Ecosystems, Stakeholders, Culture and Leadership

What it is

The people element recognises that projects are delivered by people and for people. Methods, plans and products only succeed when the people involved work well together and the people affected accept the change.

This page defines the key people terms in PRINCE2 7: the organizational ecosystem, the project ecosystem, change management, stakeholder, culture, collaboration and co-creation, leadership and management. It also explains the two contrasts the syllabus tests: people within the project versus people affected by it, and leadership versus management.

How it works

Organizational and project ecosystems

The organizational ecosystem is the wider system the project sits in: the organization's internal elements, such as staff and business owners, and its external relationships with customers, partners, suppliers and regulators.

The project ecosystem is the part of that system the project touches: the business areas involved in or directly affected by the project, plus its users and suppliers. It includes the project team (the project board, managers, assurance, support and delivery teams) and sits inside the organizational ecosystem.

People within the project versus people affected by it

This is a core exam contrast. People within the project are those with project roles who create and manage the products. People affected by the project are those whose work, behaviour or circumstances will change as a result, such as staff using a new system or customers using a new service.

Many people are in both groups: a senior user sits on the project board but also represents users who will be affected. The project must manage its own team well and also engage and support the people affected, because benefits depend on them.

Change management

Change management is the set of activities that helps an organization and its people move from the current way of working to the new one, so the project's outputs are adopted and outcomes and benefits are achieved. A project delivers outputs; change management helps turn them into outcomes.

Stakeholder

A stakeholder is any individual, group or organization that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by the project. The definition includes perception: someone who only believes they are affected is still a stakeholder and still needs to be engaged.

Culture

Culture is the shared values, beliefs and behaviours that shape how people work. Each organization has its own culture, and a project bringing several organizations together has to manage the differences between them.

Collaboration and co-creation

Collaboration is people and organizations working together towards a shared goal. Co-creation goes further: the people affected by the change are actively involved in designing and shaping the solution, rather than receiving it at the end.

Leadership versus management

Both are needed on every project. Leadership is about people and direction; management is about tasks, processes and control. Any project role, not only the project manager, can show leadership.

A worked example

A university is moving staff to a new expenses system. The project team is the project board, project manager and IT delivery team; with the 4,000 staff who claim expenses, the finance department and the system supplier, it forms the project ecosystem. The organizational ecosystem is the whole university and its external relationships, such as its auditors.

The project manager plans and tracks the build (management), while the senior user regularly explains to staff why the change matters and listens to concerns (leadership). Finance staff help design the claim screens with the team (co-creation), which makes adoption much smoother.

How the exam asks about this

• "Which term covers the business areas involved in or affected by a project, plus its users and suppliers?" The project ecosystem.
• "Which statement about stakeholders is correct?" A stakeholder includes anyone who perceives themselves to be affected by the project.
• "What is the difference between leadership and management?" Leadership sets direction and motivates people; management plans, organizes and controls the work.