Scope Creep in Project Management

Scope creep has been the biggest challenge facing project managers and needs to be managed using clearly defined and controlled methods. Scope creep occurs when new aspects are added to already design products without the addition of time, resources and budget. There are various causes of scope creep in project management which includes the following. Poor requirements analysis whereby the people involved do not have the exact idea of what they need and rather give the wrong ideas. Lack of user’s involvement is also another cause where ones tend to think they know what is best for their customers. Also when a project is new in an industry it can be challenging to the project managers. Scope creep can also be as a result of poor communication between the parties involved in the project.

It’s, however, possible to manage scope creep in project management. There are various steps which can be taken by the project managers to prevent scope creep. First, they should ensure that they understand the vision of the project in a good way. This can be achieved by meeting with the project drivers and have a look at the project in general then get their comments and opinions. Again the project managers should ensure that they have understood their priorities and those of the project drivers. They should also present their deliverables to the project drivers for approval. After the deliverables have been approved they should break them into actual work requirements. After this stage, they should then break the project into different phases and present a project schedule to be approved by the project drivers. After the schedule has been approved the project managers should assign the required resources.

According to the article, proper planning is the most important thing in each project. Before commencing anything it’s good to have an overview and plan carefully with the help of other experts. It is also good to have good communication with the people you are working for so as to know what exactly they need. This will avoid any kind of mistakes which normally occur due to carelessness.

Reference

Villanovau.Com, 2018, https://www.villanovau.com/resources/project-management/project-management-scope-creep/#.WqOTZWpubIU..