You have requested that several of the stakeholders participate in the different phases of the project. Why is this important?
a) It prevents scope creep.
b) It allows for scope constraints.
c) It improves the probability of satisfying the customer requirements
d) It’s just about meetings
The correct answer and explanation is :
Correct Answer: c) It improves the probability of satisfying the customer requirements
Explanation:
Involving stakeholders in the different phases of a project is essential because it increases the likelihood of meeting customer requirements, which is the central goal of project management. Stakeholders—such as clients, end users, project sponsors, and team members—are individuals or groups who have an interest in the outcome of the project. Their involvement ensures that their expectations, needs, and concerns are understood and addressed early in the project lifecycle.
When stakeholders are engaged from the beginning (during planning) and throughout the execution and monitoring phases, project managers gain valuable insights into what the final deliverable should include. This feedback loop helps refine requirements, resolve ambiguities, and avoid misunderstandings. It also allows for better alignment between the project team’s actions and the customer’s needs.
Moreover, continuous stakeholder involvement can help identify potential risks or issues before they escalate. Stakeholders can alert the team to regulatory or operational constraints and help evaluate trade-offs. Their feedback also enhances transparency and builds trust, which can be critical to project success.
While preventing scope creep (option a) and managing scope constraints (option b) are important project management goals, they are often side benefits of strong stakeholder engagement. However, they are not the primary reason stakeholders should be involved. Also, saying that stakeholder involvement is “just about meetings” (option d) trivializes the important role they play in ensuring the product or service meets expectations.
Ultimately, option c is correct because successful stakeholder involvement leads to better decision-making, more accurate requirements gathering, and increased satisfaction with the final deliverable—which improves the probability of satisfying customer requirements.