Stakeholder maps — every player captured with influence and interest noted.
Stakeholder mapping on a whiteboard produces the clearest picture of who matters, who resists, and who to keep informed. BoardSnap captures the map in a structured form your whole team can use.
Why consultants love this workflow
Consultants who build stakeholder maps on whiteboards — power-interest grids, influence diagrams, relationship maps — get more nuanced intelligence than those who fill in a spreadsheet. The physical board lets you see the whole stakeholder landscape and annotate the relationships: who sponsors whom, who has informal veto power, who's a coalition-builder.
BoardSnap captures those annotations. The names, positions, influence ratings, and relationship notes all come through in the summary. Your engagement team — the consultant who wasn't in the mapping session, the new team member who joined mid-engagement — has the full picture.
The exact flow
- Draw the power-interest grid
Two axes: power (high/low) and interest (high/low). Four quadrants: Manage Closely, Keep Satisfied, Keep Informed, Monitor. Label each quadrant.
- Place stakeholders in the grid
Write each stakeholder's name and role in the appropriate quadrant. Add their department or function next to their name.
- Annotate relationships and influence
Draw lines between stakeholders who have influence relationships. Label lines with the nature of the relationship: 'sponsors,' 'challenges,' 'informal ally.' These relationship labels are gold.
- Add engagement strategy notes
Next to each key stakeholder, write a one-line engagement strategy: 'monthly briefing,' 'early champion,' 'manage resistance.' BoardSnap captures these as stakeholder action items.
- Snap and share with the engagement team
The structured stakeholder summary ensures the whole team navigates client politics consistently — not just the consultant who built the map.
What you'll get out of it
- Full stakeholder landscape captured — not just the names everyone remembers
- Relationship annotations preserved — the most valuable intelligence
- Engagement strategy notes extracted as action items per stakeholder
- New team members get up to speed on client politics without a briefing meeting
- Stakeholder map updateable as the engagement evolves
Frequently asked
Can BoardSnap read a stakeholder map that uses a relationship diagram instead of a grid?
Yes. Relationship diagrams with nodes and labeled arrows are read well. Each stakeholder node and each labeled relationship is captured in the summary.
How sensitive is stakeholder information in a BoardSnap capture?
Treat it like any client intelligence document — store it in a client-specific BoardSnap project and manage access accordingly. Don't share the raw summary outside your engagement team.
Can I use BoardSnap to update the stakeholder map mid-engagement when the landscape changes?
Yes. Snap the updated map and add it to the project. You have a timestamped record of how the stakeholder landscape shifted during the engagement.
Consultants: try this on your next stakeholder mapping.
Three taps. Action items in your hand before the room clears.