OK’ing every other client request, agreeing to small changes and adjustments here and there and guess what? Your scope is never coming back to what was planned initially. Does this mean you have to decline the requests, and rejects the changes? Obviously not, so let’s see what are the DO’s and DON’Ts to keep the scope under control.
To figure out ways to avoid this, we have to understand the reasons in the first place. I’m sure you’ve already had a client that just won’t stop changing their mind, sending pages of ‘small changes’ and expecting the project to be delivered on time and within the agreed budget.
While you should never say “No” to the client you should also know how to say “Yes” so that they fully grasp what potential alterations it may cause to the scope, time and budget. Here are some simple yet effective ways to keep your project scope under control.
Clarify who the stakeholders are. If you know who the key people are approving or declining the requests it’ll be easier for you to set communication channels for all of them beforehand. Knowing your stakeholders is important not only for the benefit of getting fast and reliable feedback but also to know who you are dealing with and whether the number of stakeholders isn’t exceeding the norms. Being dependable on too many people’s approval may sometimes slow down even the simplest processes. Let’s not even talk about opposing feedbacks that would make things even more chaotic.
Keep everyone updated. Well, you may think this one is obvious and sure it is, however, at the same time it’s one of the main reasons projects go over initially set scopes. Communicate not only about the issues you’re dealing with at the moment but more importantly about the potential ones. This will help to create a plan before facing the issue. Even if everything is going perfectly, just keep everyone on the same page. Through regular communication, the expectations and deliverables become clear to everyone involved. In this way, you’ll bring the number of new requests to the minimum or even better, avoid them altogether.
Define the change process, and avoid the headaches. Make sure to explain the process and clearly state that no matter how big or small the requested changes are, they should all be dealt with in the same manner. In this way, clients will be inclined to keeping things as planned and not go overboard with crazy additions.
Managing the expectations of the stakeholders can be one of the most challenging tasks a project manager can face. However, when there is a predefined scope, it helps everyone to stay on the same page throughout the life cycle of the project. This is the way we manage our projects at Fifth. Scope management helps us avoid many potential issues by clearly defining and communicating the scope to everyone involved in the project.
Project scope creates the basis for each decision a project manager makes and when it changes, effective communication will ensure a successful outcome every step of the way.
These were my tips for keeping the scope in check. What are yours?
