A stakeholder demands project scope changes. How will you navigate this delicate situation?
Navigated a stakeholder's project scope change before? Share your strategies for managing this tricky situation.
A stakeholder demands project scope changes. How will you navigate this delicate situation?
Navigated a stakeholder's project scope change before? Share your strategies for managing this tricky situation.
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In today's dynamic market situations, ever-changing political & geo-political scenario and an unpredictable/fickle consumer behaviour, scope changes in a project can never be ruled out completely. In such a delicate situation, the project manager has to deeply understand the need for the change and deftly assess how that scope chamge would impact the project's QCD. Taking the project team members' views, the PM needs to re-plan the project so that QCD are as minimally impacted as possible. Thereafter, the final impact projection needs to be clearly communicated to the stakeholders so that the project outcome is well understood by all and there are no surprises in the end delivery.
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Scope changes happens ALL THE TIME in software development. The key is to stay flexible and not get too annoyed. There are only 3 variables in a project plan: time, scope and cost. Time will pass regardless, so only scope and cost can be renigotiated. It's usually not possible to reduce the cost without reducing the scope, and vice versa. It might be possible to get something faster by getting more resources like more engineers, but not always. It's useful to have the original plan as a reference and document the new or last iteration of the plan. Agree, and then execute. Report out and stay in touch on a regular basis to limit surprises and assumptions.
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The best thing that worked for me is to 1-clearly understand the request, 2-Reviewing the request with respect to Scope, 3-Evaluate the impact of this change with project team, 4-Get approval or agreement on impact evaluation, 5- Assign tasks for implementing the change, 6-Monitor the implementation.
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1. Listen Actively: Ensure you fully understand the stakeholder request 2. Assess Impact: Analyze how the change will affect the project in terms of time, cost, resources, and overall objectives 3. Document the Change: Record the details of the request 4. Engage the Team 5. Communicate Options: Present the stakeholder options, including the original scope, the proposed change, and alternatives. 6. Negotiate: discuss possible approaches to implement it without derailing the project 7. Update Project Plans: proceed with the change, update project documentation, timelines, and resources 8. Seek Formal Approval: Ensure that the change is formally approved 9. Manage Expectations: Communicate any adjustments to all stakeholders
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Assuming that this is _not_ a scope reduction, you should immediately embrace this demand and rewrite the project scope to represent the biggest possible scope that the stakeholder could possibly want. This demand is an incredible gift from the stakeholder because it gives you almost unlimited cover for running over time and budget because you can now point to the stakeholder's demands as the one and only cause for the project's inevitable failure.
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When a stakeholder demands project scope changes, begin by listening carefully to understand their concerns and motivations. Acknowledge their request and explain the potential impact on timelines, budget, and resources. Offer to assess the feasibility of the changes by collaborating with your team to explore options. Present potential solutions, such as adjusting the scope incrementally, extending deadlines, or reprioritizing tasks, while being transparent about the trade-offs involved. Keep communication open and involve the stakeholder in decision-making. This ensures they feel heard while maintaining the project's integrity and balancing the needs of both parties.
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Think carefully before demanding rather than understanding as a stakeholder. In a healthy setup, changes are perfectly normal. We have to adapt and find ways to work towards what’s needed and help stakeholders understand the costs and trade offs required. Stakeholders are invested in the success of the project and act as enablers towards a shared mission. In this scenario, calmly assessing and bringing options to the table do both sides can get their needs met works well. In an unhealthy setup ‘demands’ can cause teams not to feel safe to discuss trade offs, leading to dodgy work arounds, negative cultural impact and mismanagement that can have severe consequences for the business depending on the project. Act with empathy on all sides.
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It’s usually normal behavior. I have never seen if you follow %100 RFQ for the projects. So for the changes we should as which parts are affected. Sometimes just timing wise nothing changes on the cost? Sometimes only changes for materials and human resources. So from the project management perspective we should always be ready for these kind of challenges.
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Changes to project scopes will require to be weighed up. A gap analysis will have to be carried out between the original poject and the requested changes. Legislational requirements, changes in costs +/-, effect on completion with original timelines will have to be analysed at the least. The changes have to be achievable and reported back what isn't achievable.
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Scope Changes 101 1 Listen hard and never respond immediately. 2 Identify root cause of change, who really owns the change 3 Identify if it falls outside the scope of the agreed contractual arrangements. 4 Explore all alternatives, nothing is impossible it just comes with cost and risk elements. 5 Don’t blame just, make clear the true options however bad they may be and get on with. 6 Just be honest, I find most people spend more time covering backs rather than finding a solution. There is always a way.
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