Question 1

Why is stakeholder management critical for Microsoft 365 projects?

Accepted Answer

Microsoft 365 projects (SharePoint intranets, Teams rollouts, Copilot adoption) change how people work. Without stakeholder buy-in, employees resist change, use workarounds and abandon new tools within months. CNEXT's experience: projects with strong stakeholder engagement achieve 80% adoption in 3 months; without it, adoption rarely exceeds 40%.

Question 2

How does CNEXT identify project stakeholders?

Accepted Answer

CNEXT stakeholder identification uses a RACI model (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) mapped to project phases. Key stakeholder groups for Microsoft 365 projects: executive sponsor (budget/priority setter), IT team (technical delivery), business process owners (requirements), HR/communications (change management) and end users (adoption).

Question 3

What is a stakeholder communication plan?

Accepted Answer

A communication plan defines: who receives which communication, at what frequency, via which channel (email, Teams, SharePoint news, town hall) and with what message (project rationale, progress, what it means for them). CNEXT creates communication plans as a standard deliverable in all projects, mapped to the project timeline.

Question 4

What is a champion network and how does CNEXT build it?

Accepted Answer

A champion network is a group of enthusiastic early adopters who advocate for the new solution in their teams. CNEXT builds champion networks: identifying volunteers in each department, providing early access and training, running a 'Champions Teams channel' for sharing tips, giving champions talking points for peer conversations and recognising champions in project communications.

Question 5

How does CNEXT manage resistant stakeholders?

Accepted Answer

CNEXT's approach to resistant stakeholders: (1) Understand the specific concern (data privacy, workload, loss of control). (2) Address with evidence (security documentation for privacy concerns, usage data for workload concerns). (3) Involve the sceptic early (people resist what they don't control). (4) Find a co-champion who is a peer. (5) Escalate to the executive sponsor only as a last resort.

Question 6

What is an executive sponsor's role in a Microsoft 365 project?

Accepted Answer

The executive sponsor provides: visible leadership endorsement (sends the launch email), budget authority (approves additional scope), priority resolution (removes organisational blockers) and accountability (holds department heads to adoption targets). CNEXT coaches executive sponsors on their specific role and provides speaking points for key project communications.

Question 7

How do CNEXT stakeholder workshops work?

Accepted Answer

CNEXT stakeholder workshops are facilitated half-day sessions: morning – current state and pain points (by department), afternoon – future state vision, requirements prioritisation and concern identification. Outputs: stakeholder map, requirements list, concern register and communication plan draft. Available in German or English, on-site or remote.

Question 8

What is the difference between stakeholder management and change management?

Accepted Answer

Stakeholder management: who needs to be involved, how and when. Change management: how to move people from current state to future state behaviour (Lewin model: unfreeze → change → refreeze). Stakeholder management is a subset of change management. CNEXT provides both, and often combines them in a single workstream for medium-size projects.

Question 9

Does CNEXT include stakeholder management in all projects?

Accepted Answer

Yes for projects >CHF 20,000 and/or affecting >50 users. For smaller projects, CNEXT provides a stakeholder checklist and communication templates that the client applies independently. For large projects (1,000+ users, multi-site, multi-national), CNEXT may recommend a dedicated change management workstream alongside the technical delivery.

Question 10

What are the most common stakeholder management mistakes in Microsoft 365 projects?

Accepted Answer

Common mistakes CNEXT sees: (1) Involving IT only and excluding business stakeholders in requirements. (2) Announcing the new tool one week before go-live (no time to build buy-in). (3) No executive sponsor visible endorsement. (4) No champion network – relying solely on IT to answer user questions. (5) No measurement of adoption (can't manage what you don't measure).

Stakeholder Selector

All stakeholders

RACI-Matrix

Communication plan