In stakeholder management, what is the primary purpose of a stakeholder map?

• A. To record attendees of meetings
• B. To visualize influence and interest to guide engagement strategies
• C. To track project timelines
• D. To list all risks

Answer: (B)

Visualizing influence and interest of stakeholders in a single map helps guide engagement strategies. By plotting each stakeholder’s power to affect the project against their level of interest in the project outcomes, the team sees who to prioritize and how to tailor communication and involvement. This prioritization informs where to invest time and resources: those with high influence and high interest require active, ongoing collaboration; high influence but low interest should be monitored to prevent surprises; high interest but low influence benefit from regular consultation to keep them aligned; low influence and low interest can be kept informed with lighter touch updates. The map stays responsive as dynamics change, guiding the development of targeted engagement plans and helping anticipate reactions that could impact the project. It’s not mainly a tool for recording attendees, tracking timelines, or listing risks, which are handled with other project artifacts.