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3. The Project Plan and Managing Scope Creep

The Project Plan and Managing Scope Creep

Managing scope creep is a key activity that project managers deal with on every project; yet as sure as the sun rises and sets each day, projects will incur changes, which are usually caused by one or more of the following: 

1. Erred in the initial assessment about how to achieve a given end 
2. Technology uncertainty 
3. Increased project knowledge of client/user or modification of the rules applying to the process of carrying out the project1.

With project teams becoming more global and diverse, the problem of scope creep becomes a more complicated management task, because project teams traverse multiple time zones, speak different languages, and have a different cultural and business philosophy. This diverse complexity brings a new dimension to project dynamics, which project managers need to deal with on a case-by-case basis. 

As a project manager with AT&T, this was one of the most demanding and challenging activities in managing projects. More than once, team members would talk past each other because of their business or social culture, and would make agreements which were based on their individual or organizational paradigm rather than what the project was to accomplish. This mis-communication during the early stages of the projects set the stage for scope creep as the project progressed. 

The solution that I have utilized in controlling these types of issues was to expand the project plan and other types of project documentation to include descriptive narratives, which provide clear details on the WBS, network diagram, and schedule. By taking the extra time to develop these types of narratives, I was able to ensure that all project team members and project stakeholders had a clearer understanding of the project activities, goals and objectives, deliverables and dependencies. 

One reason I took this approach is that everyone processes and interprets information differently based on their individual work experience, skill set, cultural background, and language. My first experience with this type of mis-communication occurred when I was a project manager with an AT&T Bell Labs. I was assigned as a project manager during the implementation phase to manage the network implementation. 

In attending one of my first meetings between the Bell Labs team and the Network Operations team, I observed both teams agreeing to a specific process that was based on their individual perceptions and organizational paradigm. They were talking past each other and at the same time making agreements that were not based on project goals and objectives. I had to spend considerable time educating both sides and documenting a project plan and a process that would get the project back on track. 

So when I was assigned to project manage an AT&T international joint venture project in Mexico with a team comprised of members from both Mexico and the United States, I decided to take the time and document a detailed project plan that would provide team members with a clear understanding of the project’s goals, objectives, deliverables, roles, and responsibilities.With team members having a diverse technical background, cultural, and language differences, I felt that it was important that everyone received the same information, so that the team would have a solid baseline to work from.
 
By taking the time to develop a clear and concise project plan, I was able to keep the team focused on the project objective and minimize scope creep. It was not always easy, but any time issues arose, I would refer the team back to the project plan and ask a simple question as follows: “Is that documented in the project plan?” If the answer was no, the subject was closed. 

In addition to controlling scope creep, a detailed project plan can educate new team members, so that they can become productive team members faster. Some project managers may view this as redundant effort or even documentation overkill, but I believe that it has made my job easier as the project progresses, because it is an effective tool that “clearly” defines all work required so that it will be readily identifiable to each project participant. 

Developing Narratives 

Before developing the narratives, the WBS has to be finalized. Once the WBS has been completed, the project manager can instruct the planning team to initiate the development of the narratives, which will establish a common reference point for “all” project stakeholders to fully understand not only their individual deliverables, but also how the entire project fits together. This type of information will accelerate the stakeholders’ project learning curve so that scope creep and change can be minimized and effectively controlled.

In developing the narratives, the project manager needs to provide the planning team with narrative guidelines and directions as follows: 

• Narratives will support the WBS. 
• Narratives should be clear and concise. 
• Narratives should state exactly what the deliverable is 
• Narratives should include the name of the organization and/or individual who has delivery responsibility. 
• Narratives should include intervals and any associated risks. 

Utilizing the WBS in the diagram, the process begins with documenting an overview or summary at Level 0 of the project objectives. At Level 1, the narratives describe the details of what has to be delivered, interval of the delivery, dependencies, successors, ownership responsibility and other pertinent information that assists in expanding project knowledge. Depending on the complexity of the WBS and the information to be communicated to the stakeholders, the project manager may opt to have the planning team provide additional documentation at Level 2.
 
The following are examples of Level 1 narratives developed from the WBS shown: 

WBS #4.1 Develop Job Descriptions 

The new work center team will solicit input from the existing work centers and the Human Resources Department in order to identify work center job functions. Once this information has been compiled, the team will develop and redefine job descriptions for each associate and management function. This activity will take approximately three months to complete and is the primary responsibility of the team developing the organizational structure of the new work center. 

WBS #4.2 Develop Test Qualifications for each Job Description 

Once the job descriptions have been developed and approved, test qualifications will be developed for each job description. The organizational structure team will take the lead and the Human Resources team will be responsible for approving all test qualifications. This activity will take approximately three months to complete. 

As one can see, the narratives provide information of what is to be performed, the interval for completion and who is responsible to perform the task. In developing these types of narratives, there are two basic approaches that can be taken. The first approach is that the project manager can develop the narratives based on information collected from team members. This would occur if the project manager had not been assigned at the beginning of the project or a project manager was brought into to correct problems with a project. The second approach is the most logical and that is to have the individual team members with the expertise to develop the narratives for the activities that they have the lead on. This accomplishes a couple of things: 

1. It enables the team member to clearly define his/her deliverables, better analyze the intervals and resources, and identify the risks associated with the deliverables. The bottom line is that team members will have a better understanding of their project commitments. 

2. By documenting clear and concise information on project deliverables, the project team members and stakeholders obtain a definitive understanding of what has to be accomplished. It also builds off the scope document by providing additional information on the project deliverables, which is needed to manage scope creep. 


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Final Review, Consensus and Approval 

Once team members or the project manager have completed the initial draft, the project plan can be either circulated to team members and stakeholders for a review to accomplish the following: 

• Validate the information 
• Ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of the dependencies and deliverables 
• Make any necessary changes 
• Reach consensus with “all” team members and stakeholders that the document accurately reflects the project goals and objectives and tasks to be performed. 

In facilitating the review process, I have learned that the project manager needs to ensure that the project team members and stakeholders have agreement and consensus. In managing projects and teams with AT&T and other business organizations, I would verify that everyone was in agreement by individually polling each member of the team to ensure that they were in consensus and would support the project plan. This is an important process step in effectively managing the project and should be performed as the final review of the documented project plan. It will provide a solid foundation to managing the project and effectively controlling scope creep.

Summary 

Project changes and scope creep are extremely difficult to manage and as a project manager, you can never eliminate them totally from any project. However, you can minimize the impact of scope changes by taking the time to ensure that a clear and concise project plan is documented and agreed upon by the project team members and project stakeholders. By taking this step in the process to effectively educate those who are directly or indirectly involved in the project, you can effectively control changes and minimize scope creep by accelerating the learning curve of everyone who is involved in the project.