Clause 5.2.2: Stakeholders
The minimum stakeholder set is users and acquirers, and they are not always the same people.
What clause 5.2.2 asks
The minimum stakeholder set is users and acquirers, and they are not always the same people. Complex projects can have many of each, with different concerns. Two further groups may need to be in the minimum set. The organization that develops, maintains or operates the system has a legitimate interest in the benefit it produces. Regulatory authorities may hold statutory, industry or other external requirements that need careful analysis.
Why it matters
The clause is a floor, not a full method. It prevents the common failure in which the buyer is treated as the only stakeholder and the operator, maintainer or regulator is discovered late. The list changes as the project learns, so it has to be reviewed rather than written once.
No clause level change is public for this unit; the DIS keeps the title and scope, and the requirement text is not released.
What good looks like
Name classes, then name a representative for each class. Record the interest, the influence and the channel. Add the developer, maintainer, operator and regulator even when no one has complained yet. Revisit the list at each baseline.
Evidence an assessor asks for
The assessor will look for a class that is missing, not for a long list. The usual missing classes are the maintainer, the operator and the regulator.
- Stakeholder register Each class, a named representative, the interest, the influence and the review date
- Acquirer and user distinction A note that says whether the acquirer and the user are the same, and who speaks for each
- Regulator check A list of the authorities with a statutory or industry interest, with the requirement each imposes
- Review record A dated review of the register at a project gate or baseline
Where it commonly fails
- The buyer is the only named stakeholder, and the operator is discovered at acceptance
- A stakeholder list copied from another project, with names that no longer hold a role
- The regulator is named but no requirement is traced to the authority
What to do before the revision
Run a two-minute test on the register: for each class, name the person who would sign off a requirement on behalf of that class. If no one can, the class is not represented yet.
Read across
- 5.2.1 General: the requirements engineering function
- 6.3.3.2 Prepare for stakeholder needs
- 6.3.3.3 Define stakeholder needs
- 6.3.3.7 Manage stakeholder needs and requirements
← 5.2.1 General: the requirements engineering function 5.2.3 Transformation of needs into requirements →
Source for clause 5.2.2: ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2018, Clause 5.2.2, retrieved 19 October 2026. The revision note rests on ISO page 94091. The requirement, evidence and gaps are written from our record. Every source.