Friday, June 14, 2013
Analyzing Scope Creep
I can describe a professional experience on a project that ran into all
of the scope creep issues that were mention in the example provided (unplanned
deliverables, financing issues and timeline issues ). The project I am
describing is a project that, last I heard, was an absolute failure. I worked
on this project for just shy of a year and I had seen it all. It was a systems
implementation that was to be a full release to the entire organization. The
deadline estimate was short but workable. However, after some time it became
clear that there were issues merging the new system with existing systems etc.
At first this was not too alarming as it is common to run into issues but after
several months of false release deadlines it became clear that this project was
turning into a money pit. At the time I simple kept my head down and focused on
the work I had in front of me. I was a developer on the project and I was
expecting the project managers to help salvage the project. If I had been in the
position of PM on the project, after pulling my hair out, I would have to be
very honest with the team about how miserably the project is going. I would
have just asked for the project to be placed on hold until the systems issues
were figured out instead of continuing to put in effort and finances toward the
project. There was an attempted late into the project but it was too late. I think I did all I could do considering my
role on the project and trust me I complained, a lot.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Implementing new systems can be a real "money pit" as you describe and software or systems is never an easy thing to do and integration is usually under-estimated.
ReplyDeletePortny et al define risk management as "the process of identifying possible risks, assessing heir potential impact on a project, and developing and implementing plans for minimizing their negative effects" (2008, p. 378). Do you think the PM did a proper risk analysis from the beginning of the project? Do you think it would have salvaged the project if the risks had been identified and mitigation plans put into place during the planning/conceive phase?
Here is an article about an AF project that ran into similar difficulties--to the tune of $1 billion:
http://www.eaconsult.com/2012/12/18/when-cots-costs-too-much-oracle-the-us-air-force-and-a-1-billion-project-failure/
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Kathy,
ReplyDeleteWow, how challenging that must have been for you to see that things just were not working and not having the ability to do much about it except to complain.
In addition to scope creep, it sounds like this project suffered from a lack of honest communication. Were there any project meetings? Weekly meets may have improved the results of the project. According to Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer (2008), “When handled correctly, meetings can help project managers learn about other team members’ backgrounds, experience, and styles; stimulate brainstorming, problem analysis, and decision making; and provide a forum for people to explore the reasons for and interpretations of a message” (Portny, et al., 2008, pp. 359-360).
Additionally, as we learned last week, it sounds like the project risks were not thoughly assessed. A contingency plan may have saved the project team many headaches.
Thanks for sharing.
Reference
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.