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In project terms, authority refers to the overall right to make project decisions that others must follow, including the right to apply project resources, expend funds, or give approvals. Having opinions about how an aspect should be addressed is different from having the authority to decide how it will be addressed. Mistaking a person’s level of authority can lead to frustration as well as wasted time and money (see Chapter 12 for more on authority).

Confirm that the people you’ve identified as stakeholders have the authority to make the decisions they need to make to perform their tasks. If they don’t have that authority, find out who does and how to bring those people into the process.

Take the following steps to define each stakeholder’s authority as early as possible in your projects:

1 Clarify each stakeholder’s tasks and decisions.Define with each person their tasks and their role in those tasks. For example, will they just work on the task, or will they also approve the schedules, resource expenditures, and work approaches?

2 Ask each stakeholder what their authority is regarding each decision and task.Ask about individual tasks rather than all issues in a particular area. For example, a person can be more confident about their authority to approve supply purchases up to $5,000 than about their authority to approve all equipment purchases, no matter the type or amount. Clarify decisions that the stakeholder can make. For decisions needing someone else’s approval, find out whose approval they need. (Ask — never assume!)

3 Ask each stakeholder how they know what authority they have.Does a written policy, procedure, or guideline confirm the authority? Did the person’s manager tell them in conversation? Is the person just assuming? If the person has no specific confirming information, encourage them to get it.

4 Check out each stakeholder’s history of exercising authority.Have you or other people worked with this person in the past? Have they been overruled on decisions that they said they were authorized to make? If so, ask them why they believe they won’t be similarly overruled this time.

5 Verify whether anything has recently changed regarding each stakeholder’s authority.Do you have any reason to believe that this person’s authority has changed? Are they new to their current group or position? Have they recently started working for a new manager? If any of these situations exists, encourage the person to find specific documentation to confirm their authority for their benefit as well as yours.

Reconfirm the information in these steps when a particular stakeholder’s decision-making assignments change. Suppose, for example, that you initially expect all individual purchases on your project to be at or under $2,500. Bill, the team representative from the finance group, assures you that he has the authority to approve such purchases for your project without checking with his manager. Midway through the project, you find that you have to purchase a piece of equipment for $5,000. Be sure to verify with Bill that he can personally authorize this larger expenditure. If he can’t, find out whose approval you need and plan how to get it.