Lynch and Roecker (2007) explain, “Scope creep refers to uncontrolled changes in the requirement of the course as defined in the scope definition of the project management plan” (p. 96). We have learned that “scope creep” throughout the life span of most projects is inevitable and often time it will occur. My experience of scope creep occurred during the implementation of our new education program within my current organization.
The scope of the project was to provide paralegal courses for individuals both through distance learning and a residency program. A major selling point of the program initially outlined that the organization would cover the cost of tuition for all students, along with the cost of books for all required classes. The organization pre-ordered books for five primary paralegal courses at the onset of the program, but during planning the organization made a decision that students would be required to purchase any books that were not a part of the five primary paralegal courses. Once course enrollment began and as students learned of this requirement it was not well received and was the center of much debate. Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer (2008) explain, “The most common result of scope creep is an upset client who was not told how long the change delays the project…” (p. 346). This change in organization’s policy was very upsetting for many students. The student’s main concern has been that the program was being advertised as a requirement to work in the field than why should the student have to share the burden of any out of pocket expenses. As these concerns began to make their way to the head of our organization a decision was made that we needed to find a way to remove any financial responsibilities from the students.
This change of scope within the program has required us to go back to the drawing board and design a course of action to relive students of any financial burden. Since the scope of our program never included purchasing so many various textbooks we are now faced with exploring ways to cover these costs. Our initial budget outlined in the resource and planning process was never approved to cover these extra textbooks and has now expanded the scope of what was initial decided. To help resolve the issue participating students’ primary command are now being asked to share in the purchasing of any required textbook to help alleviate the need for requesting any additional funding to cover the cost of these textbooks. Over the long haul of the program additional funding will be required to ensure its success. Looking back at this project, planners made a huge mistake in underestimating that students would not read into the letter of the organization’s guidelines for monitoring this project and raise their concerns to the point that a significant change would be required.
References:
Lynch, M. M., & Roecker, J. (2007). Project managing e-learning: A handbook for successful design, delivery, and management. London: Routledge. Copyright by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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.
