Stakeholders and Forces in Conflict

Conventional strategies and development approaches usually take into consideration the needs, desires, limitations, behavior, trends and interests of end users, consumers or beneficiaries. Their strategies and models do include distribution channels, delivery mechanism and intermediaries, but usually they are designed from the top-down or the bottom-up, depending on the process.

But they fail to address the existence of diverse forces pulling in different directions each with their own particular interests, goals and priorities driving their involvement both in the development process and usage stage.

To better illustrate each aspect, we will take the Collaboration Framework for the Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship at Stanford University as an example. The Collaboration Framework seeks to provide a virtual space and a set of tools that enable the participating fellows to showcase their projects and ideas, communicate with other people and allow those interested to volunteer and collaborate with them. All this should also generate awareness and recognition for the program and attract potential funders and support.

Map of actors, stakeholders and ecosystem for our example.

The Stakeholders

In most collaborative development processes there are basically 4 different actors and forces, each with its own weight and pulling on its own way:

• Users.
• Management (Funders, Decission/Strategy/Policy Makers).
• Researchers and Designers.
• Developers.

When working on content or publicly accessible initiatives, there is usually another force or actor to consider:

• The audience.

Users

They just want to get their job or activity done, as simple and fast as possible. Usually are not interested in too many options, for each user normally does only a couple of things repetitively.

In our DVF example, the users are the fellows themselves. They are busy with just 9 months in the program to achieve results and will try to avoid complications. Although technologically literate, must are not advanced or avid users of IT tools.

Management (Funders or Decission/Strategy/Policy Makers)

Looks for measurable results, good feedback, visibility for the initiative and the ability to attract more people and generate awareness. Management also usually responds to a larger picture, strategic goals, positive formal review pressures and timeframes.

Large corporations respond to quarter results and year-end goals. Large organizations pull to match short, mid and long term strategic priorities and goals from larger strategies and initiatives. Public institutions and government figures tend to be more interested in reelection and publicity and will prefer non-disruptive improvement processes.

This would be Reuters Foundation and the Fellowship management in our example. Priorities are increased awareness and recognition for the program, improved satisfaction for the fellows, better results for the fellows and their projects through the program and simplified management of content, information and the relationship with the fellows.

Researchers and Designers

This includes all those involved in putting together a strategy and idealization of the final product, service or project. They have this artificial conception of what the end user and other actors are and need, based on a filtered abstraction of their observation and interpretation of the goals. They will push a hygienic and stylized, streamlined and often limited version of the services.

In our example, this would be both the original strategy and design team and later the usability group that reviewed the framework for changes.

Developers

This group will tend to bloat services and applications with tools, options, gadgets that end up confusing users and often complicating the workflow, usability and ease of use. Developers will also tend to follow trends, push to comply with standards and will have an immediate, functional or procedural approach to the tasks addressed, usually unaware of the larger picture and the skill levels of the users.

In our example, this was an overexcited developer eager to try and deploy new technologies, features and functionalities.

Audience

This includes anyone who sees what’s been done or has access to its results. It also includes the end beneficiaries and those served by the initiative. Think of potential users, volunteers, potential and real customers and sponsors. They need a clear navigation of content and functions and the ability to connect with users and management.

In our example, this would be:

• Volunteers and potential volunteers.
• Current and potential funders and sponsors.