Hollywood Secrets of Project Management Success

Chapter 10. Stick to the Script

In the world of technology development, scope creep has probably caused more projects to spin out of control than any other single problem or issue. Scope creep occurs when requirements fall into an uncontrolled state of flux—existing ones change, new ones slip in, and others become obsolete. When it does, the project manager’s ability to manage schedule, costs, and product quality is greatly diminished. Yet scope creep remains an all-too-common problem in corporate IT shops. In fact, many organizations simply accept it as part-and-parcel with the job and are resigned to deal with its fallout, rather than addressing its underlying cause. But the cause itself is no mystery: Scope creep stems from a loose and unstructured ...