Running Head: CLARIFYING SCOPE AND SCHEDULE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT 1

Clarifying Scope and Schedule in Project Management

Jana Lee Cox

Arizona State University

OGL 321 – Project Leadership, Module 5

Professor Ben Pandya

September 20, 2020

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The Closet

For years it stood, like an untamed wilderness, boldly daring me to advance further than

the two steps it took to snatch my shoes and beat a hasty retreat. I had attempted to organize this

closet many times before but without success. In the end, it held fiercely to its disarray while I

sat, defeated, exhausted, and surrounded by relics of the battle, knowing it would take days to

regain the ground I had lost.

Effective planning

Project management, like closet cleaning, is not for the faint of heart. Risks and

challenges abound, unexpected events can disrupt operations, and inattentive planning cause

stress, mismanagement, and project failure. Such outcomes are costly, and Project Management

Institute (2013) points out that “low performers risk wasting 14 times more money on projects

than high performers” (p. 6). For a $1 billion project, this waste could exceed $280 million.

Organizations that adequately train, support, and recognize project managers, however, create an

environment where effective planning can reduce risk and costs. 

Managers have the greatest control over their projects during the planning stage where

they can determine how to meet objectives, particularly those related to scope and schedule.

While budget is also a top priority, according to Heldman (2010) it is the easiest to manage and

therefore requires the least amount of attention in the planning stages. However, risks inherent in

scope and schedule can impact the budget as well.

Scope risks

To address scope-related risks, Heldman (2010) states, “Goals should be realistic, should

be measurable, and should have a time element” (p. 96). Like the popular goal-setting technique

known as S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based) goals,

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these elements allow the project manager to determine its relevance and achievability, estimate

how long it will take, see progress and measure achievement, and above all communicate goal

characteristics to the stakeholders.

Well-defined goals result in deliverables, and deliverables must have specific

requirements. Heldman (2010) states, “Clearly defined requirements tell everyone exactly what

they’re going to get once the project is implemented” (p. 98), whereas ambiguous or misleading

language can lead to assumptions and disappointed stakeholders. Heldman asserts project

managers should “define your requirements and document your assumptions about the

requirements” (p. 101), because, while you many know what you mean, someone else may not.

Terminology

Using unclear verbiage is more common than we think. Regarding ambiguity, Brad

Egeland (2020) comments, “Terminology is a funny thing. We hear something over and over

again and we end up never wondering why it’s called that or what a certain term means...we may

assume everyone knows and we’d look stupid for asking” (para. 3). English, especially, is a

colorful language, and expressions often have various, unusual meanings. When my mom’s feet

hurt, she would complain, “My dogs are barking.” Yet, my one-time use of that phrase in the

presence of my teenage daughter earned me a long, hard stare. She didn’t get it, and for the first

time in my life, neither did I. I knew what it meant but had never wondered where it came from.

The dolly

Sometimes, however, phrases are well-known but lack context. My neighbor’s young

daughter once showed up on our doorstep asking for a dolly. Her mom wanted it. All I could

think of, as my neighbor loved to decorate, was a large, pink and white knitted doll that perched

atop an antique chair in my front room. Mystified, I gave it to her and she skipped across the
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street, only to return a short time later with an important clarification—her mother needed the

kind of dolly that could move their new refrigerator into place.

While no one seems to know why a furniture mover, handcart, or hand-truck came to be

called a dolly, many people know what it is. Its context was confusing for me, however, when

coming from a 6-year-old girl. For managers who must define project requirements with

precision, context is an especially important consideration since, without it, they risk being

handed the wrong tool for the task. 

Autism, literally

Setting expectations for stakeholders is another key area where precise communication is

required. One summer at the adult autism center where I work, we hosted a three-week summer

camp for high-schoolers as a fun, boredom-buster activity. During this two-days-per-week event,

participants would engage in various activities and art projects. On the first day, one young man

shyly approached to ask what we would be doing. After my brief description, he was puzzled. He

then showed me his backpack with his canteen, flashlight, and matches—and my heart sank.

While individuals with autism exhibit different characteristics, many share a common

trait of interpreting language in its most literal sense. To this young man, Summer Camp meant

outdoor camping, not indoor arts and crafts. Once I explained in more detail what our "camp"

would entail, his face fell and he asked earnestly, “Why do you call it Summer Camp, if we’re

not camping?” He had come anticipating an outdoor adventure (which, admittedly, would have

been difficult to arrange during Arizona's brutal summer) only to find he would stay indoors,

sitting at a table, working with paint, paper, and glue. His disappointment was clear.

When stakeholders don't have an accurate understanding of the finished product they

don't know what to expect and will often form assumptions that are both idyllic and unrealistic.
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Heldman (2010) states, “Don’t assume everyone knows what you know about the project or the

deliverable” (p. 98). Setting clear expectations early on helps prevent client disappointment and

leads to more realistic and acceptable outcomes.

Schedule Risks

Accurately outlining product requirements also helps managers develop “better estimates

and a better ability to monitor the work and status of the project” (Heldman, 2010, p. 99). Time

estimates, especially, can and should be mastered to reduce project risks and maintain reputation.

Heldman warns, “failing to meet the published schedule dates kills credibility with stakeholders”

(p. 14). The key is to avoid giving out rough estimates until the project has been meticulously

planned, with all facts and requirements accounted for, then keep it on track. Of course,

disruptions will occur, but these should be planned for when possible, and communicated early

when not. Adhering to proper scheduling guidelines demonstrates integrity to stakeholders,

increasing their respect for both project and manager.

Schedule versus budget

Scenario D in the Harvard simulation (Harvard Business School Publishing, 2013), let me

experience how schedule affects costs and is affected by other factors. I noticed that late projects

went increasingly overbudget, as employees continued receiving wages until it finished. To

address this risk, I chose an earlier completion date, then monitored factors that could affect the

schedule, like team morale. If the target date was challenging yet achievable, team morale

remained higher and workers were more productive, allowing us to finish by the target date and

stay closer to the budget. If the target date was unrealistic, however, morale suffered, affecting

both the schedule and budget. This was a difficult aspect of the simulation, for if ever the team
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became excessively stressed it was almost impossible to restore morale enough to complete the

project in a timely manner.

The White Knight

As indicated by the Project Management Institute (2013), project managers don’t always

receive adequate support and training to manage issues associated with schedule and scope.

Rather than proactively work to amend this situation, many organizations rely on what Todd

Williams (2015) refers to as the White Knight syndrome. He states, “The problem is that our

culture reveres the square-jawed, buff, clean-cut knight, who enters in the eleventh-hour to save

the day—or the project” (para. 2). While our corporate cultures frequently thrive on crisis-mode

thinking, two basic problems arise. First, crises carry a high cost in time, money, and morale.

Second, where there’s a hero, there’s a villain—or in this case, a struggling, undertrained,

overworked, underappreciated project manager who takes the blame. Blame culture, like crisis

culture is demoralizing, however, and vastly counter-productive. It permeates the organization,

decreasing productivity along the way. Williams’ suggested cure to restore organizations to a

healthy culture is three-fold: turn managers into leaders through training and encouraging

humility, accountability, and trust; develop a “No-Fault Culture” (para. 11) by resisting the urge

to blame; and “slay the white knight . . . culture” (para. 14) by embracing proactive leadership

that plans projects effectively, thereby reducing the risks that lead to crisis and blame.

The Closet Project

While scope and schedule risks exist in all projects, they were especially present with my

closet. Once I realized this, my tactics changed—I created a plan. From experience, I knew it

would take longer than one day to complete, and, for my sanity, each day had to end with a clean

room. My plan reflected these requirements by dividing the closet into seven sectors, each of
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which could be completed in a single day—floor, east wall, top shelf, etc. I accounted for known

risks by developing a plan for items I had to keep but didn’t know where to put and compiled a

list of necessary resources for each phase.                

This attention to scope and schedule resulted in a successful, fun, and surprisingly stress-

free project. Dividing it into segments allowed me to experience daily victories, and although it

took longer than that semester break to complete (an expected and controlled risk), I enjoyed

visible evidence of my progress until the next break, when I picked up where I left off. 

Conclusion

Effective project planning makes all the difference between a failed and a successful

project. Knowing the value of clearly defined goals, deliverables, requirements, and assumptions

allows a project manager to reduce confusion and risk while setting reasonable expectations for

stakeholders. Responsible estimating and scheduling likewise reduces risk and leads to higher

morale, lower costs, and happier clients. Best of all, creating an effective plan counteracts the

crisis culture and sets the stage for a successful and enjoyable project.
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References

Egeland, B. (2020, September 17). Looks like a three dog night - Be careful with project

terminology. BradEgeland.com #PMP #PPM #projectmanager #Agile #cybersecurity

#planning #ai #SAFe #coronavirus #virtual #mindmapping #remote #COVID19

#growthacademy. https://www.bradegeland.com/blog/looks-like-a-three-dog-night-be-

careful-with-project-terminology3075380

Harvard Business School Publishing. (2013). Project management simulation. Forio | Custom

Simulations for Training and Higher Education. Retrieved August 25, 2020, from

https://forio.com/simulate/harvard/project-management/simulation

Heldman, K. (2010). Preventing scope and schedule risks. In Project manager's spotlight on

risk management (pp. 110-137). Sybex. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10131929?

Project Management Institute. (2013). PMI's pulse of the Profession | The high cost of low

performance. https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/thought-

leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2013.pdf?v=e5272fce-15ee-4826-a106-

24d1d2eb952f

Williams, T. (2015, December 27). Back from red | Kill the white

knight. ecaminc.com. https://ecaminc.com/index.php/blog/item/457-kill-the-white-knight