What is the role of the project stakeholder?

Question

What is the main role of the project stakeholder, other than giving feedback on the project (and of course asking for changes) and ensuring that the project (insert sarcasm here) is still aligned with his hidden agenda?

Is the role of the project stakeholder standard, or does it differ from one stakeholder to the other?

Answer 1

The role of the project stakeholder depends on the type of the project stakeholders (so it's not standard).

In case of the project sponsor:
- He's responsible for assigning the project manager to the project
- He's responsible for approving budget increases/cuts to the project
- He's responsible for approving "more time" for the project
- He's responsible for approving various project management documents such as the project charter and the project plan.
- He's responsible for approving change requests

In case of the project manager (who, by the way, is also a project stakeholder, see: http://www.projectmanagementquestions.com/2183/is-the-project-manager-a-stakeholder ):

He's responsible for initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing the project. A concise list of the PM responsibilities can be found here: http://www.projectmanagementquestions.com/301/what-are-the-responsibilities-of-the-project-manager

For other project stakeholders, their main role would be to ensure that the project is aligned with the overall business objectives of the company, and that it meets the requirements of the client/customer.