Concurrent engineering environment is a well practiced method irrespective of product outline. In this method all participants from designing area , manufacturing field, quality control/ assurance domain, business development and end user come across the same table and contribute as per their needs. Being a closed loop feed back system within minimal iteration, the product gets realised with optimal usage of resources.

In Product Engineering, Product scope and objectives are the key planning parameters. Its good to understand the Minimum Viable Product and how the feature set stacks on it and to align it with objectives to determine the roll-out plan. This will provide basis to develop RACI for the stakeholders at different stages of roll-out.

Actually, the proper visualization of the needs to project through clear feasibility & conceptual phase, will dramatically enhance the planning success & provie great value to stakeholders as well. Based on that, specifying the project's scope is the first stage in scheduling engineering projects, this includes. - Determining the project's goals, needs, guidelines, and limitations - Define the project owner & team - Project team's roles and duties - Project stakeholders contributions and influences. - suitable codes and standards to be followed & the base of design conditions The scope will assist establishing the feasibility, budget, and schedule. All of the above will attract stakeholders attention & interest

You can use some strategies for managing product engineering projects with many stakeholders, such as clear communication, stakeholder analysis, conflict resolution, prioritization, change management, and stakeholder engagement. Clear communication is the key. Doing analysis helps identify and understand their interests and expectations. Prioritize stakeholders based on need. You have conflict resolution processes for resolving conflicts quickly and effectively. Accept change in project scope, timelines, or resources and have proper change management. Lastly, engage your stakeholders during the project so they can have trust and provide support by getting valuable feedback. You have an adaptive approach for every unique project.

In my experience a clear defined, agreed and rolled out change management process is KEY. Further to the clear communication a fixed meeting with stakeholders with a fixed agenda and clear documentation is critical to keep the project running and approve changes. The changes need to be based on Bussines needs and supported with hard business case data.

Managing many stakeholders means usually managing many competing requirements and interests. We need to setup an efficient communication plan firstly, let's not forget that communication channels increase almost exponentially vs number of stakeholders. That said, we would leverage on empathy, active listening and decision making to come up with an upon agreed backlog of prioritized requirements to translate in product specifications at speed.

As long as stakeholders are identified, a simple characterization process to understand the; power, influence and interest of each stakeholder happens very easily. Additionally, for any size of project-whether big or small, one should never forget their communication channels, this is what enables us to monitor, inform, manager closely or even satisfy our stakeholders.

Para identificar e priorizar as partes interessadas, é preciso fazer uma análise sistemática de quem são, o que querem, o que podem oferecer e como podem afetar o projeto. Uma ferramenta útil para essa análise é a matriz de poder x interesse, que classifica as partes interessadas em quatro categorias: alta influência e alto interesse, alta influência e baixo interesse, baixa influência e alto interesse, baixa influência e baixo interesse. Essa classificação ajuda a definir as estratégias de comunicação e relacionamento com cada grupo de partes interessadas, buscando atender suas necessidades, gerenciar suas expectativas e obter seu apoio ao projeto.

Stakeholder can be categories into few category, example: Sponsor, Customer, End user, Product development team, Production line, etc. Group the stakeholders into different categories and understand the impact / influence / interest the group of stakeholder have. This will make the stakeholder management easier.

The project manager should pull all parties with a vested interest together to discuss the project, goals, processes, roles, milestones, desired outcomes, challenges, etc. At the same time, publically identifying all of the team members and their purpose/responsibility to the project keeps everyone informed of who has a piece of the puzzle and how that piece affects the others.

This is a challenge on a high performing team with a lot of experience-when most people on the team could solve a variety of problems, but are tasked with only a portion of them, duplication of work, or being stalled in analysis paralysis mode due to style preferences, or "well we did it this way at XYZ" mode, can be a challenge. Creating a culture where staff can acknowledge when they see duplication of efforts, actively prevent silos from forming, and acknowledge when they have skill in an area they don't currently have responsibility for, and can let it be and contribute where they do have responsibility...that's a win!

Para estabelecer papéis e responsabilidades claros, é preciso definir a estrutura organizacional do projeto, ou seja, como as partes interessadas estão relacionadas entre si e como o trabalho é dividido e coordenado. Uma ferramenta útil para essa definição é o organograma do projeto, que mostra a hierarquia, a autoridade e a comunicação entre os membros da equipe e as demais partes interessadas. Outra ferramenta é a matriz de responsabilidades, que descreve as atividades, os entregáveis e os papéis de cada parte interessada, usando as siglas RACI (responsável, autoridade, consultado e informado).

One thing I’ve found helpful in managing product engineering projects with many stakeholders is to establish clear roles and responsibilities for everyone involved in the project. The RACI matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) might help to assign the roles and responsibilities of the project team members, the client, the suppliers, and the other stakeholders. I make sure that everyone knows what they are expected to do, who they are accountable to, who they need to consult with, and who they need to inform. This helps me to avoid confusion, duplication, or gaps in the work, and to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Based on my expereince a clearly documented interface management procedure annexued with interface matrix duly signed between relevant stakeholders is a very good document in any project to manage clear roles and responsibilities for a Mega project when many stake holders and many interfaces are involved. There shall be a common understanding of Project Quality Assurance Procedures and Critical Deliverable Checklists.

Penso que é necessário estabelecer uma comunicação clara e eficaz para garantir que todas as partes interessadas estejam alinhadas. Realizar reuniões regulares, atualizações de status e fornecer relatórios detalhados. Utilizar ferramentas colaborativas para compartilhar documentos e informações de forma transparente. Isso reduzirá mal-entendidos e promoverá uma tomada de decisão mais informada

To Keep all stake holders on the same page in a Multi-disciplinary, complex, & Fast moving project should be the foremost priority of a Project Leader. A governance system (Weekly meetings, Tracking files, Minutes of Meetings..) agreed amoung the Team and Effective usage of that system by all stake holders would help avoid surprises.

Ever seen those YouTube video where an expert explains concepts at different levels to grade-school kids all the way to PhDs? Contextualizing for the audience is key. Classic example: the technical teams thrive on dashboards and tickets, but the business teams may prefer alerts and meetings. It is hardly ever one-size fits all. Information needs to be tailored to the audience. Failing this, your communication plan will only cover your responsibility, but it will not be effective communication. The challenge here is to be able to execute the communication plan that can properly engage and inform stakeholders without incurring very large overhead or misconstruing information. This takes some rigorous tooling and/or a sensible human touch.

There should be meeting with each stakeholder at least one time a week to update status, accomplishment and inform problem that may occur. Many time that project plan changed so communication with stakeholder frequently will be good way to keep track with the plan or adjust it based on situation. Team member who involved with projects of those stakeholders should also join the meeting to get information and know what to do promptly.

Para realizar uma comunicação de forma eficaz é preciso planejar, executar e monitorar o processo de comunicação do projeto, ou seja, como as informações são geradas, coletadas, distribuídas, armazenadas e descartadas. A execução e o monitoramento da comunicação devem ser feitos de forma transparente, consistente e oportuna, buscando garantir o entendimento, o feedback e a confiança entre as partes interessadas.

In my view, this is perhaps the most critical requirement. Proper and timely communication with all stakeholders is the key to success.

In my experience a risk register shall be maintained for monthly risk workshop. Any risk in quality during execution shall be checked through Critical Quality checks carried out by Quality team every month. Spot checks for each and every critical deliverables is also a very good way of maintaining quality (both technical and procedural) in any project.

A lesson learn database can be setup for an organization. This database is used to collect the pitfall of the project which were develop. When a new project is started, the project team needs to search for the pitfall of the similar project in this database and plan to action to avoid the similar issue to happen.

Managing project risk is an extremely fluid and dynamic process that requires high attention to detail, clear communication, accurate record keeping and good escalation channels. It is imperative to detect change to the project’s risk profile as early as possible and then communicate the changes concisely and clearly so stakeholders can make informed decisions about mitigations. Failure to manage risks correctly will lead to rapid failure to meet project timescales and objectives. Recovering from that point is hard and will likely lead to further loss of project efficacy.

Garantir que o produto atenda ou exceda as expectativas das partes interessadas é um dos principais objetivos do gerenciamento de qualidade. Isso não apenas melhora a satisfação do cliente, mas também aumenta a credibilidade e o valor do projeto.

Earlier in my career, I was involved in a project that failed to meet the quality standards and expectations of the client. I learned that I had to manage the risks and quality of the project and ensure that the product delivered was fit for purpose and met the requirements. I used the risk management process to identify, analyze, evaluate, and treat the potential risks that could affect the project, and to devise contingency plans and mitigation strategies. I also used the quality management process to plan, assure, control, and improve the quality of the product, and to conduct quality audits and reviews. This helped me to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive outcomes of the project.

El aprendizaje logrado en cada proyecto es sumamente particular y valioso. En mi experiencia, me ha dado grandes resultados realizar sesiones de reflexión al finalizar cada proyecto para capitalizar las lecciones aprendidas. En estas sesiones, todos los participantes exponían sus aprendizajes, lo cuales en muchas oportunidades provenían de errores cometidos durante la planificación y/o ejecución del proyecto. Charlar sobre estos errores y sobre como se han sobrellevado nos ha permitido capitalizar la experiencia para no volver a caer en esos mismos temas en futuros proyectos. A su vez, cada participante del equipo ha podido mostrarse en una posición más vulnerable, lo que ayudó enormemente a generar un equipo más fuerte y colaborativo.

We don't celebrate often enough. Companies' budgets are ever-dwindling these days, but this is why a company can standout by investing a bit here. That is, as long as the celebration / reward is good. One bad example is giving the team time off but not actually changing deliverables and timelines. Uh, thanks? Low social pressure food and fun is usually a good bet. Selection of gift certificates can be good too. On the learning side, it is important to address and execute on retrospective feedback otherwise it can build up friction and resentment. It is hard enough to get some team members to speak up about problems, but if they see that their feedback is ignored, the next time you hear feedback from them may be during the exit interview.

Managing product engineering projects with many stakeholders can be stressful and demanding, but also rewarding and fulfilling. I learned that it is important to celebrate and learn from the project, and to recognize the achievements and contributions of the project team and the other stakeholders. I use it to document the lessons learned, best practices, and recommendations for future projects. I also use the project celebration process to thank and appreciate the project team and the other stakeholders and to celebrate the success and completion of the project. This helps me to foster a positive and learning-oriented culture, and to enhance the satisfaction and motivation of the project team and the other stakeholders.

Muito importante para fechamento de um projeto e fazer o levantamento de todos os acertos e as possibilidades de melhoria de todo o projeto, para documentação e utilização nos próximos! Revise os pontos os feedback do equipamento e trabalhe muito em cima deste pontos de melhoria, somente assim é possível atingir a melhoria contínua

O aprendizado é talvez o melhor insumo que a equipe do projeto e a empresa podem obter. Os eventuais fracassos e frustrações não necessariamente devem ser descartados e podem gerar ideias para novas soluções e produtos.

Begin every project meeting by considering the value it brings. Ensuring everyone is content is vital for success. Communicate according to each person's interest and impact, collaborate effectively, and address issues proactively. Closing the loop on problems and tracking their resolution is crucial. These practices help build positive relationships, uphold trust, and ensure mutual benefits for all parties in the end.

Learn more about the TameFlow Approach. Designed for software engineering management dealing with multiple projects or products, multiple events/deadlines, multiple stakeholders and multiple teams.

Good team Dynamics are important. 1.Identify the team leader 2.Establish a set of goals and objectives. 3.Establish ground rules for running the team meetings. 4. Do not waste time getting started the project.

Collaborate with your team and stakeholders on all aspects of the development lifecycle. Share details about your strategic direction and roadmap so that everyone in the organization can work toward creating a Complete Product Experience for customers

Regular Feedback Loops: - Schedule regular feedback sessions with stakeholders to gather insights on the project's progress. - Use feedback to make necessary adjustments and improvements to the project plan.