Understanding and catering to the requirements of diverse groups of stakeholders is part of the daily work for an IS professional.
Stakeholders range from employees of the organization, customers, internal and external organizations. By breaking down the categories of people involved, it is soon evident that their interests are not always mutually compatible.
Planning for information systems requires thorough understanding of the business side and the technologies side of the issues as well as the perspectives of people.
People can have special perspectives which may not always be in the interest of the system under planning. For example, an IS/ IT specialist may recommend a certain approach to the technologies either due to fascination for certain technologies or personal growth. The business line manager could have special interest about his/ her own department.
Bringing together diverse teams to participate and contribute constructively to the planning requires more than business and technology skills. Decisions have to be made by those involved based on proper analysis of the issues.
