When to use it
A useful fit
Use it when planning engagement and checking whether influential or heavily affected groups have been overlooked.
Know the limits
Do not reduce access to consultation merely because a group has little formal power. Rights, vulnerability and knowledge also matter.
How to use it
- Identify groups and record the basis of their influence and interest.
- Challenge the initial assessment with people who know the context.
- Choose engagement actions and revisit the map when circumstances change.
Worked example
A facilities upgrade affects a small night-shift team with little budget authority. The manager includes them in design checks because they know access constraints, even though the budget sponsor has more formal influence.
Illustrative scenario by fannarmaximus; not an official exam question.
Common pitfalls
Leaving a sensitive assessment in a broadly shared document can damage relationships.
Attribution & sources
The series credits Aubrey Mendelow and the power–interest treatment of Colin Eden and Fran Ackermann. This is an independent description, not a reproduced figure.
The citations below identify authoritative references for this topic. They do not imply endorsement or reproduce the bodies’ competence lists.
- Mendelow, A. L. (1981). Environmental scanning: the impact of the stakeholder concept. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 1981), Cambridge, MA, paper 20. https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis1981/20, accessed 26 September 2026.
- Eden, C. & Ackermann, F. (1998). Making Strategy: The Journey of Strategic Management. London: Sage. ISBN 9780761952251 (paperback); 9780761952244 (hardback).