Learning Activity 11-11: Project Stakeholder Good Twins and Evil Twins

GOALS

The goal of this activity is to help define stakeholder responsibilities in ways that will optimize stakeholder participation in projects.

MATERIALS

• Handout 11-6: Stakeholder Good Twins and Evil Twins

• PowerPoint slides 9-51 through 9-54.

TIME

• approximately 15 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

Distribute Handout 11-6 and ask teams to decide which stakeholders they would like to use for this exercise. Individual team members will start completing the handout but may help one another in getting the best description possible of the Good Twin and Evil Twin behaviors. If people are stuck, suggest that they start with the Evil Twin behavior first, based perhaps on some experiences they ‚ ve encountered in previous projects.

Ask teams to role-play the twins for presentation to the group , with ‚“Oscars ‚½ for the best dramatic performances . Have each team deliver one Good Twin and one Evil Twin. After deciding on the most dramatic examples, move on to the role definition portion of the handout. How did the participants arrive at descriptions that would tend to encourage Good Twin behavior and discourage Evil Twin behavior?

Handout 11.6: Stakeholder Good Twins and Evil Twins

Stakeholder Name :

Pick one of the stakeholders involved in your project. Use the space below to indicate how that stakeholder ‚ s ‚“Good Twin ‚½ would behave to help make your project an overwhelming success. Describe four or five specific ways in which he or she would do this.

Use the space below to indicate how that stakeholder ‚ s ‚“Evil Twin ‚½ might behave to sabotage your project. Describe four or five specific ways in which he or she would do this.

Write a role description that could be included in a project charter to help ensure that the ‚“Good Twin ‚½ would prevail over the ‚“Evil Twin. ‚½ (Strive for diplomacy here, please !)