Salience model to analyze and classify stakeholder

• Power : This is a subjective determination of how much influence the stakeholder has to impose his or her will. For example, a chief executive in the company usually has a very high level of power even if he or she isn’t directly involved in the project.
• Legitimacy : This is a gauge of how much vested interest the stakeholder has, giving the stakeholder a legitimate stake in the project. For example, a marketing manager probably has no legitimacy in a project for the accounting department.
• Urgency : This is an assessment of how quickly the stakeholder will expect his or her will to be acted upon.

• A. Core stakeholders : People falling into this classification are the project’s key stakeholders. They have power, legitimate authority, and a high urgency for most issues. The project manager will want to pay close attention to these stakeholders.
• B. Dominant stakeholders : These people have power and legitimacy within the project but don’t have a high expectation of urgency for most issues. The project manager will want to pay close attention to these stakeholders, but their demands are usually less critical than core stakeholders.
• C. Dependent stakeholders : Stakeholders in this class have legitimate authority and an expectation of urgency, but they have no real power to impose their will. The project manager needs to engage and solicit the input of these stakeholders because if they grow dissatisfied, they might be able to ally themselves with someone of power.
• D. Discretionary stakeholders : These stakeholders have a vested interest in the project (legitimacy), but they have no power and carry no sense of urgency. These people need to be kept informed and are generally receivers of regular project communication but they have few demands.
• E. Latent stakeholders : These stakeholders have power, but they have no legitimacy in the project or urgency characteristics. The project manager should keep these people informed of high-level project information but shouldn’t overburden them too many details. They also need monitored because should they grow dissatisfied, they have the power to give themselves legitimate authority in the project, especially if dependent stakeholders ally with them.
• F. Demanding stakeholders : This group of stakeholders believes their demands are always urgent, but they have no real power in the project. Mitchell, Agle, and Wood called these “mosquitoes” because they can be annoying. The project manager doesn’t want to fall prey to spending too much time dealing with these stakeholders at the expense of efforts focused on influential stakeholders.
• G. Dangerous stakeholders : Dangerous stakeholders have power and characteristics of urgency, but they have no vested interest in the project. They are dangerous because they have the clout to enmesh themselves in the project and give themselves legitimacy, so the project manager wants to keep these stakeholders informed and appropriately engaged to keep them satisfied.
• H. Non-stakeholders : Anyone falling outside the Venn diagram is by definition a non-stakeholder because they have no power, legitimacy, or urgency. The project manager wants to double-check and make sure the person really is a non-stakeholder.