Project Stakeholder Management

This morning I noticed a new feature at my favourite Tanah Merah bus stop: An information panel showing arrival times of buses. The information is intended to “help commuters better manage waiting time and transfers, and make more informed travel decisions”, says the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA).

LTA installed the first 30 real-time bus arrival information panels in July 2007, followed by customer surveys. Nine out of ten commuters polled felt that the panels were useful and important, and hoped to see them at more bus stops. Based on this feedback, another 20 panels are now being installed.

For those interested in the technical details, data for the display panels is sent from the bus operator’s system via cellular-phone networks General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). The system uses the bus operator’s Automated Vehicle Management System (AVMS), which tracks all 2,850 SBS Transit buses in 222 services. The AVMS tracks the exact location of a bus on a given route,and monitors problems like bunching and buses which are too fast or early.

Lessons Learned for Project Stakeholder Management:

1. If you are implementing a new service, it is best to perform an initial installation followed by stakeholder surveys. If the service is deemed to be useful, then incorporate any suggested changes and continue the expansion of the service.
2. People like to have information made available. No more standing at a bus-stop with no idea when the next bus will arrive. This could apply to projects that you are running; always give people relevant, timely, useful information about what is happening, to enable them to feel in control of the situation.
3. As usual, execution is everything. The information needs to be accurate to be useful. You will also hear some stakeholders grumbling about your service, as they now have the information to complain (”so the bus will arrive in 35 minutes - I can’t wait that long - why aren’t there enough buses?”). Be prepared to tackle these awkward questions that arise in response to the information you provide.

I’ve found that it’s always best to provide information than attempt hide it. We already knew that some buses were infrequent, so posting the information in public on a big display is actually a step in the right direction.