What happens to a stakeholder ' s project influence over time?

According to the PMBOK® Guide, specifically within the Project Life Cycle and Organization sections, there is a direct relationship between the timing of a project and the level of stakeholder influence.

Stakeholder Influence, Risk, and Uncertainty: These factors are typically at their highest at the start of the project (Initiating phase). As the project progresses, stakeholders ' ability to influence the final characteristics of the project ' s product without significantly impacting cost and schedule decreases.

Cost of Changes: Conversely, the cost of making changes and correcting errors typically increases substantially as the project approaches completion. Because it becomes more expensive and difficult to alter the project ' s path in later stages, the practical " influence " a stakeholder can exert on the outcome naturally wanes.

Summary of the Curve:

Start of Project: High Influence, High Uncertainty, Low Cost of Changes.

End of Project: Low Influence, Low Uncertainty, High Cost of Changes.

Analysis of Other Options:

A. Increases: Incorrect. While some specific stakeholders (like end-users) may become more vocal during testing, their ability to fundamentally change the project ' s direction is limited by the work already completed and the budget spent.

C. Stays the same: Incorrect. The project ' s structure and the increasing " sunk cost " make it harder to change things as time goes on, inherently reducing influence.

D. Has no bearing: Incorrect. Stakeholder influence is a critical factor that project managers must actively monitor and manage through the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.