What Is a Stakeholder in PMP? (Simple Definition)

Definition (PMP standard)

A stakeholder is any person or organization that can impact, be impacted by, or perceive that they can be impacted by a project decision, activity, or outcome.

This is the official PMI / PMBOK definition.

Memorize the three verbs:

• impact
• be impacted
• perceive they can be impacted ← this is often the trick in exam

Example

You are building an internal reporting dashboard.

• The CFO → uses the dashboard to approve budgets (directly impacted)
• The Data Team → provides data to the dashboard (impacts the project)
• The Procurement Manager → thinks this dashboard will reduce her manual work (perceives impact)

All three → are stakeholders.

Key point for exam

Stakeholder is NOT only “customer”.

In PMP, stakeholder coverage is broad.

The correct view is:

“Anyone who thinks they are affected — counts.”

Quick recall card

Related topics

• Stakeholder Register: 7 Examples You Can Reuse
• Stakeholder Engagement Matrix (Quick Guide)
• Power–Interest vs Salience: Which to Use When