A project gets launched after lots of processes such as ideation, team discussions, analysis of challenges and problems amidst the project, and many more. Within the project tenure, the stakeholders may approach new chances or clients add extra tasks outside the scope of the agreement between the clients and the company that's handling the project. Scope can be defined as the work that is required in a project and scope management is an indispensable part of project management or say, an important task of a project manager when the project is ongoing or there is a certain appearance of scope creep.
Scope creep is also known as requirement creep or feature creep. Scope creep refers to the occurrence of the event when projects’ requirements tend to increase over a project lifecycle such as new provisions, tasks, or deliverables added by the clients that are outside the existing scope of the project agreement. Due to the Scoop Creep, the deliverables that were started as one can turn into five or 10. The changes in project requirements are demanded by key project stakeholders which leads to scope creep or internal miscommunication and disagreements. When scope creep shows up, it can cause various challenges including a stressful environment, client dissatisfaction, overrun budgets, missed deadlines, project delays, and many more. Scope creep can happen anytime and it's a reality that every project manager and team must expect before the initiation of the project. If scope creep becomes rampant, along with missed deadlines and overrun budgets, it can also lead to a significant increase in resources that may yield higher costs with gargantuan losses as well.
One of the du jour events/examples of Scope Creep is the bewailing experience of the Denver International Airport (DIA) of creating a fully automated baggage handling system. That project entailed more than 200 design changes that were reckoned as the Scope Creep which was the outcome of the non-inclusivity of relevant parties in the planning stages and ignorance of fundamental project concepts according to the article of Wrike. Those changes delayed the project up to 16 months causing more than 250% over budget and its attempt to automate the budget ultimately conked out.
Hence, the scope creep of DIA portrays that scope management is the quintessential part of the client-consultant relationship. Due to the lack of inclusiveness of relevant parties, bush-league precipitates were derived despite huge budgets and multiple alterations by DIA. But it is not preternatural that a client in the project points out any additions or revamping to the project. The project manager and team have to respond ‘Okay’ as an automatic response as adding ‘NO’ can lead to clients’ dissatisfaction and hassles in business relationships and the changes outside the scope of the agreement lead to Scope Creep. Click here to learn about Risk Management in Project Planning.
In any kind of project, when there is miscommunication or disagreement between project handlers and clients, undefined deliverables, and unsupportive or uninvolved stakeholders, the project becomes more convoluted which ultimately lap ups the possibility of Scope Creep. Definitely, a project requires full expertise and collaborative teamwork but the alignment with clients’ business schools and project members also determines the success of the project. What can be the major causes of scope creep? Let's find out.
- As stated earlier, when the deliverables are not clearly defined and tasks are not measurable, the project is at risk of scope creep.
- Communication is the major key to the interaction between clients and project members. It's very difficult to meet the client’s expectations when the project lacks the involvement of the major stakeholders or the executives.
- The role of a project manager is immense in any kind of project whether it be large or small. If a project manager lacks the ability to tackle the complexity or viable challenges of the project, it can ultimately lead to over budget, missed deadlines, and overuse of resources.
- Client-consultant/contractor relationships can be skirmish when there is not an immediate discussion held on red-flag issues with resolving techniques.
The fact is, not all projects run smoothly from ideation to completion. It is obvious that many roadblocks, challenges, changes, and updates keep on coming and going amidst the project. There are many ways to manage the Scope Creep. Some of the effective ways of managing Scope Creep are described below:
1. Lay a stalwart foundation with well-defined deliverables
The strong foundation of a project begins with a discussion with the clients to ensure what they have picturized about the project. It’s the responsibility of a project manager and a team to transfer the clients’ picturization of projects’ framing into a real and successful outcome. The team must be flinty in the collection of clients’ requirements interviewing them for the clear visibility of clients’ expectations from the project. Then the deliverables need to be clearly defined and the project plan should enunciate the word backed up with various milestones and metrics.
2. Always maintain the written contract and a backup plan
A written contract is a significant document for setting expectations during the project’s initial phases. The contract enables the project members to easily pinpoint and manage the scope creep by analyzing the project details. The conversations between client and project team members should be based on discussing deliverables, timelines, duties, and responsibilities of both. The collaborative discussions between the clients and contractors must address a clear plan of action to ensure that the project manager doesn't overlook any of the client’s expectations.
It’s a harsh reality that there exist a few hiccups in the projects from start to finish. For the scope creep also, there needs to be a process for addressing it. There should be a clearly defined setting of the members responsible for addressing the changes in the project, extension of timelines, additional costs, and many more. The backup plans inform the clients about the time and efforts of the team members along with the costs and compensations associated in the course of any additions or changes.
3. Organizing a kick-off meeting for final review
When the project team members acquire detailed information about the scope of work along with the backup plan, a project manager should initiate the project with a kick-off meeting with all the project stakeholders for the final review. In this kick-off meeting, everything should be reviewed including roles and accountability, processes of reporting, project milestones, metrics, and other factors that make the project framework more clear and understandable.
4. Communication is the key to ensuring the project’s success
If any kinds of changes- additions or deductions occur outside the scope of the project agreement, a project manager should initiate the conversation with the client to extrapolate how those alterations get adjusted into the overall project and how those changes impinge the project timelines and metrics. The client and consultant/project manager must dedicate their entire efforts to finalizing the decision and setting up the action.
5. Application of Change Control
The change control process involves various sub-processes that can be implemented to cope with Scope Creep and document changes in the project that include:
i) Frequently keeping an eye on the status of the project and baseline scope
ii) Application of Variance Analysis while comparing actual work performance measurements with the baseline scope
For example: Examine how distinct is the ongoing project from the original master plan.
iii) Determination of the causes of the changes in the project requirements and corrective or preventive action in case of change requests
iv) Management of such change requests and suggested alternatives through the Performance Integrated Change Control process
As scope creep can invite multiple substantial challenges, both clients and project managers need to ensure what sorts of anomalies may appear due to changes in scope. Hence it's important to communicate with all the stakeholders from the beginning of the period considering expert advice and potential encumbrances. This can ultimately impact the project timeline and the whole budget. The approved change requests undoubtedly impact the overall scope and cost baseline and all these changes have to be processed, documented, and communicated among all the stakeholders.
Sometimes the change requests recommended by the clients may add zero value to the project and it's okay to answer ‘NO’ for such changes and remind them about the original agreement. Also, these requests cause histrionic impacts on the budget. Hence, the project manager must consider the bill rates covering the cost of the project along with the values of the deliverables. When such additional requests pop up, the project manager should take a stand for either adding additional expense or making them agree with the original plan stating them about the contract and established scope.
Scope creep leads to numerous hurdles in the course of cost, timeline, efforts, and many more. The change requests or recommended actions keep on coming as Change is inevitable but as mentioned earlier both clients and project managers must interact aligning with projects’ goals and success. Scope creep is a reality that nobody can deny. It's up to the project manager and team how they use their experiences, intellect, and skills to transform challenges into Success.