You’ve probably been there. A project manager gets a weekly report that shows the project’s time and expenses, and it’s a little too high. The project hasn’t advanced as far as its expenses have. Someone, somewhere has introduced inefficiencies that now need to be addressed.
This is scope creep, the unauthorized inclusion of unplanned work into a project. Scope creep is like a termite that eats away at the project slowly if project managers don’t take action to exterminate it. It can be intentional, but usually it’s a sequence of small, supposedly harmless things that project team members think add value to the project but in reality cause the project to decay little by little until its success or failure is in question.
It’s baked into the project workflow. At the project planning stage, estimators tend toward the lower side of project costs, but during project execution the project team wants to do a good job and tend toward the higher side.
Much has been written about scope creep, but I want to move one step further. Sometimes scope creep gets bigger and starts to run away on you. It becomes more like a horse on full gallop without a rider steering it in the right direction. There is no major, obvious change to the project scope but the budget and schedule are going out of control such that questions arise about the legitimacy of the project plan.
In this case, only major action could be necessary to get the project back in line. Here is a checklist that could be used to tame the wild horses:
- Write a new Scope Statement
- Make changes to the Project Team
- Increase the project budget
- Accelerate the schedule
Write a New Scope Statement
When scope creep becomes significant, taking the reins and creating a new project scope statement is essential to realigning the project with its original goals. The first step is to saddle up, identify and document all changes that have contributed to scope creep, and understand their origins and impacts on the project.
With this information, the team collaborates with key stakeholders to redefine the project scope, ensuring it aligns with the initial goals and constraints while incorporating any necessary adjustments. This involves prioritizing tasks, eliminating non-essential additions, and setting clear, achievable deliverables. The new scope statement should detail the revised objectives, deliverables, timelines, budget, and resource allocations, providing a clear roadmap for the project team to move forward again.
Additionally, implementing stringent change control processes is crucial to prevent future scope creep. This includes formal procedures for requesting, reviewing, and approving any changes to the project scope. By creating a new, well-defined project scope statement and strengthening change control mechanisms, the project team can regain control, mitigate risks, and ensure successful project completion within the revised parameters.
Make Changes to the Project Team
Although painful, out of control scope creep often leaves little choice but to whip the project into shape by considering right-sizing the project team, a strategic response to focus on the barn chores and cut down on unnecessary activities.
The process begins with a thorough evaluation of the project’s revised scope and the identification of critical tasks and roles. This involves assessing team members’ skills, contributions, and the necessity of their roles in light of the new, narrowed project scope. Non-essential roles and tasks are eliminated, ensuring that the remaining team is composed of key personnel with the expertise needed to achieve the project’s primary objectives.
Communication is vital during this transition. Most people understand that nobody is on an unlimited budget and that painful actions sometimes need to be taken. Just like a horse whisperer, use clear, transparent discussions with the team about the reasons for downsizing and the new project focus help maintain morale and alignment. Additionally, streamlined communication channels and defined roles within a smaller team can enhance collaboration and productivity.
By reducing the project team size, project managers can simplify coordination, reduce overhead, and ensure that remaining team members are fully engaged in delivering the project’s core objectives efficiently. Of course, productivity will be lower, but a slower trot to the finish line might be what the project needs. This strategic adjustment helps to mitigate the effects of scope creep, bringing the project back on track and within the established budget and timeline.
Increase the Project Budget
While not always an option, increasing the project’s budget is also a way to mitigate scope creep. Requesting additional funds for the project from its financial stakeholders can be painful, but allow the flexibility to move on without affecting the project baselines.
That being said, increasing the budget should be done with caution. It legitimizes previous inefficiencies and cause project team members to view the project’s problems are acceptable outcomes. Most projects aren’t running on a trend line of perfectly efficient production. Whatever inefficiencies exist will almost certainly continue and will be very difficult for the project manager to reverse.
Accelerate the Schedule
I come from the construction industry, where the cost of a project largely depends on its duration. A construction crew, together with its equipment, essentially costs a fixed amount per day to be on a site, and if the same thing can be built quicker, then that project will be cheaper (assuming that there are more projects in the pipeline, there won’t be large overhead costs incurred to the project due to downtime).
But in any industry, accelerating the schedule almost always results in reduced costs to the project. Accelerating can come in two forms:
- Fast tracking is the simultaneous execution of tasks that were previously in sequence.
- Crashing is the assignment of more resources to the same task, to complete it quicker.
Each task can be reviewed to see which type of acceleration can be initiated.
Good luck, and I hope that all of your runaway wild horses turn into graceful stallions that produce many happy trail rides, with plenty of confidence in the saddle.
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