Agree on Scope Before Launching a Project

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Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

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Scope creep is all too common in projects of all sizes, in every industry and sector.

Various stakeholders ask the team to produce more and more as work progresses, without understanding the effects on the project’s schedule or budget. Left unmanaged, scope creep will cause your project to fail. You’ll end up over budget, missing key deadlines, and delivering low-quality outcomes.

o To avoid this, you need to make an agreement with stakeholders about scope before launching your project.

o If you help them understand the project’s goals, you can work with them to list what’s in scope and what’s not. Things are out of scope if they don’t directly support the project goal, or if there’s not enough time or money to accomplish them.

o Create “in scope” and “out of scope” lists together, so once the project is rolling, you’ll know what to focus on and how to prioritize future requests.

Adapted from “Video: How to Manage Scope Creep,” by Raymond Sheen.

To check out that resource and join the discussion, please click here.

Also, you may wish to check out an anthology, Management Tips from Harvard Business Review, by clicking here.

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