Thursday, October 13, 2011

Scope Creep

When I was given the assignment to discuss a time when a project I was working on fell to the pressures of scope creep I just stared at the screen and felt my frustrations rise. My limited exposure to this field was once again proving to make my assignments far more difficult than need be. So I offer the caveat that if you are purusing this blog to gain a wealth of knowledge about this problem I will not guarantee that this is the spot for you. But I will do my best in the following lines to offer you some real life perspective on scope creep...

Let me start by explaining that scope creep is the "natural tendency of the client, as well as project team members, to try to improve the project's output as the project progresses" (Portny, 2008).

I am at heart a minimalist. I like to keep things neat, clean, simple and yet beautiful. When I was early in my teaching career I took on the challenge of putting together a prom on a shoestring budget in the rundown gymnasium of a nonpublic special education school. 

The scope creep came from me. As I worked on the project I was flooded with more and more ideas that would make the prom even better. I was constantly thinking about the undeniable fact that this would be the pinnacle of social situations for many of the kids. With all of my changes I also adopted "an informal process of handling requests for change" (Portny, 2008). What I could have used aside from a calming dose of reality was a change control system, which is a "well controlled, formal process whereby changes can be introduces and accomplished with as little distress as possible" (Portny, 2008).

Now don't get me wrong, the prom was a huge success. The Secret Garden theme brought tears to the eyes of several parents.  But by the end of the process I was completely burnt out because I had to take on the majority of the changes on my own. By taking a few simple steps a lot of the stress and strain of those couple of months could have been far less stressful. 

Resources

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.




4 comments:

  1. This a great example and case study in releation to scope creep, especially by the terms definition, as you note, according to Portny, et al, "...to try to improve the project's output as the project progresses." Haughey, in his discussion on scope creep notes, "Defining the boundaries of a project is difficult, but without a clear definition you're heading for problems." From your example, you were facing risks from the onset, the Initiation and Conceive phases of the project. A change control system would have definitely provided great assistance to you, I definitely agree. Two causes of scope creep, explored by Haughey,underestimating the complexity of the project and lack of change control, appear to have been the largest impact on your project. Gladly, you were able to reach a successful deliverable for your clients (school). I can say, it is never a good feeling to be thrust into a large project without clear and concise goals and objectives. I definitely see and understand your dilemma.

    Takesha

    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.

    Haughey, D.(2009). Stop Scope Creep Running Away With Your Project. Retrieved October 16, 2011 from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/stop-scope-creep-running-away-with-your-project.html

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  2. Hi Danielle,

    I'll be following your posts during the Employee Training and Development course. Wish you all the best.

    Adel

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Danielle,

    I will be following your post per our Walden course instructions.

    Celia

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Danielle,
    I will be following your post.

    ReplyDelete