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GuidePublished 13 Aug 202610 min readBy Kevin Joginstakeholdermappingsaliencemodel
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Templates & Examples · Identify Stakeholders

Stakeholder Mapping: Salience Model

A handbook-style stakeholder mapping: salience model with field guidance, workflow, review checks and source-derived example evidence. This page focuses specifically on salience model.

10 min readTemplate & handbookSource-groundedUpdated 13 Aug 2026
Decision supportedidentify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.
Best used whenThe project needs a visible, reviewable record rather than an informal conversation or undocumented spreadsheet.
Control principleFacts, assumptions, forecasts, approvals and actions should remain distinguishable throughout the artefact lifecycle.
Handbook overview

What this artefact controls

Stakeholder Mapping: Salience Model should be treated as a decision instrument, not as paperwork completed for its own sake. Its practical value comes from making the underlying decision, evidence, ownership and review cycle visible. In this handbook, the supplied source structure is retained as the factual basis while the surrounding guidance explains how to complete, review and maintain it in day-to-day project delivery.

The source set repeatedly links project documents to broader control relationships: scope creates the work to be scheduled and costed; resources execute that work; stakeholders influence acceptance and change; risk captures uncertainty; quality establishes evidence of conformance; and performance information explains whether the project is still moving toward its intended outcome. Stakeholder Mapping: Salience Model belongs in that integrated system. It should therefore use identifiers and terminology consistent with adjacent project records so that a reviewer can trace a decision across documents without relying on memory.

Before filling any field, write one sentence describing the decision or control action the completed artefact must support. Then identify the accountable owner, contributors, reviewers, approval authority and next review trigger. This prevents a common failure in project documentation: every box is filled, but nobody can explain what decision the document enables or who must act when conditions change.

Inputcharter and business context
Inputorganisation and external environment
Inputstakeholder interviews
Outputstakeholder register
Outputanalysis and mapping
Outputengagement strategy
Integrated visual

How the information fits together

Definitive — power + urgency + legitimacy
Dominant — power + legitimacy
Dependent — urgency + legitimacy
Dangerous — power + urgency
Dormant — power
Discretionary — legitimacy
Demanding — urgency

This visual is an HTML/CSS interpretation for the KEVOS article reader. It conveys the decision structure without embedding the supplied source artwork as a screenshot.

Field-by-field guidance

Complete the template with traceable information

The following field map is extracted from the supplied blank or completed source document where text was available. Wording has been normalised for web readability, but the source structure remains the basis. Where a field is not applicable, record why rather than silently leaving a potentially important control blank.

Source field / sectionWhat to recordReview test
(horizontal). The quadrant determines the engagement strategy.Record currency, price date, inclusion boundary and source of the value; separate estimate, baseline, actual and forecast.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
HighRecord the minimum evidence needed for high to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
Keep SatisfiedRecord the minimum evidence needed for keep satisfied to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
Manage CloselyRecord the minimum evidence needed for manage closely to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
(High Power, Low Interest)Record the minimum evidence needed for (high power, low interest) to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
(High Power, High Interest)Record the minimum evidence needed for (high power, high interest) to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
POWER →Record the minimum evidence needed for power → to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
MonitorRecord the minimum evidence needed for monitor to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
Keep InformedRecord the minimum evidence needed for keep informed to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
(Low Power, Low Interest)Record the minimum evidence needed for (low power, low interest) to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
(Low Power, High Interest)Record the minimum evidence needed for (low power, high interest) to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
LowRecord the minimum evidence needed for low to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
INTEREST →Record the minimum evidence needed for interest → to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
actively engage, frequentRecord the minimum evidence needed for actively engage, frequent to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
meet their needs but don'tRecord the minimum evidence needed for meet their needs but don't to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
share progress and listen toRecord the minimum evidence needed for share progress and listen to to support the identify who can affect or is affected by the project and convert that analysis into proportionate engagement and communication actions.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
minimal communication; watchRecord the audience, information need, influence or engagement state and the action required from the project team.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
communication.Record the audience, information need, influence or engagement state and the action required from the project team.The entry is specific, traceable and reviewable.
Working template

Blank web-ready structure

This compact version is designed for copying into a project working note or for translating into your organisation’s controlled form. It is not a claim that these are the only fields required by every organisation, contract or jurisdiction.

(horizontal). The quadrant determines the engagement strategy.Enter controlled project information here…
HighEnter controlled project information here…
Keep SatisfiedEnter controlled project information here…
Manage CloselyEnter controlled project information here…
(High Power, Low Interest)Enter controlled project information here…
(High Power, High Interest)Enter controlled project information here…
POWER →Enter controlled project information here…
MonitorEnter controlled project information here…
Keep InformedEnter controlled project information here…
(Low Power, Low Interest)Enter controlled project information here…
(Low Power, High Interest)Enter controlled project information here…
LowEnter controlled project information here…
Supplied worked material

What the uploaded example demonstrates

The source set uses a recurring worked project — Mary’s Consulting and its new company website — to show how project artefacts connect. The examples are useful because the same scope, team, costs, risks, stakeholders and milestones recur across multiple forms, allowing the reader to see how one project decision propagates through the documentation system. Any numerical value below is a source example or a calculation explicitly identified as such; it should not be treated as a universal project standard.

  • The Salience Model classifies stakeholders by the combination of three attributes: Power (ability to impose their will), Urgency (need
  • Outward External: customers, vendors, regulators,
  • Project Date May 6,
  • Title: Prepared: 2026
  • Outward External: customers, vendors, regulators, Fortune 500 Prospects; Consultant Community (500+); Hosting /
How to use the example. Copy the reasoning pattern, not the number. Replace example dates, thresholds, scores, names and amounts with evidence from the actual project, and retain the source or calculation basis for every material value.
Operating method

Step-by-step workflow

Step 1
Identify stakeholders continuously, not only at initiation.
Step 2
Record role, interest, influence, expectations and relevant information needs.
Step 3
Use an appropriate analysis model such as power–interest, salience or direction of influence.
Step 4
Define the desired engagement state and the gap from current engagement.
Step 5
Select communication content, channel, cadence and owner by audience.
Step 6
Review changes in stakeholder position, urgency and influence as the project evolves.

For controlled project records, the final step is not “save the file”. The final step is to make the current approved state discoverable, communicate the decision to affected people and define the next review trigger. That trigger may be a phase gate, threshold breach, approved change, new stakeholder, supplier event, forecast movement, risk trigger or a scheduled review date.

Verification

Review checklist before approval or use

  • The register includes internal and external stakeholders.
  • Sensitive information is handled at an appropriate access level.
  • The chosen mapping model has a clear decision purpose.
  • Communication actions are linked to stakeholder needs, not a generic broadcast cadence.
  • The owner of each engagement action is known.
  • Analysis is refreshed when roles, priorities or external conditions change.

Run the review from the perspective of a competent person who did not attend the drafting meeting. If they cannot reconstruct the basis, current state and required next action from the record and its cited evidence, the artefact is not yet controlled enough for a material decision.

Practical failure modes

Common mistakes and recovery actions

Failure mode 1

Treating the stakeholder list as static.

Recovery: return to the approved objective or baseline, identify the missing evidence or decision owner, and record the corrective action before proceeding.

Failure mode 2

Confusing high interest with high decision authority.

Recovery: return to the approved objective or baseline, identify the missing evidence or decision owner, and record the corrective action before proceeding.

Failure mode 3

Over-communicating detail to every audience.

Recovery: return to the approved objective or baseline, identify the missing evidence or decision owner, and record the corrective action before proceeding.

Failure mode 4

Ignoring neutral or resistant stakeholders until an issue occurs.

Recovery: return to the approved objective or baseline, identify the missing evidence or decision owner, and record the corrective action before proceeding.

Failure mode 5

Publishing sensitive stakeholder assessments without access controls.

Recovery: return to the approved objective or baseline, identify the missing evidence or decision owner, and record the corrective action before proceeding.

Governance & hand-offs

Keep the document alive after first approval

A project artefact is only useful while its status is known. Give it a unique identifier, version, owner, approval state and effective date. Define what types of change require reapproval and what updates can be made administratively. Retain superseded versions when the record is needed to explain a historical decision, claim, audit, acceptance or lesson.

Use the document in reviews by focusing on exceptions and decisions rather than reading every field aloud. Ask what has changed since the last review, what assumption has been invalidated, what threshold has been crossed, which decision is now due and which action remains without an owner. This converts the artefact from static documentation into a control mechanism.

At hand-off, confirm that downstream users can interpret the identifiers, units, assumptions and status values without relying on the original author. For project close-out, make sure unresolved items have an operational owner and a clear retention location. A closed project should not leave behind orphaned risks, undocumented support obligations, unverified benefits or ambiguous acceptance evidence.

Source fidelity

Source basis and limitations

This page is an original KEVOS handbook synthesis grounded in the uploaded source files. It intentionally paraphrases and restructures the material for practical application rather than reproducing the source documents as images. Where the source contains an illustrative project value, that value remains an example. Where a required blank source was absent, the limitation is stated explicitly rather than silently inventing a missing form.

  • PMBOK+8+Plans+and+Documents/Identifiy Stakeholers/Stakeholder_Mapping_and_Representation_BLANK.pdf
  • PMBOK+8+Plans+and+Documents/Identifiy Stakeholers/Stakeholder_Mapping_and_Representation_FILLED.pdf

Current authoritative context used for the reference pages: Project Management Institute, PMBOK® Guide — Eighth Edition and the 2026 PMP Examination Content Outline. The article package does not reproduce substantial PMI publication text.

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