There are 2 main goals that you as the project manager would
need to think about when dealing with scope creep.
- When planning always plan as close to detail as possible. Project control is very important, this would lead to reconfirming the plan, assessing performance, taking corrective action and keeping people informed (Portny, 2008).
Here is a real life example:
The location of my job, there are two major buildings that
consist of 6 different alternative school programs. Our school has one building all to ourselves
the other building has the remaining 5 programs. The plans of building an expansion to the
other building has begun 3 weeks ago. As
the project began the crew closed off certain parts of the building still
giving us access to specific sections of the building. The all of a sudden we were told the section
where we would use to walk through to get to the gym we would not be able to
use because the project it a little bit of a snag. The gas line needed to be changed before
construction began, and this was in the original plan, but in the plans it was
stated as contacting PSE&G and they will come in and make the changes before
construction, well PSE&G is stating no one has called them and that they
will have to wait their turn, this delay could take several weeks before
PSE&G cones out to change the gas line.
Well this makes a big issue in the projects plan because they have a
specific timeline and if they finish before a certain date, the construction company
gets an incentive bonus. Well the person
who planned this project thought of the scope creep very well because of
instead of waiting they will work on the expansion side they thought about
doing at the end of the project and work backwards to give time for the
PSE&G to come in and do their part.
The project manager met with all of the school’s principals and the head
of the maintenance department to inform them of the changes that need to occur
and apologized for the changes. So now
our school and another will be taking a detour for next 6 months when walking
up to the gym, but at least we know we will only be dealing with this at the beginning
of the project and not at the end. The
project manger did a great job of making the changes needed for the project to continue
as planned.
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.
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.
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ReplyDeleteHi Neal,
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy reading real-life examples about your work. According to Van Rekom (2010), scope creep can be a major challenge faced by project managers during ID projects. In your example, it sounds like the project manager made some good decisions along the way to avoid scope creep, despite the PSE&G delay. I'm sure your school appreciated how the PM met with the principals at each school and the maintenance department to keep them in the loop of project delays and solutions. This makes me think that he took appropriate action in communicating with all project team members as Portny, et al. (2008) suggest when a risk comes alive.
The PM came up with a good solution to work backwards on the project until PSE&G could complete their work. I wonder if the PM developed a risk management plan to prepare for this specific contingency. Do you know?
Thanks,
Kaylin
References:
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.
Van Rekom, P., Achong, T., & Budrovich, V. (2010). Project management and instructional design
[video]. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com.
Neil,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like there was a communication break down between the PM, and PSE&G. I hope that there was a contingency plan in place. This allows for some scope creep and what will happen if something falls apart. According to Portny, et. Al(2008) a plan-monitor-control cycle is an ongoing process that happens through out a project until it is completed (p.317).
Though you may be temporarily put out, hopefully this the PM has a plan in place to keep you all informed of the progress of the construction and any changes to the schedule that may happen.
Chris
References
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.