Redesigning a website for a university, hospital system, nonprofit or government agency isn’t just a project—it’s a journey. One full of approvals, passionate opinions, complex governance and competing priorities.
For project managers, the hardest part is often not the technical implementation, but the people. Stakeholder management in these environments takes diplomacy, clarity and a lot of patience.
Start With Research
Before you open the floor for opinions, start with user interface and user experience research. Conduct analytics audits, user surveys, tree tests, accessibility reviews, heatmaps—anything that gives you real, user-centered data.
This becomes your foundation. It grounds decisions in audience needs instead of internal politics and gives you something to point to when opinions start to diverge.
Map Your Stakeholders
Get clear on who’s involved early. In large institutions, stakeholders may include deans, department heads, marketing and communications, IT, legal, compliance, and of course—students, patients or the general public.
Some people have decision-making power. Others offer subject matter expertise. Know the difference and plan your engagement strategy accordingly.
Get Executive Buy-In
A project sponsor is critical. Ideally, this is someone in senior leadership who believes in the project and is willing to advocate for it when the path gets bumpy.
Without leadership support, projects like this can stall or splinter under competing agendas. With the right sponsor, you get air cover—and a clearer path to final approvals.
Solicit Feedback—But Set Boundaries
Use structured tools: stakeholder interviews, surveys, design walkthroughs, clickable prototypes. Ask focused questions: Is the messaging clear? Does this structure support your goals?
In academic or clinical environments, you’ll often work with brilliant people who aren’t familiar with web best practices. Respect their expertise, but help them focus on audience needs—not personal preferences or design micromanagement.
Translate Feedback Into Action
One of your most important jobs is translating stakeholder feedback for your team.
Designers want to understand the “why” behind a comment. Developers need technical clarity. Content editors are focused on voice, clarity and compliance. QA testers want clear, testable functionality.
Don’t just pass along a jumble of notes—interpret the feedback, group it into themes and present it in a way that’s relevant to each role.
Plan Your Approvals Strategically
Approvals can be a major bottleneck. Set clear review milestones. Use sign-off logs. Hold live review sessions where decisions are made in real time.
Document everything. Build consensus when you can. And when you can’t, lean on your project sponsor to help move things forward.
Protect Your Team’s Focus
Keep your internal team updated, but don’t bury them in politics. Shield them from noise when needed. Filter and reframe feedback so it’s useful. Show empathy when the process gets messy—they’re often navigating complexity, too.
Be Flexible
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to stakeholder management in a bureaucratic institution. The perfect process doesn’t exist.
Adapt your methods to fit your culture, your structure and your people. Keep the project moving. Communicate often. Document decisions. And be ready to pivot when the situation demands it.
In the End…
A successful website redesign isn’t just about code and content. It’s about people.
Managing stakeholders is about listening, translating, prioritizing and guiding. And when done well, it can turn even the most complex group of voices into a unified vision—one that serves both the mission and the audience.
