Week 6: Analyzing Scope Creep

There have really only been a few professional projects that I’ve been associated with, but I think scope creep and rear its ugly head in just about any activity that involves even a modicum of planning. I think of when I plan for a trip to Minnesota for a visit and it seems that whenever I begin the planning for said trip, scope creep shows up.


I live a long distance away from my home state, and whenever I get the chance to go back, there are dozens of activities I want to participate in, dozens of faces I’d like to see again, and dozens of places I’d like to visit that it’s literally impossible to do everything in the traditional week I normally have to spend. Every trip I take is an auto-negotiation process, often ending in disappointment for not only me, but for others in the state that wanted to see me as well. One can only accomplish so much in one trip, or one project if you’ll allow me the stab at relevancy, so it’s important for the trip planning/project manager to recognize the limitations and try to maximize the use of the resources at hand. It’s a “natural tendency of the client, as well as project team members, to try to improve the project’s output as the project progresses (Portney et al., pg 346, 2007),” so in my case of planning for a trip, it’s obvious I want to see everyone at do it all. It’s also extremely important for me to control that natural tendency and recognize limitations, no matter how difficult the decision may be to forgo a desired element of the plan. The role of the project manager is rarely an easy one, offering loads of responsibility for little recognition (Portney et al., 2007), but someone has to make the difficult decisions, and this ultimately falls to the project manager.

Inherent within the importance I’ve been prattling on about is the need for effective communication between project team members, project manager, and all important stakeholders. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (Laureate Education, 2010),” so tactful yet firm “no’s” are essential, so long as the stakeholders, team members, and all involved are informed. I can’t see everyone I want to see when I’m back in Minnesota, and I realize that; it’s important for me to, however painfully, explain to some that it’s impossible for me to meet the demands requested of me with a firm yet friendly no. I’ll make a point to see these people next time, but in order to resist scope creep, I need to limit the activity of each trip/project, and be as up-front and forthcoming as possible. If I don’t, I’ll never make it back to my life in Arizona in time to resume my life there, although, would that really be much of a loss??



References:

Laureate Education. (2010). Video media presentation retrieved December 9, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4603377&Survey=1&47=5918289&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1.

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.