How often have you heard some project managers ask, “Who needs end users anyway? They only get in the way!” But the best project managers know that end users are stakeholders.

And more importantly, they play an important role:

  1. they can help identify risks
  2. they can help prevent problems
  3. they can help identify the appropriate scope of work

End users need to be communicated with during planning but also during execution to know the status of the project.

So, how do you deal with them to get the best out of the project for everyone – 2 basic and simple things which have worked for most of us:

  1. Give them recognition
  2. Trust and be trustworthy

How do you do this?

  1. Invite end users to team meetings
  2. Assign end users small tasks to make them feel involved
  3. Have an end user steering committee that meets regularly as a communication
  4. Make sure that you continually express to them how the project will help the end users
  5. Ask them, “From your perspective, what will make this project a success?”
  6. Involve them in the creation of the project charter or include them as a signer of the project charter
  7. Include them in requirements gathering
  8. Invite them to the kick off meeting
  9. Understand their organizational/departmental structure
  10. Consider them as part of your expert advisers
  11. Send them copies of meeting minutes
  12. Use them as a sounding board for project ideas in order to make sure the ideas warrant further investigation before wasting time and money