TacklingScopeCreep Ebook 2014-2

E.
BOOK SERIES
TACKLING
SCOPE CREEP
Est. 1974
10 Midland Avenue, Newton, MA 02458 USA | (800) 537-PSMJ / (617) 965-0055 telephone | (617) 965-5152 fax | info@psmj.com email | www.psmj.com web
TACKLING SCOPE CREEP E.BOOK SERIES 1
PART ONE: AVOIDING SCOPE CREEP

Avoid Scope Creep With a Detailed Task Outline
Scope Creep Warning Signs
Project Managers and Scope Creep
Visioning Workshops
PART TWO: MANAGING SCOPE CREEP

Five Steps to Manage Scope Creep
Six Tips for Managing Stealth Change
Curing Scope Creep
PART THREE: KILLING SCOPE CREEP

Don’t Manage Scope Creep—Kill It!
Ask The Expert
Your Secret Weapon for Getting Cash Fast
What’s Worse Than Scope Creep?
Extra Services Are Indicators of a Creeping Scope
Scope Creep Is a Good Thing!
Copyright © 2014 by PSMJ Resources, Inc.®

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10 Midland Avenue, Newton, MA 02458 USA | (800) 537-PSMJ / (617) 965-0055 telephone
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PART ONE: Avoid Scope Creep With a Detailed

AVOIDING Task Outline
SCOPE Sometimes you don’t realize that the client is asking for work
CREEP outside of the scope of services until you are already over
budget and off schedule. One of the best ways to ID “scope
creep” is by referring to your task outline. A task outline is
the most critical element in good scheduling and budgeting,
so don’t skimp on its development.
A good outline should:

• Contain all possible tasks that can affect the schedule or
budget of the project.
• Identify any tasks that will be assigned to subconsultants.
• Have a separate task for project management activities.
• Be “deliverable-based” rather than “task- or activity-based.”
The completion of the task should focus on specific

deliverables so you can measure progress and completion
easily. Make the task outline the center of your system of
project control. If you know your outline well, you will be
able to notice when work moves beyond what was agreed
upon.
Budgeting for Project Management

When budgeting for project management, PSMJ
recommends using the “10 percent rule”—designate 10
percent of your project budget for project management. This
does not mean that you add 10 percent more hours to the
project! These hours are already in your projects, they just
haven’t been defined in the budget.
Does Project Management Have a Definable Scope?

You bet. You are budgeting for three major tasks:
1. Planning—Lack of planning is the number one reason
projects go bad. You need to make sure this task is
adequately funded.
2. Project status—This includes invoicing, project reports, etc.

3. Client and scope management—These may seem like
separate entities, but they are intertwined. If you want to
better manage your client, you need to better manage your
project scope. If you want to stop scope creep, you need to
better manage your client.
Economies of Scale
The 10 percent rule is recommended as a “rule of thumb,” and
may vary depending on project size. In general, the percent of
the project fee allocated for project management is inversely
proportional to the size of the project. If the project is large, say
$700,000, you may need to devote seven or eight percent of the
budget to project management tasks. If the project is upwards
of $1 million, you might budget only five percent. However,
be careful how much you cut. Devoting two percent of your
budget for project management is stretching it a bit thin.
The opposite will be true for very small projects. If you are
doing a $5,000 site observation project, you may want to budget
12 or 13 percent for the smaller project.
Planning Is the Heart of Project Control

When planning your next project, don’t underdevelop your task
outline—it is the foundation of everything you do. Start your
task list from scratch—don’t depend on pre-printed or modified
lists. Start at the beginning with the proposal and contract, and
list each task that will be completed throughout the project.
How Extensive Should Your Task List Be?

Mike D’Alessandro, one of PSMJ Resources’ project
management experts, recommends a detailed list over a vague
list. “A detailed list not only defines what you are going to do,
it defines what you’re not going to do. With a vague task list,
scope creep is more likely to go unnoticed. A well-crafted task
outline ensures that extra work will be recognized in the
form of a change order.” To be included in the outline, a task

should meet these criteria:
• A definable scope of work.
• A duration consisting of at least one start date and finish
date.
• An estimate of effort required to complete the activity
(usually in hours or dollars).
• A direct tie in to some contract Deliverables.
Scope Creep Warning Signs

by Chris Klemmer
Scope creep, like plastic deformation, has clear warning signs

of underlying issues, if you know what to look for. But as
with bending plastic, if you catch the signs in plenty of time,
you can bend the scope back in place, before buckling or
other permanent damage.
Warning Sign #1: The client asks for more scope and quality
than you agreed to provide. Potential causes include a greedy
or desperate client, fuzzy scope, and an over-promised sales
pitch. Make sure the baseline scope, schedule, and fee are
crystal clear, and never train your client to ask for more than
is fair.
Warning Sign #2: Information from the client is often

late or incomplete. Potential causes include incompetent
or uncooperative staff, and poor communications. Be
clear about project requirements and the effects of non-
compliance.
Warning Sign #3: A sliding schedule with missed deadlines

followed by excuses. Potential causes include busy people
with competing priorities. Help them identify conflicts while
maintaining accountability for commitments.
Warning Sign #4: Skipped meetings or minimized quality

reviews. Potential causes include disagreement about the
scope or approach by the project manager; and lack of
commitment. Beware of clients that disrespect strong project
management.
Warning Sign #5: Procrastination on key decisions and

rehashing of previous decisions. Potential causes include
a dissatisfied client unable to speak his mind, unbridled
perfectionism, or political conflict involving egos, and
money.
Scope creep is a cancer that may appear to originate with

either the client, contract, or project team at any given time.
Also, as a project manager, consider yourself a potential
contributor to the problem by your action or inaction. Sleuth
out the facts as best you can while engaging in frank dialog
with both the client and your team. Then, deal with the
underlying issues promptly, before they grow.
• Foster a transparent and rigorous culture of responsibility

and accountability.
• Make sure the team has genuinely bought in without

unstated reservations.
• Plan and budget time for hands-on project management,

including informal meetings and quality control.
• Be honest with yourself. Make sure the schedule is in sync

with scope, budget, and staff availability. Then work the
plan!
• Ensure quality is in accordance with a clear and specific

project plan, not personal egos.
• Expect and embrace change as an opportunity for

clarification and growth.
• Document decisions and commitments for accountability

and change order support.
Take charge of the process even when the situation looks

unclear or is getting off course. Through all of the hurdles,
your clients and your team will thank you.
Project Managers and Scope Creep

by Michael Ellegood, P.E.
During the course of the typical project, the PM needs

several things: information, data and decisions from the
client, prompt payment of invoices, and recognition by the
client of project changes and scope additions. Meanwhile,
the PM is charged to position the firm for additional work
with the client, all the while avoiding “scope creep,” those
seemingly small incremental changes that collectively often
become budget busters. Fortunately, the PM has a readily
available tool that can assist with all of these. A simple,
one page, seven paragraph Progress Report, electronically
delivered on a regular basis, can help with all of these things
while concurrently providing a contemporaneous record of
the project—and providing a tool to coordinate among the
stakeholders.
A Progress Report is the ultimate “client touch”—a non-

marketing reach-out to the client that says, “Hey, I’m here,
and this is what we have accomplished on your project.” It can
be a reminder to the client that we need specific information
or a decision. It can be a nudge to expedite payment. It puts
your firm’s name in front of the client, subtly positioning the
firm for follow-up on work. It is an excellent tool for change
management and for the documentation of scope creep.
Here is the suggested format and content of a typical

seven-paragraph progress report:
1. Work accomplished this period: What was done on the

deliverables to meet the project’s critical success factors.
2. Work anticipated for the next period: What you expect to

accomplish as the project moves forward.
3. Scope changes: Document changes in the scope of the

project due to scope creep, unanticipated or unexpected
conditions, client or stakeholder requests, and whether or
not the change will require a contract modification.
4. Budget status/earned value: An outline of where the

project is in relation to the projected progress. In the case
of a cost-plus or time and materials project, this might be
a heads up that more funds may be required.
5. Schedule/deliverables status: Where the project is relative

to the schedule. This can be an alert to the client that a
project review submission is imminent.
6. Input needed: A reminder that the design team is lacking

information, decisions, or other guidance from the client
or key stakeholder.
7. Other issues or concerns: This is sort of a catch-all

to identify matters that may impact the project’s critical
success factors. Examples might include issues with
utility coordination, public or political issues, or any other
miscellaneous things.
Two words of caution:

First, like any project document, the report becomes a matter
of record, discoverable in a legal proceeding. With that it
mind, it should be reviewed before submission. Second,
always change the title of the emailed report to reflect the
date or number of the report. Consider adding a tickler to
the title, such as “client input requested,” if there is an item
in paragraph 6 requiring important client input. Regularly
scheduled progress reports are a best practice and can be an
effective tool for the project manager.
Visioning Workshops
Add this to your cache of tools to use at the beginning of
each project. Visioning Workshops are a powerful design
management technique with many advantages and no
disadvantages. The advantages include:
• Client participation in the concept design process;
• Early coordination and integration of different discipline
inputs;
• Significant reduction of wasted time on concept designs
that would be ultimately rejected;
• Powerful protection against scope creep; and
• A “paper trail” of agreed design priorities.
There are several variants on the Visioning Workshop

approach, but one that many designers use has these steps:
1. The entire project team, including the client

representatives, meets for one day—as soon as possible—
after award of contract, and before beginning any design
work.
2. The morning of this day is a “green light” exercise, with all

participants putting aside project restraints, and working
to envision the “ideal” solution if there were no constraints.
3. Participants focus on meeting all stated project goals, and

client input is sought on all ideas.
4. Key outcomes are recorded, with one person acting as

scribe.
5. After lunch, the team moves to “red light” thinking,

introducing known constraints, such as zoning, budget,
construction time, and so on.
6. The discussion on constraints tends to eliminate some

aspects of the “ideal” solution, and modifies others.
7. Trade-offs are discussed, on which client input is sought.

The “ideal” model is pared back as necessary, but real
efforts are made to retain all outstanding features of this
model.
8. The above steps effectively sharpen and clarify the Client

Brief, and often modifies it—with the concurrence of the
client.
9. Some desired features may require further investigation;

for example, whether height limits or other regulatory
requirements can be varied. All such “open” options
are assigned to appropriate members of the team, who
are charged with getting feedback and resolution within an
agreed timeframe.
10. Records are kept off the “red light” process and outcomes.
11. Promptly after the Visioning Workshop exercise, a

summary report is circulated to all participants, and
client approval to any changes to the Brief is sought prior
to commencing concept design.
PART TWO: Five Strategies to Manage

MANAGING Scope Creep
by Alan Bollinger, P.E.
SCOPE
CREEP As you shop for groceries next week, you may notice how a
few displays have been strategically placed in the store with
staff handing out free samples for you to taste. When you
finish filling your shopping cart, you head to the check-out
counter to pay for your groceries. If you get to your car and
realize you forgot the milk, you return to the store and make
a quick visit to the dairy section. After grabbing a couple of
half gallon containers of milk, however, you don’t just head
back to your car. That would not be a viable business model
for the local grocery chain. No, you must go back through
the check-out counter and pay for your additional items.
Unfortunately, your own clients have discovered a way to

pay for agreed upon services, and then help themselves back
into your “store” to see what else they can find on the shelves.
Then they leave with those additional services without going
through the “check-out counter”!
These additional services we continue to complete for the

client without receiving any additional compensation are
called “scope creep.” You must have a strategy to manage the
scope creep for every project. Here are five specific strategies
to manage scope creep:
1. No additional charge change. Early into a project, look

for a couple of “free samples” to give to the client. Maybe
it’s attending a short meeting at their request or providing
the client with additional sketches from your portfolio to
view.
Follow up with an e-mail to let them know that the activity

was completed and that there will be “no additional charge”
for the service. Now the client sees that you are trying to
provide good service and not intending to nickel and dime

QUESTION: How do you achieve them. In a savvy way without even saying it, though, you
higher profits in today’s have put them on notice that their next request may not
competitive marketplace? come at “no additional charge.” When the client now asks for
additional scope, it will be easier for you to ask for additional
compensation.
ANSWER:
2. Progress report. Let your client know at the initial kick-off
EMPOWER meeting that you will be sending out a brief weekly progress
YOUR PMs!
report. Use one section of the progress report to document
any changes in scope that have occurred since the last
report.
PMB
2015
Even if you do not ask for additional compensation, you at least
have good documentation of the changes that have occurred
A/E/C
Project should you need to ask for additional money. And, the client
MANAGEMENT
knows you are aware of what is in and not in your scope.
R
B O O T C A M P® 3. Change log. Keep a sheet of paper close by titled “Change

QUESTION: How do you achieve higher profits in today’s competitive marketplace?
ANSWER: EMPOWER YOUR PMs! Log” where you list (on a daily basis) every change that
JOIN US IN 2015 ON: WHY PSMJ’S PM BOOTCAMP? occurs on the project. This daily five-minute exercise
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ensures you have a well-documented road map of all of the

- Dennis Terzian, Senior Geologist / PBS Engineering and Environmental
JANUARY 29-30, 2015 / AUSTIN, TX
“Great course. Inspiring and informative. Learned many tools to implement.”
FEBRUARY 5-6, 2015 / ORLANDO, FL - Meg McDonald, Interior Designer / GGLO
FEBRUARY 26-27, 2015 / VANCOUVER, BC

MARCH 3-4, 2015 / KANSAS CITY, MO
“Very impressed on how well the course fit with my daily challenges.”
- Josh Lekkerker, Civil Engineer / Precision Approach Engineering changes that have occurred.
MARCH 12-13, 2015 / JERSEY CITY, NJ “There was something that hit home in almost every section. Instructor
helped foster a sense of excitement. I am already excited about implementing
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be learning from for years to come.” - Paul Erskine, Project Manager / Sparling
“The PM Bootcamp speaker kept all attendees engaged and the program far
exceeded my expectations.” - Adam Schreiner, Project Manager / Sega Inc.
4. “Change” as an agenda item at every meeting. Build time
APRIL 21-22, 2015 / ATLANTA, GA
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“Wonderful instructor! Experienced and professional and kept us engaged.”
- Lindsey Busch, Professional Environmental Engineer / Carollo Engineers, Inc. for a short discussion on changes that have occurred
MAY 5-6, 2015 / CHICAGO, IL
since the last meeting into every agenda. This portion of

“The speaker was engaging, funny, knowledgeable and well-spoken. Kept me
MAY 13-14, 2015 / SEATTLE, WA interested the whole time!“ - E. Morley John, Project Engineer / Kleinfelder
MAY 28-29, 2015 / WASHINGTON, DC “Amazing seminar, full of information—speaker delivered and explained info
in basic wasys easy to understand.”
JUNE 4-5, 2015 / LAS VEGAS, NV
JUNE 11-12, 2015 / BOSTON, MA
- Steven Bellanger, Project Engineer / Environmental Partners
“This class far exceeded my expectations. I will be implementing several

items immediately for my projects.” - Bianca Clarke, Biologist / WRA, Inc.
the meeting would be a good place to review items on the
JUNE 18-19, 2015 / FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
Our attendees have continuously rated this program 4.8 out of 5 stars!
change log or activities that you have been documenting in
Endorsed by:
the progress report. There is no need to spend more than
five minutes discussing. The idea is to keep the changes
SEE FULL COURSE DESCRIPTION, that are taking place in front of the client, so there is an
DETAILED AGENDA, AND
opportunity to discuss how to handle the changes and there
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
are no surprises to the client of work they were not aware of.
5. On-call services task. Negotiate with the client at the

beginning of the project an additional amount of fee that will
be held in reserve for any additional services requested by

the client.
Two keys to making this strategy work are:
1. Having a level of established trust with the client.
2. Convincing the client that they “own the contingency.”
Help them to feel comfortable that this portion of the budget

cannot be spent without their consent. Give any of the five
ideas above a try. They are all battle tested!
Six Tips for Managing Stealth

Change
by Michael Ellegood, P.E.
Scope creep, the seemingly inevitable series of minor, but

sometimes costly, changes in a project are a common cause
of project budget failure and misunderstanding between
designer and client. Let’s examine a hypothetical scenario and
outline some tactics for managing these changes.
Assume that you are managing the design of a new county

animal shelter. The project consists of a building with kennels,
cages, veterinary facilities, and administrative offices with an
animal adoption room. One end of the building has an open-
sided shed roof to provide a covered area for the delivery and
unloading of animals from the animal control vehicles—a
sally port.
As the project continues through Design Development, the

client requests that the open end of this area be covered to
provide a wind block. No problem. It’s a minor change with
little or no increase in design cost.
After further design, the client returns and requests that the
remaining two sides be provided with roll up doors, again,
to provide protection from the elements. This change then
triggers structural and architectural changes, more lighting,
additional electrical to operate the doors, extension of the
fire sprinkler system, and possibly the addition of plumbing
and floor drains. And so, an initial minor request—add a
windbreak—morphs into a major project addition.
The fact is that scope creep is, too often, a budget-busting fact
of life in the delivery of projects. Here are six simple tips for
managing this:
1. Develop a shared project vision with the client.

Understand the client’s critical success factors and
understand what is driving the project.
2. Develop an appropriate detailed work breakdown

structure (WBS) at the outset of the project. Share this with
your client. In the best of cases, jointly develop the WBS
with the client.
3. Establish and maintain continuous project

communications with the client. The most effective
strategy is the one-page, seven-paragraph project status
report outlined in PSMJ’s Project Management Bootcamp.
When scope creep occurs, document this in “Other issues
and concerns.” This provides notification to the client and
documentation of the issue.
4. Recognize the primary causes of change and scope creep.

These include changes requested by the client and changes
triggered by condition issues, such as underground
“surprises” or code interpretations by the local building
official.
5. Understand the change management culture and processes

of your client. If your client has a “no change, no way”
culture, you have an education effort in front of you. Most
clients, particularly those with a modicum of
sophistication, recognize project changes are inevitable,
particularly during the design phase.
6. Conduct a project post-mortem including an analysis of

project changes. Consider how and why they occurred
and how they were handled. While this will not help with
the current project, the post-mortem can increase
awareness of the issue for future projects.
Change, including scope creep, is a fact of life in project

delivery. The key issue is early recognition, documentation,
and communication. In most cases, scope creep is not a self-
correcting phenomena. It requires active project management.
Curing Scope Creep

by Charles Nelson, AIA, LFRAIA
“Scope creep” is an endemic disease in design practices. It

destroys profitability, causes schedule blowout, and sets up an
unfair precedent where our clients feel comfortable requesting
more and more, while not providing appropriate (or any!)
compensation.
Despite the commonplace of this disease, it’s curable. The

antidote lies in fully understanding, and then tackling, the
typical causes of a creeping scope.
1. No scope is flawless. The details of a project scope are rarely

known at the start of the project, and even when they are,
there are often changes along the way.
2. We believe that we can’t delineate the scope of services, so we

don’t try.
3. The common practice of basing fees on the cost of

construction ignores the reality that the scope of design
services is not directly proportional with cost of the
construction, even within a similar project type.
4. When we plan a project scope and schedule, we tend to think

in terms of phases rather than activities.
5. We routinely fail to clarify and manage the project

responsibilities of clients and others whose input to the
design process is required.
6. We are nice guys, eager to do whatever it takes to complete

a project and please clients—and we don’t like to talk about
money.
7. We rarely have a solid system for keeping track of costs

versus work completed (earned value) as we go along.
8. We often fail to keep clients advised about scope changes—

whether they were made by us or requested by the client—so
they have no perception that the extra work was not part of
our original proposal.
Except for the first item, these things can be remedied, to

restructure the client’s expectation and understanding of scope
changes, without damaging the designer/client relationship.
The solution does not lie in being strictly dogmatic about
contracted services, and insisting that any change constitutes an
extra change. Do that and our clients will never give us another
project.
We should always make some allowance in the price for

scope change. There is no downside to identifying that in
your proposal—although most professionals prefer not to.
The important point is to track charge changes against this
allowance, and to know when it has been used up.
So how can we manage points two through eight above so

that scope creep doesn’t destroy our profits and wreck our
schedules?
First: If you are still basing fees on a percentage of construction

cost, STOP! Figure out what the project will cost, based on the
information available. Focus on actions required to complete
the project, not on stages of the project. Add something for
unknowns, but exclude unknowns you can’t roughly quantify.
Record this cost plan so you can track actual costs against
planned costs.
Second: In your proposals, define what a change order is, and

what will trigger one. A good guide: A change order may be
issued if an element of scope that is required is not identified in
either the client’s brief or your proposal.
Third: Record ALL changes, whether or not you intend to

ask for a change order. Keep this list up-to-date, and present
it at every project control meeting. It will have a powerful
effect on the way the client sees the way you work, because
you’ll be making many more changes without charge than
you are asking change orders for.
Fourth: Keep an eye on your allowance for unknowns. Don’t

use it up on scope change that really should be performed
under a change order.
Lastly: Track earned value, project by project. If your

practice management software doesn’t do it that easily, attend
one of the PSMJ Project Management Bootcamps. We’ll
show you how, and give you the tools to do it.
PART THREE: Don’t Manage Scope Creep—Kill It!

KILLING According to freelancer Thursday Bram, if scope creep lives in
SCOPE attics of your projects, you haven’t said the following to your
CREEP client:
• “Sure I can help, but I need more money (here’s my new

estimate).” Be polite, but not obtuse. Make it clear that the
project will not get done unless more money comes your
way.
• “That deadline won’t work for me.” Be honest. This may

seem like breaking the golden rule of getting good client
referrals, but it’s better to be straightforward about your
abilities than to overpromise and not deliver.
• “I can do that, but I need …” Give your clients a directive.

Tell them exactly what you need in order to make what
they want happen. Be clear and firm: if you don’t get what
you need, you can’t do the project.
• “No.” Sometimes, “no” is the best answer of all. It is, after

all, the most sure-fire way to kill scope creep dead.
Though these conversations may be difficult to have with

your client, they will help ensure that scope creep is limited in
your projects which will ultimately lead to higher-functioning
client/firm relationships.
It’s better to face scope creep and live to see another day than
to let it take over your livelihood.
Ask the Expert

I’m always battling “scope creep,” mainly due to clients
requesting things we didn’t agree to. What’s the best way to
stop this?
We went to PSMJ Resources consultant Alan Bollinger, P.E.,

for his advice, and he provided the following five approaches
to tackling scope creep:
1. When planning the project, create a detailed task outline,

and stick to it.
2. Have a change management plan, and talk about the plan

with your client at the outset of the project.
3. Add a “No additional change” charge to your services. This

charge will cover a limited number of small changes that your
client may make later on. This is also a great marketing tool.
4. Give your clients regularly scheduled progress reports,

showing them the budget status, schedule status, and any
scope changes.
5. Negotiate contingency hours up front. Talk to your client

about changes, and set aside extra money for unexpected
work. “None of these five tactics are perfect by themselves,”
says Bollinger. “There are certain holes in each of them. You
need to attack scope creep using a combination of these
approaches to make a difference.”
Your Secret Weapon for

Getting Cash Fast
by Lisa Blanton
Do you want to streamline the billing process? Hire a Project

Accountant. Do you want to eliminate “scope creep” and get
paid for additional services? Hire a Project Accountant. Do
you want to not have a collections problem? Hire a Project
Accountant. And do you want someone who understands
accounting software like a pro? Hire a Project Accountant.
The Project Accountant is your secret weapon! He/she is an

accounting professional assigned to specific accounts and
who stays with those accounts from start to finish. He/she is
the Project Manager’s “right-hand person” who makes sure
the contract(s) get fully-executed, set up correctly in the
accounting/project tracking software, monitors the budgets
vs. actuals, sends accurate invoices quickly, and builds a
strong relationship with the person who cuts the payment
check—the client’s project accountant.
The Project Accountant is a project team member who

stays with the project during its entire life cycle, just like the
Project Manager. When I instituted the concept of the Project
Accountant in my office, we saw a 15% decrease in collection
days. We saw client satisfaction climb, as they had one point
person to talk with and who knew them by name. We
saw the internal project team members happier, as they had
a consistent person assigned to their project, looking out for
the accuracy of the data. Do you want a Project Accountant?
Here’s a sample job description:
Project Accountant
If you are client-service oriented and interested in a role that
will give you ownership of over millions in annual revenue,
this position may be a perfect match for you. We are looking
for a team player who has a desire to solve and respond to
problems and challenges and has a strong drive to contribute

to our firm’s success. This individual will manage the project
accounting and collections process of their specific accounts
from project set-up to close out, and will work closely with
other departments and divisions across the company.
Responsibilities we are looking for an accounting professional

to be responsible for:
• Building client relationships – initiating the accounting

relationship with clients, proper invoicing of services,
written and verbal communication, filling client requests
for reconciliations, and ensuring timely collections.
• Accurate project accounting – quickly and accurately

processing project set up, monitoring timecard reporting,
drafting invoices for project managers and principals,
finalizing the billing cycle, and maintaining aging reports
benchmarked by industry standards.
• Project reporting for the project team – regularly reporting

financial status of contracts and tracking project manager’s
progress on accounting, billing, change orders and
collection procedures.
Behaviors
• Systematic with the ability to see a project through from
start to finish and has excellent follow through.
• Good at analyzing data and has outstanding quality

control and organizational skills.
• Works well on a team and has strong oral/written

communication and interpersonal skills.
• Self-starter with ability to accept responsibility for projects

and see them through to completion.
• Ability to interact with all levels and departments

including corporate headquarters and branch offices
across multiple states.
• Ability to work as individual contributor and contribute as

part of a larger project team.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
In addition to hiring a Project Accountant, here are some

more ideas to get your profits turned to cash faster:
1. Make sure that the Project Accountant is invited to the

project kick-off meeting.
2. Insist on 100% completion of weekly timecards, especially

from the Principals of the firm.
3. Send “thank you” gifts and cards to the client’s

accounting staff.
4. Insist on signed contracts before starting the work. (This

is a “no brainer,” but too many verbal contracts exist in the
A/E/C industry.)
5. “Go Green” and get rid of sending paper invoices. Email

them as PDFs to the client’s representative with a copy to
the Project Manager and Project Accountant. Cut out the
USPS and receive your cash 10 days earlier.
What’s Worse Than Scope Creep?

by David Whitemyer, AIA
Do you know what’s worse than scope creep? Not telling

your client about it, or telling them about it too late. You owe
it to your firm, your project team, and to the client to be swift
and honest when dealing with a creeping scope.
My favorite quote from curmudgeon and sage, Andy Rooney,

was something along the lines of, “Uncertainty is worse than
disappointment,” meaning that people can usually deal with
bad news, but what’s really annoying is not knowing.
Informing a client that due to unforeseen circumstances, or

through their requests, your scope of work has gone above
and beyond what was agreed upon at the project’s outset
might feel like you’re delivering bad news. But it has to be
done in order for everyone to deal with getting the project
back on track, and for your firm to make a reasonable profit.
It should go without saying that your design or engineering

project must have a clear scope of work. And, of course,
every project must have a signed contract, right? Then there
shouldn’t be any problem with mentioning to your client
when you’re being asked to do something outside of the
scope and contract, as long as it’s done with a professional,
cooperative tone.
This doesn’t mean that you should ask for additional fees
at every turn, “nickeling and diming” your clients, and
destroying a good relationship. But you should keep track of
every extra task your team performs, and politely mention
these changes to your client every once in a while.
Extra Services Are Indicators of a

Creeping Scope!
by Charles Nelson, AIA, LFRAIA
One insidious form of scope growth is NOT in actual project

changes, but in what really are “extra services” demanded
by contractors, who would like you to do, what amounts to,
free shop drawings. It is common for contractors to offer
alternatives to what is shown or specified, for a wide variety
of reasons, but which mostly comes down to a way for them
to save money.
These changes—which are scope changes that usually have

nothing to do with the client’s requirements—frequently
require research and sometimes additional drawings to
incorporate into the design. If the contractor can get you to
do this extra work for free, it’s a winner for them.
I recently saw a leasing agent persuade a design team

to produce alternative design plans for leasing & sales
purposes—for which there was no contract or any way to
be reimbursed. Unfortunately, the Project Director was
overloaded, and didn’t have his eye on the ball.
He didn’t realize that a LOT of non-billable time was being

spent on that activity, while legitimate requests for more
information were piling up, until it was too late. The end
result wasn’t pretty, and cost the firm many times what
should have been profit.
Court precedents have established that permitting a

substitution during construction gives the designer the same
responsibility for performance as would apply to the original
specified product. This means that your duty of care is to be
as careful in researching requests for substitution as you were
in specifying the original product or material. But doing so is
no less than permitting the project scope to creep.
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE:

1. Ensure that your team does not take on new design work
during construction without a change order.
2. Ensure that your contract includes provision for

compensation of design work (including researching
substitutions) during contract administration, unless you
are correcting design errors.
3. Start using the Request for Substitution forms developed

by Oklahoma architect Charles Chief Boyd.
Scope Creep Is a Good Thing!

by Daniel Rose
Scope creep is a good thing. That may sound counter

intuitive, but it’s the truth—at least in some cases. The
traditional view of project management, the way we teach
it in colleges and universities around the world, tells us
that scope creep is a risk at best. At worst it will cause your
project to fail miserably.
Scope creep—a missed opportunity?

Scope creep refers to continuous or unscheduled growth in
the scope of a project, and there is no doubt that it causes a
great many projects to go over on both budget and schedule.
However, just because it causes problems in some

circumstances, doesn’t mean it’s always a negative. In fact,
there are times when failing to increase the scope represents
a significant missed opportunity.
Who benefits from scope creep?

When thinking about the benefits of allowing increases to
project scope, it’s important to consider who exactly will
benefit. In a fixed price construction project, the owner or
end user will almost invariably benefit from an increase in
scope. Contractors often end up with increased costs in labor
or materials, clearly not a benefit in its own right. So, if it
isn’t financially beneficial, why should you allow increases in
scope that will reduce your profit? The answer lies in the big
picture.
Scope creep: the big picture

The big picture is that no project operates in a vacuum.
Rather, projects exist within the context of a builder’s or
contractor’s other works, and in their business in general.
Consequently, viewing the financial cost of an increase in scope

may make sense as a business investment. For example, when
an opportunity exists for a contractor to strategically increase
the quality of materials in order to provide an exceptional
experience for a key customer, it may strengthen their position
to obtain further projects. The upshot is that, for contractors,
deciding to invest in an increased scope may lead to increased
revenues further down the track.
Worth the investment?

For end users and owners, scope creep is also valuable. Even
when there are additional costs, evaluating the cost versus the
benefit often shows the investment to be worthwhile. As an
example, if while installing electrical duct infrastructure for
lighting along a sidewalk, you find that additional capacity can
be added for future communications infrastructure for a minor
increase in cost, then the investment is worth it. Incurring the
additional expenditure now can eliminate the need for costly
civil works in the future.
What to do
Deciding when to allow scope creep and when to prevent it
is not easy. The key is to carefully use scope creep to prevent
missed opportunity. Take these steps:
• Take the time to evaluate the cost versus the benefit.
• Overall, harness the opportunities for improvement that
expanding the scope provides, rather than eliminating it
entirely.
• Make the appropriate decision, factoring in cost, benefit,
and opportunities for improvement.
• Commit to your decision.

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E.

PART ONE: AVOIDING SCOPE CREEP

PART TWO: MANAGING SCOPE CREEP

PART THREE: KILLING SCOPE CREEP

Copyright © 2014 by PSMJ Resources, Inc.®

PSMJ Resources Inc.’s material is protected by copyright.

PSMJ Resources, Inc. will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for

PSMJ Resources, Inc.®

PART ONE: Avoid Scope Creep With a Detailed

A good outline should:

The completion of the task should focus on specific

Budgeting for Project Management

Does Project Management Have a Definable Scope?

2. Project status—This includes invoicing, project reports, etc.

Planning Is the Heart of Project Control

How Extensive Should Your Task List Be?

form of a change order.” To be included in the outline, a task

Scope Creep Warning Signs

Scope creep, like plastic deformation, has clear warning signs

Warning Sign #2: Information from the client is often

Warning Sign #3: A sliding schedule with missed deadlines

Warning Sign #4: Skipped meetings or minimized quality

Warning Sign #5: Procrastination on key decisions and

Scope creep is a cancer that may appear to originate with

• Foster a transparent and rigorous culture of responsibility

• Make sure the team has genuinely bought in without

• Plan and budget time for hands-on project management,

• Be honest with yourself. Make sure the schedule is in sync

• Ensure quality is in accordance with a clear and specific

• Expect and embrace change as an opportunity for

• Document decisions and commitments for accountability

Take charge of the process even when the situation looks

Project Managers and Scope Creep

During the course of the typical project, the PM needs

A Progress Report is the ultimate “client touch”—a non-

Here is the suggested format and content of a typical

1. Work accomplished this period: What was done on the

2. Work anticipated for the next period: What you expect to

3. Scope changes: Document changes in the scope of the

4. Budget status/earned value: An outline of where the

5. Schedule/deliverables status: Where the project is relative

6. Input needed: A reminder that the design team is lacking

7. Other issues or concerns: This is sort of a catch-all

Two words of caution:

There are several variants on the Visioning Workshop

1. The entire project team, including the client

2. The morning of this day is a “green light” exercise, with all

3. Participants focus on meeting all stated project goals, and

4. Key outcomes are recorded, with one person acting as

5. After lunch, the team moves to “red light” thinking,

6. The discussion on constraints tends to eliminate some

7. Trade-offs are discussed, on which client input is sought.

8. The above steps effectively sharpen and clarify the Client

9. Some desired features may require further investigation;

11. Promptly after the Visioning Workshop exercise, a

PART TWO: Five Strategies to Manage

Unfortunately, your own clients have discovered a way to

These additional services we continue to complete for the

1. No additional charge change. Early into a project, look

Follow up with an e-mail to let them know that the activity

provide good service and not intending to nickel and dime

B O O T C A M P® 3. Change log. Keep a sheet of paper close by titled “Change

ensures you have a well-documented road map of all of the