3.4. Engage Stakeholders
💡 First Principle: Stakeholder engagement is a continuous execution activity, not a one-time identification exercise at kickoff — the enablers PMI tests span the full cycle from identifying stakeholders through actively building trust to accomplish objectives.
Enablers: identify stakeholders, analyze stakeholders, analyze and tailor communication to stakeholder needs, execute the stakeholder engagement plan, optimize alignment among stakeholder needs/expectations/project objectives, and build trust and influence to accomplish project objectives.
Notice "analyze and tailor communication" is distinct from "plan and manage communication" (which lives under Process, task 8) — this task is about the relationship and alignment work; the Process-domain task is about the mechanics of the communication plan itself. The exam separates them because they test different judgment.
⚠️ Exam Trap: Confusing stakeholder engagement (People domain, relationship-building) with communication planning (Process domain, mechanics). A question about choosing the right channel/frequency for status updates belongs to Process; a question about resolving a stakeholder's resistance to the project belongs here.
Reflection Question: Identify a stakeholder relationship you had to actively build trust with over time, rather than one that was already aligned. What specific actions built that trust?
