Thursday, December 5, 2013

Analyzing Scope Creep

This week we were to post about any personal or professional experience that may have resulted in an expansion of the scope of a project- which is known as scope creep. When I worked as a neuropsychiatric technician at the Naval Hospital in Camp Pendleton, California, the head of my department –Dr. X., wanted to use biofeedback as a treatment option for the military members and their families. There were two other technicians besides myself who were chosen to be on the biofeedback team.

I was tasked with finding and comparing biofeedback systems that came with what Dr. X wanted and yet stay within budget. I had narrowed the systems down to the three that were within the price range and that met the requirements that Dr.  X had requested.  When we sat down to finally pick a system, Dr. X wanted to know if perhaps we could get more programs and maybe even an extra system at a discounted price.

Though I didn’t show it on the outside I became very frustrated. In the prior meetings I thought we had decided on what we needed for the program and that was that. Dr. X and I discussed this issue and he was adamant in what he wanted. This is one of the most common forms of scope creep: when a stakeholder or team member decides to include deliverables that weren’t originally planned as part of the project. It is impossible to avoid scope creep, but it can be controlled to a certain extent. Portney, Mantel, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer (2008) suggest:  

·        Include a change control system in every project plan.
·        Insist that every project change is introduced by a change order that includes a description of the agreed-upon change together with any resulting changes in the plan, processes, budget, schedule, or deliverables.
·        Require changes be approved in writing by the client as well as by a representative of senior management.
·        Amend and update all project plans and schedules to reflect the change after the change order has been approved.
As for the biofeedback machines, I got the extras that Dr. X wanted and only went slightly over budget. In the end everything worked out, we got the biofeedback machines, and the other technicians and I even got week and a half of training on the new systems in San Francisco.


Reference
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 

 

2 comments:

  1. Hello Katie, great post. Scope creep is one of those factors that affects every project in one form or another; sometimes for good, other times for worse. Portny et al., (2008) suggest that project managers always remain dynamic and be prepared for some amount of scope creep; by leveraging a well-controlled and formal scope change process PMs will be able to have more control over which aspects get added and which get pushed to a secondary phase. Another great way to control scope creep is to highlight how all of the changes will impact the timeline and budget (Portny et al., 2008). Your situation seemed like Dr. X was not really concerned about the scope or budget but more concerned with the overall strategy and what the additional equipment would provide. I have encountered your same situation many times; managers and directors need to adhere to budgets and it is their nature to have the more strategic thinking which can wreak havoc on a project. As mentioned it is imperative to be as nimble and dynamic as possible to address these issues when they arise.

    References:

    Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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