Step 1 of the Solution Search Path, as it is applied during any phase of a CSD project, is to engage the stakeholders who are concerned specifically with the problem of concern during that phase. To remind yourself what problem is being addressed in each project phase, see the branch on The Three-Phase CSD Project Paradigm.
- Make a list of who, to the best of your knowledge, the stakeholders are in the problem of concern in the current phase. Include both individuals and groups of those who share a common interest.
- Decide how you will actively reach out to each stakeholder. What resources are available in the community that you can call upon to help make the contact? The goal is to engage every possible stakeholder as an active participant. Passive methods like posting notices are not adequate. Not only that, it is hostile. The attitude is “If they aren’t willing to show up, too bad for them.”
- Prepare to assign surrogates to represent stakeholders who do not show up. The surrogates will act in their place until they do show up.
- Query the stakeholders to find their interests, values, needs and wants, priorities, fears and aspirations. Record and organize this information for subsequent use, particularly as basis for Definition of Success in SP Step 2..
- Continue this as an ongoing process, reaching out to new stakeholders as you discover their existence, and updating the stakeholder inputs as new material comes in.
The table below summarizes the Solution Search Path Step 1 activity during each phase of a CSD project.
For a broader look at this topic, go to the branch on Stakeholder Engagement.