Meat + Poultry - June 2009 - 80

SCOPE CREEP

the other hand, changes that are part
of the scope-creep problem are things
that add to project costs without bringing direct beneﬁt/value to the project.
For example, the plant might want to replace a piece of older equipment "while
we're at it," but that equipment is not
essential to the project's goal.
The key to understanding the difference between scope changes and
scope creep, and therefore avoiding
having "uh, oh" moments, is to stay
focused on project success criteria
without discouraging the input of
new ideas, and to learn to recognize

the primary causes of scope creep. In
most cases, scope creep is generated
from three primary sources: a failure to include all of the appropriate
stakeholders in the scope deﬁ nition
phase of the project, limited experience level of participants and activities that occur as part of the funding
approval process. For each of these
root causes, communication is important. The level and quality of communication between project participants
- or lack thereof - can be a strong
indicator of whether scope creep will
be managed successfully.

Tools to help ideas ﬂourish, prevent scope creep
A variety of tools and methodologies can be used to help effectively manage
scope creep. There are processes that assist in creating a clear deﬁ nition of
the project scope, budgeting contingency, creating goals or critical success
factors (CSFs) and even assisting with the scope approval process.
It is also a good idea to apply a planning process to systematically identify and consider the needs and expectations of all stakeholders, as well as
determine speciﬁc actions during the course of the project. To help minimize scope creep opportunities for its clients, Cincinnati-based Hixson
Architects and Engineers uses a planning methodology called "Displayed
Thinking" in its project sessions. With this methodology, written thoughts,
ideas, work plans, etc., are posted for all team members to see. The information remains posted throughout the duration of the project and is added
to or modiﬁed as needed.
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June 2009

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Stakeholder buy-in
Projects can sometimes start and
evolve quickly. If all potential stakeholders are not at the table or fully engaged, though, this can cause issues
later down the road. On a project, this
means ascertaining whether every key
stakeholder group in the company that
could have an input to your project is
represented. Gather input from marketing, sales, quality control, distribution, regulatory agencies, R&D, ﬁnance,
the business unit and more - ideally,
everyone that "gets" the product...operation...and your company...to minimize scope creep. Working together,
this team can help clarify the overall
project needs, determining how the
product will be manufactured, qualitytested, stored, shipped and delivered
to customers.
Of course, involving multiple stakeholders in a project brings risk, too.
For all companies, large or small, the
number of stakeholders on a project
can be enormous. Another department, another agency, another quality
person, etc., always seems to be coming to the table. Certainly, the bigger
the organization, the greater the risk
that can arise from having too many
opinions involved. It is important to
recognize that there is a clear difference between group input and group
decision-making. Getting group input
is good. Group decision-making is not:
Well-formed project teams have someone on board (e.g., an industry expert
or someone closely tied to the project
sanctioner) who is endowed with the
power to make sure that any decisions
regarding project requirements will help
achieve the company's long-term vision,
rather than just being a "nice-to-have"
add-on option.
Beyond having multiple opinions
to navigate, multiple stakeholders also
means understanding where hand-offs
will occur. Because every project has
multiple hand-off points between internal and external stakeholders, the
responsibilities of each entity must be
clearly delineated. When team members
are not sure, they often will assume

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Meat + Poultry - June 2009

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