Strategies to Manage Scope Creep

              Over the past six months, I have been fortunate to have been tasked with managing a very large complex curriculum project that includes a total overhaul of scoring and classification schemas, assessment delivery, student score reporting and updates to teacher resources and professional developmnet. One of the biggest challenges has been obtaining alignment between all stakeholders internally and externally.  Additionally, there is a committee of academics involved in the inputs to the design of the curriculum and assessment. 

                Because the curriculum and delivery methodology is “new” there continues to be additional scope creep on all fronts and which is causing competing priorities and project schedule risks.  All of these stakeholders continue to have “one more good idea” that they like to incorporate into the project. The good news is there is a formal change control process in place and agreed to by both parties.  The bad news is costing and completing a revised cost estimate takes weeks and hours of effort to get it signed and approved.  We have a fast track for VP approval and that too often encounters delays.

               This project is still in progress and upon reflection of the past six month there are several things that I can do and approve upon to better prevent scope creep, reduce churn and enhance communications. 

• More frequent high level  communication updates to high level management internally and externally in both written and face to face sync up meetings.
• Create a project review board that batches up changes to be looked at their entirety (Portny et al.,2008).
• Translate the changes requested into a scope impact document to that all involved can understand the costs and impacts prior to submitting them to the change control board (Portny et al., 2008).

-Michelle Cosner

Resources

Portny, E., Mantel,J., Meredith, R., Shafer, M., Sutton M., & Kramer, E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.