Your client wants low-priority features now. How do you keep the project on track?

Yes you should absolutely prioritize tasks and if a client asks for new features, it's time to have a discussion, not label them as "low priority." Perhaps the clients business has changed or there are new emerging opportunities or threats. What was previously a low priority feature can now be high priority. My point being, assume change happens and reassess. Obviously making features higher prioirty is going to effect project timelines and budgets and/or necessitate reducing the priority of other features. Don't assume a client's priority, have a discussion and work it out in a mutually beneficial way

There is always a need to be vigilant here and guard against project scope creep. It's one thing to discover new needs during ERP SAP implementations but its critical to manage , rather balance the priorities effectively to prevent delays and cost overruns. I would clearly communicate to the client that adding low-priority features may impact the project timeline and budget and propose implementing these features as separate projects or in subsequent phases. Meaningful direction is concentrating on routine business processes that yield substantial value. Focussing on critical business processes & prioritizing these high-impact areas over low-priority features helps ensure the core functionality is implemented within the timeline & budget

When clients are insistent on implementing low-priority features immediately, it's essential to balance their desires with the project's overall timeline and objectives. - Create prototypes of these customizations and shared them with the client for feedback. This not only demonstrated commitment to their requests but also provided insights into which features were genuinely necessary. Many requests were refined or deprioritized based on this feedback, keeping the project aligned with its goals. - Organize a parallel development track for non-essential features, using a smaller, dedicated team. This allowed the main development team to focus on critical functionalities, ensuring that the project timeline was not impacted.

Education is key. Explain to the client where you are in the project and how elevating the priority of features will require tradeoffs in time, budget and what features are implemented. Open communication about what is happening, desired changes and impacts is key. I always used to say in consulting, "pretty much anything is possible but everything has a cost". A good mantra that should be balanced with a reasonable, frank and trust inducing conversation

I faced a client request for low-priority features midway through a project. Understanding their enthusiasm, I updated them on our progress and challenges. "Including these features might impact our timeline," I explained honestly. We discussed alternatives, focusing on what could be realistically achieved within the existing scope. Negotiating compromises, we agreed on a phased approach, prioritizing critical functionalities first. This transparency maintained trust and alignment. Ultimately, delivering on core goals while satisfying client requests strengthened our partnership and project success.