Stakeholder Management¶

Technical writers work with diverse stakeholders—engineers, product managers, designers, support teams, and leadership. Success depends on building relationships, managing expectations, and navigating competing priorities.

Understanding Stakeholders¶

Key Stakeholder Groups¶

Engineering: - Provide technical information - Review for accuracy - Priorities: Ship features, minimize interruptions

Product Management: - Define requirements and priorities - Approve content direction - Priorities: User success, feature adoption

Design: - Influence user experience - Collaborate on in-app content - Priorities: Consistency, usability

Support: - Report documentation gaps - Provide user feedback - Priorities: Deflect tickets, resolve issues

Leadership: - Allocate resources - Set strategic direction - Priorities: Business outcomes, efficiency

Mapping Stakeholders¶

Identify influence and interest:

## Stakeholder Map

| Stakeholder | Interest | Influence | Strategy |
|-------------|----------|-----------|----------|
| Engineering Lead | High | High | Close collaboration |
| Product Manager | High | High | Regular alignment |
| Support Lead | High | Medium | Feedback channel |
| Designer | Medium | Medium | Periodic check-ins |
| VP Engineering | Low | High | Status updates |

Building Relationships¶

With Engineers¶

Understand their world: - Learn enough code to be credible - Respect their time constraints - Communicate through their tools (PRs, tickets)

Make collaboration easy: - Come prepared with specific questions - Batch requests when possible - Follow up in writing

Add value: - Catch issues before release - Improve user-facing text in code - Reduce support burden

Example approach:

## Engineer Collaboration Pattern

Before meeting:
- Review the feature PR/spec
- Draft initial questions
- Prepare any preliminary content

During meeting:
- Ask targeted, specific questions
- Take notes (share afterward)
- Clarify technical concepts

After meeting:
- Send summary of key points
- Share draft for review
- Keep them updated on progress

With Product Managers¶

Align on priorities: - Understand roadmap and timelines - Clarify documentation requirements - Negotiate scope when needed

Demonstrate value: - Show documentation impact on adoption - Connect docs to user success metrics - Proactively identify gaps

Communicate effectively: - Speak in terms of user outcomes - Provide options with trade-offs - Flag risks early

With Support Teams¶

Create feedback loops: - Regular check-ins on doc quality - Easy way to report issues - Shared visibility into doc updates

Understand their needs: - What questions do users ask? - Which articles get shared most? - Where do users get stuck?

Collaborate on content: - Turn common tickets into documentation - Review support articles for consistency - Share upcoming changes

Managing Expectations¶

Setting Realistic Timelines¶

Be honest about capacity:

## Documentation Estimate Template

Feature: [Feature Name]
Complexity: [Low/Medium/High]

Content needed:
- [ ] Conceptual overview (4 hours)
- [ ] Tutorial (8 hours)
- [ ] Reference (6 hours)
- [ ] Migration guide (4 hours)

Reviews required:
- [ ] Engineering review (1-2 days)
- [ ] PM review (1 day)

Dependencies:
- Final feature design
- API stability
- Access to staging environment

Estimated completion: [Date]

Notes: Timeline assumes no competing priorities.

Handling Competing Priorities¶

When everything is urgent:

1. Clarify true priorities "If I can only complete one this week, which matters most?"

2. Make trade-offs visible "Doing A means B will be delayed until [date]."

3. Escalate appropriately "I need help prioritizing between X and Y."

4. Document decisions "Per our conversation, prioritizing A over B."

Scope Management¶

Prevent scope creep:

## Scope Agreement

### In Scope
- User guide for new feature
- API reference documentation
- Basic troubleshooting

### Out of Scope
- Video tutorials (separate project)
- Localization (Phase 2)
- Internal training (separate request)

### Dependencies
- Feature specification finalized by [date]
- Engineering review available during [dates]
- Final screenshots available by [date]

Approved by: [PM Name] [Date]

Communication Strategies¶

Status Updates¶

Keep stakeholders informed:

## Weekly Documentation Update

### Completed This Week
- Published API reference for v2.0
- Updated installation guide with new requirements
- Resolved 5 documentation bugs

### In Progress
- Migration guide (70% complete, on track)
- New user onboarding docs (draft review this week)

### Blocked
- Feature X documentation waiting on final spec

### Next Week
- Complete migration guide
- Begin video script for onboarding

### Metrics
- Page views: +15% week-over-week
- Support tickets for documented features: -10%

Review Requests¶

Make reviews easy:

## Review Request

**Document**: API Authentication Guide
**Review type**: Technical accuracy
**Deadline**: [Date]

**What I need from you**:
- Verify code samples work
- Confirm API endpoints are correct
- Flag any missing security considerations

**How to provide feedback**:
- Comment directly in [link]
- Or reply to this email

**Time required**: ~15 minutes

Thank you!

Giving Updates¶

Know what stakeholders care about:

Handling Challenges¶

Unresponsive Reviewers¶

## Escalation Path

1. Direct request with deadline
2. Follow-up reminder at 50% of deadline
3. Final reminder at 90% of deadline
4. Escalate to manager with impact statement

Example escalation:
"Hi [Manager], I've requested review from [Name] three
times for the [Feature] documentation. Without approval
by [Date], we'll miss the release deadline. Can you help
unblock this?"

Conflicting Feedback¶

When reviewers disagree:

1. Understand the concerns What's driving each perspective?

2. Find common ground What do they agree on?

3. Propose a solution "Based on your feedback, here's my recommendation..."

4. Escalate if needed Get a decision-maker to resolve

Last-Minute Changes¶

When features change late:

## Change Impact Assessment

Change: [Description]

Documentation impact:
- Pages affected: 5
- Estimated rework: 8 hours
- Screenshots needed: 12

Options:
1. Delay release 3 days for complete docs
2. Release with partial update, complete by [date]
3. Release with warning about docs in progress

Recommendation: Option 2 with prominent "docs updating" notice

Decision needed by: [Date]

Building Influence¶

Demonstrating Value¶

Show your impact:

• Track and share metrics
• Connect documentation to business outcomes
• Highlight problems you've prevented
• Share positive user feedback

Contributing Beyond Docs¶

Build credibility by:

• Improving in-app UX copy
• Reviewing feature specifications
• Participating in user research
• Contributing to style guides

Advocating for Users¶

Use your unique perspective:

• You read all the documentation
• You hear about user struggles
• You see patterns across features
• You understand the complete experience

Summary¶

Effective stakeholder management:

• Builds strong relationships across teams
• Sets and manages realistic expectations
• Communicates proactively and appropriately
• Handles challenges professionally
• Demonstrates value continuously

Good stakeholder relationships make everything else easier.