Scope Creep : Project Management

A good project scope points clearly to the expected end results and deliverables of the project. At the planning stage of the overall IT Merger Project, the project planning team had a common overall vision of “get $210 million in annual saving by consolidating the IT structure”. The PCNet project was a sub-project that shared this common overall vision. This overall vision was then systematically drilled down into detailed tasks and sub-projects with schedule carefully deliberated with the dependency of the projects and resources utilized being taken into considerations. A Gantt chart showing the schedule and dependency of task was then created (as shown in Exhibit 2 in the case). The PCNet project team adopted similar approach for project planning (as shown in Exhibit 4 in the

Project scope defines the goals of the project and the budget of both time and money that has been allocated to achieve the objectives. For the best results to be achieved, both the definition and the allocated budget must be precise and detailed. A good process scope document will define specifically the tasks to be completed or the delivered results. The project scope is important because it will define the specific date for which the deliverables

The project scope statement is a key element in any new project. It is used to outline the results that the project will produce and the terms and conditions under which the work will be performed. Upper management, the requestor of the project and the project team need to all agree on the

This is confirmed by Horn (2012:406) that ‘when you consider that only about a quarter of projects complete on time and budget’. Early contingencies planning for the effects of scope creep should be interlaid within the RiBS to manage any financial allowance for such eventuality and to communicate the changes across the project and organisation.

The article Scope Management in Agile Versus Traditional Software Development Methods (Israr Ur Rehman, et al, October 2010, NSEC ’10: Proceeding for the 2010 National Software Engineering Conference) discusses the importance of scope management, it’s role and impact on a project, and how it alone can lead projects toward failure. “A well-defined and well managed scope is very important for a qualitative, cost effective and timely completion of the project (page 1). The replacement of traditional software development (Waterfall) by agile software development methods is very apparent in cost, resources and time for the work.

* As explained in the text, scope creep is very common in projects. A formal change control management is difficult to enforce and more often overlooked near the end of the project when scope creep is more common. Recommend strategies to enforce change control

The second project I chose as an example of scope creep was the Failure of the FBI’s Virtual Case File Project. The project was initiated in 2001 and was projected to take three years to complete but was cancelled in 2005 after having been in progress for 4 years and exceeded projected costs by 200 million dollars. The project consisted of three parts, the first two parts being roughly completed consisted of upgrading hardware

Defining the project scope sets the stage for developing a plan and its primary purpose is to define as clearly as possible the deliverables and to focus project plans (Gray & Larson, 2006). The team has

2b. Using the creeping requirements as an excuse seems to be a mistake as it implies project mismanagement. If the project had been properly monitored scope creep could have been detected early and managed.

Most scholars have accepted generally the triple constraints as key elements of project success. If one of these three constraints get reduces it will have an impact on the other one, balancing between them is crucial for project managers. It is said that “To create a successful project, a project manager must consider scope time and cost and balance these three often-competing goals”.

Was the project scope defined clearly at early stage? Identify one major scope change throughout the project life and discuss the effects of scope changes on project performance?

Project Scope – identifies goals, deliverables, tasks, costs, and deadlines. Project scope is part of project planning.

Uncontrolled scope changes are known as scope creep, which mostly occurs during project execution, which often result in rework, cost overrun and failure to deliver projects on time (Jordan, 2010).

2.  Refer to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle case at the end of the chapter (Case Study 5.3).  When is “Scope creep” useful and when is it dangerous?  Under what circumstances might an organization refuse to freeze design specifications for valid reasons (e.g. Microsoft)?

A key activity in project management is assessing project constraints. A project has three limitations: scope, budget and schedule. These limitations are project constraints because they are sensitive to change and have an impact on project risk. Risk is exposure to uncertain outcomes. Project constraints are mutually exclusive. If one constraint changes it affects the others and adjustments may be required to compensate and manage risks. For example, a delay in the schedule can increase the risk that the project will not finish on time. Time is money and delays have a negative impact on the budget. To