Whether hired on to help with a client or to work as part of an existing internal team, having access to the people who hold the keys to a project is priceless.

In the past, a stakeholder might have been out of reach for you as a designer. However, in the realm of business-centric, user-centered design access is far more open because research is part of the job.

While some will use this opportunity to build consensus people in charge, I encourage you to maintain the focus of a fact-finder. Instead of promising to deliver a particular feature, promise to listen to the goals and concerns of the stakeholder. Their connection to the project provides a unique perspective that should guide the upcoming steps of your discovery process.

Resources for review

Please use the following items to guide your exercise attempt:

Article/Video	Source/Author
Voices from the ladder	New Pragmatic
The Delicate Art of Interviewing Stakeholders	eightshapes

Exercise

Length: One-to-two hours to complete.

This exercise is the kickoff of a project for your new client, Active Weekends. To prepare, you'll need to generate a list of questions to ask about this project and the client. A project overview document has been provided to give you some source material to work with.

After reading the document, open a new Google Doc and write at least ten questions that you would like to ask the stakeholder of this project. Try to make sure you are not asking questions that have been already answered by the provided overview. Should your question be related to something mentioned in the overview, be sure to highlight the item you are seeking clarity on.

For this assignment, update your Program Journal with links to any assets produced in this exercise. Post your journal in the Feedback-Loop channel for review.

You will have an opportunity to perform a standard interview with follow-up questions during your next mentor meeting.

Don't worry; you'll always have follow-up questions for your client. :)

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