Datasheet

Frame the Work Within Your Budget

From this, it’s important to remember that the project’s budget can be a valuable tool in mitigating scope

creep. Just as our scope statement helps us understand what is out of our project’s jurisdiction, so, too,

can our budget help us mitigate unnecessary changes. If there are insufficient funds for a requested

change, then the issue is quickly rendered moot.

Failing that, it’s worth discussing with our client just exactly how this change will impact the budget

and the project timelines. Frequently, the relationship between additional work and additional time or

cost is forgotten in the heat of a fast-paced project. By demonstrating that X amount of work will require

Y additional dollars at Z billable hours, we can work with our client to assess exactly how much of a pri-

ority the scope change actually is. (We were never especially good at algebra, but please bear with us.)

This might sound as though we’re trying to get out of additional work— quite the opposite, in fact (after

all, we must pay for those plane tickets to Bali). Rather, it’s our responsibility as contractors to help our

clients attach a quantitative measure of importance to that work; namely, does the amount of additional

time and funds justify the importance of this new project? Weighed in this manner, this latest work can

be assessed by our clients against the other parts of the project scope. If the scope change is ultimately

decided to be a must-have, then we can work with our client to decide how to proceed— should the

timeline and budget for the project be revised, or should some other aspect of the project be foregone to

usher in this new task.

Moving Forward

Of course, if the client is willing to alter the scope and the budget to accommodate a vital change, then we

need to be equally flexible. Much as we did before beginning the project, we need to establish the scope

for the requested change. What kind of work will it entail? How long will it take? How many resources

will it require? Once these questions have been answered, we can more accurately estimate exactly how

this scope creep will affect the project as a whole. If designing those holiday cards will require three days

of design and review, then that needs to be communicated to our client. While we might not be able to

produce what they’re asking for in the requested time, an open and frank discussion about how long this

request will take— and how it will therefore impact the larger project— will often follow.

While discussions of pricing and process are no doubt difficult ones to have with your clients, it is

extremely important to remain firm on these issues. If it helps, try not to see these discussions as a

means to protect the bottom line. Rather, every client will try to test the limits of the project’s scope; the

more you capitulate to out-of-scope requests on short notice, the more they will anticipate and expect

this behavior. This can quickly lead to projects that fly wildly off of the original specification and sched-

ule, which will in turn push back delivery dates. Neither the designer nor the client will be pleased with

this result. Therefore, maintaining a firm (but fair) line on these issues will help you meet the project

goals — and your client’s expectations — successfully.

Constant Communication

Not to sound too much like a greeting card, but communication is quite possibly the element that deter-

mines a project’s success. Conversely, the lack of effective communication can run an otherwise well-

planned project aground. As the project manager, you must remain in constant touch with your clients

about the status of the project, potential shifts in scope, upcoming delivery dates, and milestones. In

short, the more touchpoints you can maintain with your client about how the project is progressing, the

better. We’ve never been on a project that ran off-track because of too much communication. However,

we’ve definitely seen instances where insufficient contact met with disaster.

Chapter 1

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