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A KE I G JEC A AGE E

AC le e G ide U de a di g Sc e C ee i
P jec Ma age e
J 16, 2018

In project management, scope creep — the unwarranted bloating of a project’s

scope — is all too common. Here’s everything you need to know about it, how to
manage it, and the resources that can help you prevent it.

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I age: D be

Picture this

You ve signed up for a project and are e cited to be orking on it But ever
once in a hile right in the middle of all the action the scope of ork seems

to change Ne tasks are randoml added some are made redundant and
others are changed be ond recognition before ou ve even had a chance to
ask h and figure out amends And because a lot of it happens out of the

blue our time is no e pended incorporating the changes and ver little on
moving the project for ard The deadlines are pushed costs overrun and

e pectations bloated be ond recognition The air is rife ith disappointment

and misunderstanding causing more instances of re ork than ork The

project is no a heavil mutated mush of complicated things its scope

unclear but clearl s elling even as ou contemplate fi es and corrective
measures

Thi i co e c ee he endenc fo p ojec cope o nce emonio l change all

oo of en and an ime f om he momen he p ojec commence

Unlike scope change hich b definition is the change in the scope of a

project carried out in a planned and controlled a scope creep occurs rather
erraticall It starts t picall as requests for modifications and ithout due
diligence and proper scope overhaul one deliverable quickl turns into ten

and outcomes look nothing like the one ou d planned for Elevated e treme

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changes in project scope result in c e lea followed by c eg e a

situation wherein the project team as well as the project sponsor struggle to
even define the scope of the project because of all the detours and dead
ends now plotted into the original project

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE PROJECT SCOPE ‘CREEPS’

Scope creep happens for reasons for both a i nal and i a i nal

Sometimes the project owner the client or the management in your

organi ation makes an unseasoned request for change in project nitty

gritty because the market has changed or say a competitor has decided to
come out with some cool new feature that they must have too As a result

there is a change in the number of the tasks and the kinds of tasks resulting
in the bloating of the project scope

More often though scope creep occurs because the project itself is poorly

outlined and its stakeholders are passive participants in the process of

solution development When deliverables are described using vague terms

and not hard numbers it s easy for the project team to get pulled into
believing that a request for change is actually in aid of the vague goal
established

Out of scope requests when within reason can be easily incorporated

following a change order But sometimes well meaning project managers
and team leads out of kindness or for the sake of their client s happiness

take up requests for extra work as a goodwill gesture And the more often

they end up doing this their productivity as well as the project s

profitability take a hit and a sloth like exuberance takes over the whole

process

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Accepting requests for adding/altering features and/or functionality as

outlined in the project’s scope without proper approval and without
factoring in the effect of doing so on timelines, costs, and resources leads to
scope creep.

HE INCH: H CO E C EE I O E E IBLE

In addition to eating into our budgets and our team s productive hours

here s ever thing ou can expect in case scope creep occurs during the course

of a project

The project team squirms for additional time and resources

ostentatiousl stretching the planned budgets and timelines
Costs spill over and extra spending needs to be justified to the project
sponsors or the clients and the team heads
Qualit is affected since our resources are spread too thin
Team moral hangs low and stress levels run high

Finally, in due course, completing the project becomes a long drawn exercise
in just ‘getting things done’ instead of ‘getting things done well.’

DAMAGE CON OL: MI IGA ING HE I K OF CO E C EE

In the face of it a project manager must shift gears and figure out remedial

measures and as quickl as possible to avoid the scope from creeping

further and halting the pace of the project s progress

And managing scope creep at an stage t picall involves

Mapping the progress and establishing the current status of a project

Defining the cause and effect of the change s requested to the charter
alread established
Determining if the overall scope of the project will be impacted b the
new request s

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Setting up corrective measures and new action plans to advance the

change s if found feasible
Working out a change order after negotiating updated timelines and
pricing in keeping with the scope change
Documenting and communicating the scope change to all the
stakeholders of the project

Additionally, it is essential for the project manager to be transparent about

the scope change — no matter how big or small — with his team. This helps
prevent dissonance as well as a lot of the negative sentiments that arise due
to unplanned changes. Needless to say, Communication is key!

A IDI G C E C EE : HE A CE F E E I I
BE E HA C E

Admittedly scope creep is a chronic condition

When it happens there is very little a project manager can do apart from
managing the request for change s as efficiently as possible to ensure

project completion irrespective of the nature of the outcome

However it helps to have preventive mandates and clear process protocols in

place even before you start working on a project to help reduce the intensity
of impact of involuntary requests for scope change whenever they may arise

1. MA CHI G CLIE IE HE JEC C E

Typically every project starts with a high level idea of what it is about and

all that it will help accomplish Project sponsors a client or the management
tend to focus on and also articulate the business case for a project and

rarely ever bother with defining the scope and controls a job typically left to

the project manager who draws on the sponsor s cues to draft the project
charter and the scope statement

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I i a hi age ha i help o e abli h he e pec a ion a clea l and

objec i el a po ible be een he pon o he clien and he cond c o of

he p ojec The better they understand each other, the more refine and

actionable the charter.

He e emplo ing he e ice of a b ine anal fo cope modeling i

ecommended Al o ool like b ine p oce modeling and da a flo

diag am can help b eak do n he p ojec hie a chicall and cap e he

cope of i e plici l

Mo e on p ojec goal e ing h p bi l OD

2. IN I ING ON A DE AILED CHA E

Yo need mo e han j b oad b h de c ip ion of goal and

e pon ibili ie fo a p ojec cha e o be eliable

Fo in ance j a ing o need o g o o c ome ba e i an emp

poo l coped objec i e of a ma ke ing campaign Wha alifie a g o h

And ho m ch i a good eno gh n mbe Q e ion like he e need o be

di c ed and hei an e penned do n in ha d e m in a cha e pon

di c ion i h he p ojec akeholde

A thoughtful charter specifies the ends, and measurably so. It never talks
about the ‘hows’ or the means to achieving said goals. The idea is to enable
the team members to draw on their knowledge, skills, and experience to
devise strategies and lead the way forward.

Mo e on i ing p ojec cha e h p bi l dlZGE

3. C EA ING A O K B EAKDO N C E

The high le el ie men ioned in a p ojec cha e a e onl helpf l in

i ali ing he end B o enable a p ojec eam o a deli e ing on he

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scripted goals it helps to decompose and break do n the broad scope into

smaller deli erables

A o k b eakdo n c e i a hie a chical decom o i ion of he o e all

ojec objec i e in o malle deli e able o ien ed a k

The p rpose of a WBS is to skim mammoth si ed objecti es into manageable

collections of meas rable task packages This helps in estimating cost time

and the req irement for reso rces acc ratel in addition to b ilding controls
at e er step of the a of a project

To create a WBS a project manager m st first and foremost think abo t

hat all needs to be done to achie e the said goals incl ding action items

reso rces skills and time

Here it becomes cr cial for the project manager to abide b the

principle hen thinking abo t drafting the WBS the s m of the ork

represented b each set of acti ities m st add p to of the ork

necessar to achie e the project goals s ccessf ll Again here it is essential

to foc s on the o tcomes and not the means If the WBS factors in action

oriented details o r n the risk of either enlisting too man or too fe

acti ities This bit is therefore best left to the teams more so beca se it

helps the members therein feel empo ered and tr sted eno gh to do a good

job

More on ork breakdo n str ct re http bit l E JgJP

4. MAKING PRO I ION FOR CHANGE

All projects come ith their o n set of o en ial i k and ola ile a iable like

time and mone And a change in the project s scope is almost al a s beca se

of one or both of these

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Unde anding a iable ha a e impo an o he akeholde a ell a he

i k he a e ing o mi iga e can go a long a in planning fo

accommoda ing e e fo change o he p ojec cope U e he

kno ledge of mi ion c i ical a iable and i k o feed in fficien amo n

of b ffe be een ke ac i i ie o be e manage he impac of an kind of

nce ain

Mo e on change managemen plan h p bi l CQFDNS

5. CHOO E AGILE P OJEC DE ELOPMEN ECHNI E

Agile p ojec de elopmen echni e ch a SCRUM Kanban RAD and

LEAN a e de igned o accommoda e change an change a an gi en

poin in he co e of he p ojec

S i able fo con an l e ol ing p ojec in agile o foc on ho

de elopmen c cle al o called a p in o imp o e and eamline he

de elopmen p oce in o de o apidl iden if and fi i e and defec

Agile he efo e allo o o deli e a ali p od c in a ho amo n of

ime h o gh ick i e a i e p oce e o p in

Agile p ojec de elopmen ool allo a p ojec manage o hi ke mile one

and along i h he eam membe de e mine acc a e p ojec a fa

e en hen i a mo ing a ge ha he a e cha ing D e o g ea e i ibili

in o he o come and pi fall ppo ed b an n elen ing c cle of feedback

p ojec manage ing agile echni e emain confiden in he face of

dden change in cope

Wi h he ad ancemen in echnolog follo ing agile i onl a ma e of

choo ing he igh p ojec managemen of a e he e da B igh pod oo

ha been b il o aid agile p ojec managemen and come e ipped i h

capabili ie ha help make clea he mile one he dependencie and he

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o e all p ojec p og e in a a ha accommoda e e e fo cope

change in an ea and ha le f ee a

Mo e on agile managemen h p bi l V b D

Al o he HBR G ide o P ojec Managemen i a g ea place o a if o

need help defining clea p ojec goal and me hod o achie ing hem
The e al o The Change Book Fif Model o E plain Ho Thing Happen

a pe onal fa o i e pa ic la l effec i e in helping make en e of

change big o mall and ecommend imple model o effec i el

na iga ing hem

Scope c eep hile of en na oidable i ea il con ollable i h he igh e

of ool and a igh a i de oo

In hi da and age hen hing change fa e han o can e en a he

o d i make e e en e o accommoda e he po ibili of change hen

nde aking a p ojec i e pec i e of i cale Ho e e in he in e e of

p e e ing he e pec a ion of he pon o a ell a ho e of he p ojec

eam i i ad i able o keep comm nica ion an pa en ell doc men ed

and app op ia el modeled o accommoda e he f e po ibili of mall

cope change inc emen al cope c eep and d a ic cope leap oo

Managing ma ke ing p ojec ho ldn be chao ic T B igh pod fo f ee

and a foc ing on ha ma e

Mee a Sha a
Mee a Sha ai ac e a ke i g eciali a d eg la l
i e ab he d ai a d a - life.

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MA KE ING P OJEC MA KE ING P OJEC MA KE ING P OJEC

MANAGEMEN MANAGEMEN MANAGEMEN

H a age Y Ma e g H AI W
a e g P ec Rede e P ec
d c Ma age e Ma age e a
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I woke up to an email from In marketing, there are lots It s impressive, and sort of

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PLA LI

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CREA I I DE IGN DIGI AL MARKE ING

EMAIL IN PIRA IONAL IN ER IE

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MANAGEMEN

PLANNING PROD C I I READING

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