Importance Of Controlling Scope Creep

Importance Of Controlling Scope Creep

I found that the Project Management Book of Knowledge has defined scope creep as an uncontrolled expansion of product or project scope without any adjustments to time, costs, and resources.[Pro17] Scope creep may enable a project to become behind and over budget. Change is unavoidable in the process of any project; however, the project manager has control to prevent scope creep by executing change controls and ensuring that the work being done is within a well-defined project scope.

To lessen scope creep, a project manager should make cohesive change control from the start of the project. The procedure requires that any change requests after a project has been baselined. [Pro17] Changes must be written down and put into the change management system. The project manager would then evaluate the effect of the change on the project’s time and cost. Once the impact of this change is determined, the difference the project manager has made would need to be approved, postponed, or rejected. After approval, the project manager must evaluate cost estimates, resource necessities, and workload schedules. Then it is the project manager’s responsibility to communicate with the project team and the customer any discrepancies that the changes will cause to the scope of work from the beginning of the project.

Need help with your assignment ? Reach out to us. We offer excellent services.

Jack Meredith and Samuel Mantel discuss five guidelines to ease scope creep. (Mantel & Meredith, 2012).

One is that all the project agreements must describe how requests for changes in any part of the project will be brought forth and implemented.

Second, Once the project has been approved, any change made in the project will be in the form of a change order that will include a description of the agreed-upon change together with any changes in the plan, budget, schedule, and deliverables resulting from the change.

Third, the project manager must be checked on all anticipated changes before preparing and approving the change. However, the project manager’s consent is not required.

Fourth, Changes must be approved, in writing, by the client’s agent and senior management of the firm responsible for the project.

Finally, Once the change order has been done and approval made. The project master plan should be amended to show the change, and then the change order becomes part of the master plan.

In conclusion, there will always be changes during a project. The project manager can alleviate such changes from starting scope creep by integrating change controls. Change is not always the reason for scope creep; having a project manager who cannot adjust and manage changes is the most influential cause.

References

Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2016). Project Management: The Managerial Process. In E. W. Larson, & C. F. Gray, Project Management: The Managerial Process. McGraw-Hill.

Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge.

Newtown, PA: Project Management Institute: PMBOK 6th Edition.

Meredith, J. R., & Mantel Jr., S. (2012). Project Management; A Managerial Approach 8th Edition. J. Wiley.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Please write a short paper describing why it is essential for the project manager to control scope creep. Explain how the project manager manages changes to the approved project plan. Include at least four change control guidelines that can be integrated into the project management plan.

Importance Of Controlling Scope Creep

What to Submit:

Short papers should use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to the APA citation method. Page-length requirements: 1–2 pages.

· Include the principal elements and requirements and cites multiple examples to illustrate each aspect.

· Provides in-depth analysis that demonstrates a complete understanding of multiple concepts.

·  All of the course concepts are correctly applied.

· Draws insightful conclusions that are thoroughly defended with evidence.

· Incorporates many scholarly resources that effectively reflect the research’s depth and breadth.