A stakeholder is anyone with an interest in your project's outcome — they affect it or are affected by it. Recognizing who your stakeholders are, and keeping them appropriately informed and aligned, is a core part of getting work done in any organization.
Typical stakeholders
✓ Users / customers → the people using what you build
✓ Business sponsors → who funds it and owns the outcome
✓ Engineering & design → who build it
✓ Sales, marketing, support → who sell and support it
✓ Leadership → who care about strategy and results
✓ Legal / compliance / security → who set constraints
How to work with them
✓ IDENTIFY them early → who cares about this and why?
✓ UNDERSTAND what each one needs from the project
✓ COMMUNICATE proactively → don't make people chase you for status
✓ MANAGE EXPECTATIONS → be honest about scope and timing
✓ INVOLVE the right people in decisions that affect them
