Managing Scope Creep & Client Expectations

Tera Simon@tcaldsimon

Managing Scope Creep and Client

Expectations

PEOPLE ARE THE REASON WHY PROJECTS GO WRONG

What skills are essential for managing client expectations?

+ Adaptability

+ Collaboration

+ Communication

+ Listening

+ Relationship building

+ Honesty

+ Transparency

NO ONE TEACHES A CLIENT HOW TO BE A CLIENT.

Identify what type of client you have.

+ The Curious

+ The Oblivious

+ The Know-It-All

+ The Cheapskate

+ The Dreamer

+ The Helper

+ The Sprinter

+ The Underling

PAY ATTENTION TO THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

"So I creep, yeah, just creepin' on,On the down low, 'cept nobody is

supposed to know."

- TLC

Know when problems creep into your project

SCOPE CREEP

● Interference from client

● Incomplete scope● Poor change control● Miss Communication

EFFORT CREEP

● Doing more work without added scope

● Overly optimistic estimates

● Lack of skills

HOPE CREEP

● Team falsely reports they are on track

● Hardest creep to identify

● Hides until the last moment

FEATURE CREEP

● Also known as Gold-plating

● Over-delivery on the scope

● Adding unnecessary features

JUST SWIPE LEFT

DOCUMENT. DOCUMENT. DOCUMENT.

CONTINUOUSLY CLARIFY YOUR GOALS

CREATE MORE VISIBILITY

PAY ATTENTION TO...

SWOOP AND POOP

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it

has taken place.”

- George Bernard Shaw

I’VE WAFFLED BEFORE, I’LL WAFFLE AGAIN.

QUESTIONS?