Scope Management Reading

Introduction

Projects by their nature are meant to be a temporary effort to complete a goal.  That means every project should have an end date.  The end date depends on the size of the scope and the amount of resources we have to complete the project.  The triple constraint tells us this but more importantly, it states that an increase in scope can affect the need for more time and/or resources.  From a Project Manager’s standpoint, this means increased cost as well, which usually is not a good thing.

Managing scope is a critical part of the SDLC.  Not only is this the responsibility of the Project Manager, but it is also the responsibility of everyone on the IT Development Team.  To manage scope, we must first identify the correct scope and then prioritize it based on assessing the value and feasibility of the scope.  After we agree on the scope we must closely monitor progress to ensure we stay on track and hit critical milestones that affect deployments.

Managing scope is a complex task and can be done in many ways, so in this reading we’ll mention some of the best practices for helping your team manage scope.

Scope Creep

Meet the infamous “Scope Creep”.   The Creep is a long-term foe of any project.  It’s so well-known that the first professor of MIS 374 created a viral dance that was named after it.  Don’t believe us!?!  Check this out Links to an external site.

In a project, scope creep (aka requirement creep, function creep and feature creep) refers to continuous or uncontrolled changes/growth in a project’s scope, at any point after the scope is initially defined. This can occur when the scope of a project scope is not properly defined, isn’t properly documented, or just isn’t controlled. Scope Creep

It is generally considered harmful BUT, as we begin to embrace an Agile mentality, we also recognize that requirements are not likely to be static.  It’s realistic that in iterative development and communication, a user story may require some tweaking or necessary change.  Scope changes in an Agile project can be tolerated if properly managed, rather than completely avoided.  The overall goal is to avoid uncontrolled or continuous change that derails overall progress, increases costs uncontrollably, or increases client frustration.  This is what we call Scope Creep.

As soon as you recognize a potential increase in scope it should be identified and addressed.  It could stem from changes in requirements, poor communication about priorities or the plan, under-estimating a user story’s effort, inefficient resources, or other shifts in the triple constraint.

Tips to Manage Scope

  1. Be user-centric. Put yourself in the client’s shoes.  This will ensure we define the scope correctly and can worry less about undiscovered scope later.
  2. Get clients involved in the requirements definition process AND prioritization process.
  3. Constantly monitor your plan day-to-day so you can address issues asap. That means setting more incremental goals in your plan and not just fixating on the project end.
  4. Making the plan visible. Putting the plan in a centrally accessible place reduces plan confusion.
  5. Focus on MVP (minimum viable product) before you move on to version 2.0. Give the client the assurance that putting something on the backburner doesn’t mean it won’t get done.  Some 374 projects last 2 semesters.