So We Creep...

By John R. Nocero, PhD, MBA, CCRP, GCP, CC, ACB & Katherine J. Pryor, MPM

We are diligently working on a project deliverable when a client or stakeholder says something like, “this draft of the standard report is great, but can we just…” then he goes on to change a significant deliverable and shorten a timeline. Sounds easy enough.

In an effort to build a strong relationship that may bring future business, we make the modification. Only took us 5 minutes.

Welcome to the world of scope creep. It’s more than TLC singing in the background “so I creep, yeah, just creepin’ on.”

Scope creep refers to a project that has had its original goals expand while it's in progress. As the term suggests, scope creep is a subtle process that starts with small adjustments and ends up resulting in projects that take far longer to complete or even fail before they are finished. Even if the project is completed, scope creep can result in final deliverables that look nothing like what was originally envisioned (“Scope Creep, 2017).

You need to stop scope creep right at this point. If it is not stopped, scope creep will continue jeopardizing the project budget and timelines plus actually put the long-term relationship with the client at risk because the project and team are setup for failure. When a project is won, resources are allocated, timelines set, and budget created based off of that understanding and agreement of work. Scope creep blows all of it out of the water; creating an environment of tension, misaligned expectations, and resource over-burn.

Not surprisingly, less than a third of projects are completed on time and within budget. The Standish Group’s CHAOS Summary 2009 found that:

• 32% of all projects were successful, meaning delivered on time, on budget, with required features and functions
• 44% were challenged; these projects were late, over budget, and/or with less than the required features and functions
• 24% failed which was denoted by those projects that were canceled prior to completion or delivered and never used (“Managing scope creep in project management,” 2017)

Because it is a slow-moving beast that can destroy projects by taking resources from the initial objectives to focus on side projects or additional requests that were not part of the original work order, you don’t see scope creep until you are deep in the suck of it. It’s like being stuck in the grip of a riptide. Once you get pulled in, you are easily taken out.

How do you handle those (almost guaranteed) supplemental requests? The best approach is not to say NO when asked to deviate from the agreed upon objectives but to say WAIT. It is not that the request cannot be accommodated, it is that it must be reviewed and created as an updated or separate work order. Saying YES to everything eventually breaks the structure making it impossible to complete a project as primarily outlined which in turn means that it has failed and the project manager has not done his or her job.

It is true that, at times, teams meet without the project manager (PM) present, it is important for the PM to have setup and communicated an action plan for additional requests when they come in because they will. As the project leader, the PM is responsible to ensure everyone knows how to handle the situation in a way that maintains the relationship while keeping the project on track.

Scope creep is detrimental to the success of any project. A project has clearly defined objectives, budget, timeline, and resourcing needs. Anything outside of that should be tabled for future review. Any steps you’re able to implement will bring you that much closer to avoiding and controlling scope creep. That way, you are in a better position to control your project, instead of your project controlling you.

References

Larson, R. & Larson, E. (2009). Top five causes of scope creep ... and what to do about them. Paper presented at PMI? Global Congress 2009—North America, Orlando, FL. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Scope Creep (2017) Retrieved August 26, 2017 from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24779/scope-creep

Managing scope creep in project management. (2017). Retrieved August 26, 2017 from https://www.villanovau.com/resources/project-management/project-management-scope-creep/