Analyzing Scope Creep
This week’s blog deals with analyzing scope creep. What is business scope creep? Scope creep refers to the change in a project’s scope after the project work has started. In most cases, the scope changes when additional features are added to the list. As a result the project has a tendency to drift away from its original purpose, timeline, and budget. (Wikipedia) There are a few things that can kill scope creep. Be honest with your client, try to accommodate the changes, explain why you can’t meet the deadline, and in some cases just say “No”.
Miles Burke has a unique outlook on tackling scope creep.
- Manage expectations
- Mention the monster
- Track your time
- Keep a track of changes
- Mention the changes to the client
- Speak up sooner
- Put it in writing
- Instigate change requests
- Have some buffer
- Get it signed off
I am a training specialists for a larger corporation, but my life doesn’t stop there. I’m a daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, and grandmother. I love my family, but sometimes life is not so grand. Each year we have a family reunion at Thanksgiving and the next day we go to Meers Oklahoma for lunch. We plan, budget, and deliver. Sound familiar?
This year we added a new task to our list. We ordered tee-shirts. Oh, but it doesn’t stop there. We had to design the shirts, pick a color “that everyone liked”, get sized, and don’t forget collecting money for the shirts. Have you ever had 50 people trying to agree on a color or design? The impact was not as simple as we had anticipated. Finally, we let the my nieces deigns the logo. Then we had a vote and decided on Lime Green. Two of the boys didn’t attend the meeting and almost died from the color results.
To make a long story short, the shirts looked great and we all had a good time. As our text states, “ Project managers must expect change and be prepared to deal with it. Fighting change is not appropriate. The best approach is to set up a well-controlled, formal process whereby changes can be introduced and accomplished with as little distress as possible” (Portney et al, 2008, p. 346).
References
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Burke, M. (2010). 10 Ways to Tackle the Scope Creep. http://blogs.sitepoint.com/2010/11/26/10-ways-tackle-the-scope-creep/
Patricia
Hi Patty-
What a great example of scope creep! Wow…your family really knows how to hold a family reunion! When I was kid, I used to hate going to family reunions, and they were only one day! I think it is great that your family stays in touch like this.
I can relate to trying to find consensus on something specific from a larger group. When I first worked in Admissions at Columbus State (now I work in aviation), one of my responsibilities was to purchase shirts for the 28 people in the department. First, I had to get consensus on what type of shirt to order (polo, oxford, or t-shirt). Second, I needed consensus on color and lettering. Finally, I needed consensus on which logo to use. It was a nightmare trying to get everyone to agree on something. In the end, the majority vote won, which meant there were some people that were very unhappy with the choice, and believe me…I heard about it!!
I would imagine this is similar to what happens with changes to projects. I liked what Vince Budrovich stated in our week two video: ‘NO’ is one of a PMs’ essential tools for controlling scope creep!
By the way, I like the t-shirts! Thanks for sharing!
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Practitioner voices: Overcoming ‘scope creep’ [Multimedia]. Project Management in Education and Training. Retrieved from Week two resources.
I agree with Vince Budrovich statement too. I like “NO” is one of a PMs essential tools. It’s nice to know it is okay to san NO.
Patty:
It sounds like you had an interesting, but fun family reunion. Thank you for sharing the pictures.
Trying to get a large group to agree on something is practically impossible. Truthfully, it is difficult to get a small group to agree on something. While obtaining my bachelor degree, I ended up working on group projects for practically every class I completed. The groups consisted of typically 5 to 7 people. The first thing we had to do was decide on a topic for a project. No one ever agreed on topics, so we ended up voting on it. Then, we had to decide on who would complete what task associated with the project and when the task would be due. Again, no one would agree, so I usually stepped in and just started assigning tasks. I do not like doing that, but if we did not move forward, the project would never be completed on time. Working on projects in my professional life, I have found the same frustrating experiences. In addition, changes inevitably occurred throughout the duration of the project, which would potentially derail the project off course. While some of the changes were needed, many changes were not. Fortunately, I had/have no problem using Greer’s advice of “Just say no” (Greer, 2010).
Reference
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Hi David
Just say no is great. But often hard to say.
Thanks for reading my blog.
Hi Patty,
The list of suggestions for managing scope creep is fantastic! I particularly like the first item listed “managing expectations.” A project is all about expectations and if they are defined up front, it makes it much easier for the project manager to then “just say no.”
I can just see you pulling your hair out while working with over 50 people on a t-shirt color and design. I can’t even imagine how you all finally came together on a decision other than pulling it out of a hat; I’m impressed! As far as the color goes, I can hear my boys now…. are you kidding, mom? There is no way I’m wearing that shirt!
At the end of the day (or project) it is all about effective and timely communication. It is ultimately the responsibility of the PM to make sure everyone involved in the project whether, team member, SME, stakeholder, etc. has an active voice during all phases of the project. Our text outlines the life phases of projects and a means for identifying risks during each stage of the project. I believe by properly identifying risks we are also lessening the chances for extensive scope creep.
Reference:
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Patty,
Wow…I can relate somewhat. I come from a family of 7 and it’s hard enough for all of us to agree on something – I can’t imagine having 50 people try to decide on anything! Glad it worked out though.
I like your list on tackling scope creep. For the project I blogged about, there are three points in that list that would’ve really benefited the project team in the beginning: keep track of changes, speak up sooner, and get it in writing. We had a lot of scope creep with people trying to keep adding additional content to the New Hire class we were revising. Most of them were great ideas, but the biggest problem was time and the fact that we can’t fit all of that content into a 3 week class. However, people tried anyway and that part wasn’t communicated amongst the team. Keeping track of the changes would have really helped in terms of keeping it all straight as to what people were updating and then getting their signature on their portions. A signature and formal scope creep document was also needed (and is in place for phase II). Lastly, the speak up sooner item I like because that is exactly what I should’ve done during phase I of this project. I wasn’t comfortable with everything going on and could see it wasn’t going to work. Had I spoken up more in the beginning of my cautious thoughts, I may have been able to turn the project around and back on track. I am certainly not making that mistake again and so far, phase II is running a lot smoother than phase I.
Thanks!
-Teri
Hi Patty,
Now I see why you commented on my blog about applying it to our family life, because you did the same thing I did and related it to our home life. In the research I did it states that “scope creep is not only inevitable – it’s natural” (Suresh, 2010, p1). It goes on to say that “Systems are designed to solve the business needs for a company. Due to continual changes in market trends, the requirements that are defined before, might change” (Suresh, 2010, p1). So for me I think the planning part is the most beneficial to slow the scope creep. Using brainstorming methods and communication among the parties involved are the two best solutions to minimize the infamous scope creep.
Good post,
Sheri.
References
Suresh, B. (2010). Scope creep management. Retrieved on December 11, 2010 from http://www.projectperfect.com.au/info_scope_creep_mgmt.php
Really good example. I guess the main lesson here is that some aspects of the project needed to be refocused simply based on the challenge of getting unanimous agreement (i.e., for the colour of the shirt.
Mark