"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” - a Project Manager’s perspective

Penned by a Project Manager

When my friend passed this book, it had a sacred aura as if a parchment of scriptures was being handed. Amused thoroughly by this hand-over ceremony, I was more intrigued to read the title “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Another Motivational book? Perhaps. But I have seen guys hooked to 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins like a manual even citing page numbers and personally enthralled with sheer statistics in Malcolm McDowell’s ‘Outliers’. Come on, to quote Beatles were ‘also a band’ that did the gig and grind in German clubs for hours before they achieved the cult status made my eyes blink with disbelief.

So in  a way, Stephen Covey’ 7 Habits as its referred by my contemporaries made me feel nervous like holding Fluid Mechanics by PK Bhansal or Thermodynamics that did give the jitters then, when we were new and naïve as newcomers.   The fear is either misplaced or we reel locked up in a panic room. As Truman said ‘we have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ The title alone was enough to get me going because it doesn’t assure to make you successful but to succeed follow the 7 habits.

The more I read, the more I wanted to apply the learning to my professional sphere and as a Project Manager, Interestingly, we can apply the 7 habits into project management practice. Socrates said ““I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” So a book that makes one think is an amazing resource of education – the eternal spring of knowledge. Louis L'Amour was exquisite “Reading without thinking is nothing, for a book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think.” 

Without much ado, here are the 7 habits BE PROACTIVE, BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND, PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST, THINK WIN-WIN, SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD, SYNERGIZE, SHARPEN THE SAW.

Proactive:

It’s all about ownership and shouldering responsibilities. It’s the reactive that are influenced by other factors to indulge in blame game.  It will be pertinent to point L'Amour to stress about being proactive 

“Up to a point a man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him; then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, this I am today, that I shall be tomorrow.” 

You can only manage things that are under your control. The proactive persons devote their time and effort on things that can be controlled., primarily through Circle of Influence

·        These are the group of the people who will focus on issues in take care of things those are under their control  

·        They don’t blame other for the actions as their focus is more on the solving and resolving. Basically solutioning.

              

à You can relate this with Risk Management & Stakeholder Management

Begin End in Mind

It’s the ability to vision objective with action plan. Every organization has a mission statement and any undertaking (read as Project) will have its goals and mission. The prototype or blueprint is basically the model of the end-product. If development is connecting the dots, then planning is all about creating and placing and positioning the dots. Begin End in Mind typically stresses on the scope. You should know what needs to be done and also what is NOT to be accomodated.  You can plan on your resources and apportion tasks and assign by preparing the project plan.

à Relate this with Overall Project Plan – (Scope, Quality, Time & Cost)

Put First Things First

Plan all the tasks that can be done first by specifying the severity and assigning priority.  It’s about organization, management and execution. Balance it out. You don’t have to burn out. Revisit your project plan for prioritization as some developments might mandate that some tasks take precedence as against the planned action item or a resource originally delegated for a particular requirement need to be deployed elsewhere.

 à Review of the Project Plan and Execution

Think WIN-WIN

Spell success mutually. It has to work both ways. We are all in together and so should the benefits that are accrued as a result of the association. The budgeting must ensure the project doesn’t bleed and scope should be contained from bloating. It wouldn’t be fair-game if the vendor emerges as the victor at the cost of customer as a victim. Don’t over-price or undervalue. Be reasonable so that it’s a collaborative and co-operative effort wherein all the stakeholders involved share the results to realize the returns on investment.

à Relate with Communication Plan

SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

Perhaps the toughest. We seek to be heard before hearing. The loudest is one who is heard, lest voices are drowned in the din. We are quick to judge than reason; prejudice prevails above principle. We want to have the last word and have to be right always. Learn. And for that listen first. A willful listener who is genuinely interested and not merely pretending to hear. There are instance we hear with the sole intent to give it back not as a reply or response but retort. Also, there is the element of sub-conscious bias that creeps unnoticed and adversely influences our decision and deliberation.   The essence of communication is to understand as well as to be understood.

à Relate with Conflict Management

SYNERGIZE

Fundamentally teamwork. Synergy by definition is “the working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects”. It is indeed true that “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”  Meaning we draw strength from each other that makes us formidable team and a force to reckon. It would be a mistake to obscure an individual’s contribution – there are some stars that shine brightly. How the individual contribution broadens the funnel of opportunities and possibilities for team members makes it even more significant. Some team members come forward to wear multiple hats or some are made to multi task to further project’s progress and team’s interest. Synergy is the collective strength and combined effort expending in achieving a common goal.

à Relate with Conflict Management and People Management

  

SHARPEN THE SAW

It was Abraham Lincoln’ who famously quoted “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Work smart. It’s wise to invest time in figuring out the best possible ways to get the work done efficiently so as to enhance productivity. The best output in the given timeline, sometimes limited time always calls for smart work.  Its left to you in managing the given time and to optimize, you must  reinvent yourself and be at it. Its always about conserving your energy to combat challenges and crisis that comes in the way of work. The monotony of work – to be at the desk from dawn to dusk drains you down. Wont you feel weak and worn out? You want capitalize on newer opportunities or crash out because of overdoing? Try to lead a balanced life. Take your mind off by mediation or relaxation or spiritual activity. It helps to unplug once in a while to recharge and revitalize yourself.

          à Relate with Monitoring and Control

The above article was penned by one of the panel members who is an active and experienced Project Manager. iCert Global is a global learning provider specializing in the fields of Project Management amongst other offerings. You can learn more about Project management by signing up for our PMP® or PRINCE2 programs.  We wish to thank you for visiting our blog and hope your stay was productive and purposeful.

Advance your Career with Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®) Certification

There was an interesting and exciting write about Business Analysts - The 21st century business analyst is a liaison, bridge and diplomat who balances the oftentimes incongruous supply of IT resources and demands of the business. Forrester's research found that those business analysts who were most successful were the ones who could "communicate, facilitate and analyze."

Business Analyst, as a role and title, is often connected with IT industry given its dominating presence and dependence in the scope of business. This is not to discount or discredit Business Analysis in other industries but this article’s premise is clearly IT.

It’s the customer who drives the business. The stakeholders help create the ecosystem and the principal players play their part to progress and ensure profit. The endeavor should end in business value. The eyes are set at the topline and bottom line, and any business venture should demonstrate capabilities to monetize. The bottom line is the backbone. We have always toiled to profit in any profession and in software parlance Solution, as a way of business, is created based on the customer’s problem statement.

In business, the most difficult part is to please is your customer. Try as you might, they are never content. It’s an uphill task and times, unreasonable too. It’s unwise and unfair to expect the customer will record the requirement in their Business Requirement specification. The specification is subject to change as it evolving in nature but the scope should be pinned right at the start for change in scope can prove catastrophic.   

Who is a business analyst and the importance of business analysis?

Mind Is always applying to matters and in that sense we are all analysts. Business Analysts is a specialized skill wherein a smart combination of strategic smartness as that of a diplomat and analytical approach of an intelligence community.

 A Business Analyst should be able to handle aspects of both functional solution and technical solution in response to the business need in proposing a solution that s holistic and realistic.

Requirement gathering can be done through conventional ways like elicitation, ideation, brainstorming, or employ modern tools like prototyping, wireframing drawing the big picture or the end-product.

Who knows the scope better than a Business Analyst?

Business Analysts are not just touch points but the interface between the organization and the customer, translating business needs and providing feasible solutions that can be implemented at the agreed cost – which effectively contains scope. As the primary window for requirement gathering the Business Analyst is better placed at a vantage point in assessing and analyzing the scope better. Continuous dialogue and constant touch helps in shaping up the specification to systematically document the scope and bring on record ‘the out-of scope’ aspects as well. The customer of today is more empowered with data points at their fingertips and fluent in system architecture and talk technology as good as your technocrat. So quintessentially Business Analyst ought to be 2 steps ahead to preempt the perils and possible scenarios. Its that sense of anticipation that heightens the alertness which really sells. In case of  scope creeps, it will become an undersell. Therefore, the best to identify the scope is left to the Business Analyst and contain will become imperative upon the executor (Project Manager).

Why Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®)?

As a professional, you need to establish credibility and build trust. CBAP® certification criteria make it a mandate to possess 7500 hours of hands-on business experience which makes it extensive in terms of learning in terms of time and talent. Its given to understand that CBAP® certified professionals are ‘experts in identifying the business needs of an organization in order to determine the best solutions’ as stated in iiba.org. Just like PMP® for Project Management following the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® ) Guide, organization these days are stressing on the significant of a CBAP® certification for Business Analyst which follows The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide V2.0.) and is fast gaining currency as one of the best known benchmark for business analysis. CBAP certification enhances the human capital of an organization and builds competency in business analysis practice. Also the recognition and career advancement potential for the professional makes it a synergetic growth for the organization. It enables effective work with stakeholders associated and helps better understand the profession as an expert. 

As mentioned by iiba.org, CBAP® trained managers or provide CBAP trainings enjoy following benefits:

•    CBAPs are acknowledged as competent individuals who perform a role which is increasingly recognized as a vital component of any successful project.

•       CBAP can be identified as individuals with an advanced level of knowledge and qualifications

•       CBAP follow established standards as outlined in the IIBA BABOK® Guide V2.0.

•   CBAPs produce reliable, quality results with increased efficiency and consistency

Records sourced from IIBA.org states that there 6208 registered professionals and the number is growing at a staggering pace. There are 6 knowledge areas as prescribed in the BABOK® Guide V2.0.which you will have to become proficient to pass the certification. Our CBAP® certification course will provide the necessary training and learning based on BABOK® Guide V2.0.Some key modules are listed below for reference as part of the course agenda:

·         Introduction to CBAP

·         Enterprise Architecture

·         Developing A Solution Scope

·         Developing A Business Case

·         Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities

·         Elicitation Techniques

·         Requirements Planning

·         Risk Analysis and Management Enterprise Analysis/Business Case

·         Enterprise Analysis Tasks

·         Requirements Management and Communication 

·         Managing the Solution Scope Requirements

·         Traceability

·         Inputs to the Solution Scope

·         Managing Requirements Changes

·         Risk Analysis

·         SWOT Analysis

Manage Multiple Projects Effectively with a MSP® Certification

Amazing. Astounding. Awe-inspiring. The technology revolution has taken the industry by storm and dazzles with “disruptive technology “ or ‘creative destruction. Buzz words by the horde appear on the headlines startling you by its sheer ‘sentence-construct’. Many couldn’t decipher disruptive technology  then but we are now used to and even conversant to the point of expecting more. If you are someone juggling with more than one assignment – then talk of multi-tasking. Now when its managing  multi-projects, then the unknowns and unexpected changes complicates to a severity hitherto undefined.

So as one entrusted with the Program management, how do you anticipate the unexpected and negotiate the unforeseen changes? Please note that a program is a portfolio comprised of multiple projects.  Its common knowledge that managing large-scale programme can be very complex in terms of planning, organizing  and execution.   The business environment has changed drastically with the advent of mobile apps in every sphere of life and digitization of every dot, which demands completion at a pace that’s fast and yet cost-effective. While the scale and size in project and programs are growing, qualified professionals who can consistently perform and contribute are found wanting.

We recommend MSP® ( Managing Successful Programs). Your organization would want to continually improve, manage multiple projects to the minute detail, manage stakeholder expectation, provide value for investment, capitalize on business opportunities and become an enabler of change – which is why MSP® is strongly proposed to be pursued by your Personnel managing programs. MSP’s framework enables organization to break down complex programs in to manageable interrelated projects, balancing on the budget and staying on time without compromising the quality. Thus it’s a strategic approach to accomplish a complex engagement through transformation activities whereby a file is split as dossiers, organized, implemented  and executed to achieve the intended outcome or business result, in other words, business value.

MSP® sets out successful programs

Pcubed has found MSP to be an effective platform upon which to develop a program or assess the effectiveness of those already underway. MSP® sets out how successful programs - portfolios of projects - can and should be accomplished. It emphasizes that a program will involve considerable resource commitment from a number of areas: "a significant budget, lengthy timescales, potential disruption of extant projects or programs, and major business or organizational change."

MSP® helps in delivering business outcome/output

MSP®     is a flexible though not  prescriptive business framework and best practice that helps organization with its pragmatic approach to realize present  project objectives and enhances its business operation and processes. It  enhances organization efficiency, makes resources effective and encourages innovation. The business goals, objectives are strategically aligned so as to improve operational efficiency,  and act as a catalyst  for delivery capabilities.  Since MSP is developed from collective experience and expertise, it adds tremendous value, and benefits largely from the insights from experience.

MSP®  is good enough for any type of organization

Big or small – the size is no constraint at all. So long the senior professionals, usually mid-level managers or higher are trained in MSP , preferably Practitioners will serve well to measure up to the organization’s expectations in terms of yield. the certified MSP Practitioners are adept in handling exigencies and resolving issues with enhance decision-making prowess. MSP certification is globally recognized and hence the talent pool of any organization with certified practitioners enhances its image and builds trust and credibility about the workforce.

It must be acknowledged that given global  competition,  compounded by other factors internal and external, one cannot completely insulate from failure but MSP helps organization to stay as competitive with its cutting edge a fair chance to succeed in the most demanding market that offers little latitude.

Accelerate Your Career with PRINCE2® Certification

“There are already tens of thousands of people around the world who are fully qualified as PRINCE2 Practitioners. So extensive is its use and applicability that in the last 12 months over 25, 000 people have qualified as PRINCE2 Practitioners. Currently more than 700 people a week take a PRINCE2 exam,”  extract from ByteStart

  

The market is inundated with jobseekers yet headhunters are flummoxed with the failure to find the right fitment. The case is no different with Project Managers. We have moved past the times when experience was enough for an audience with the HR, if not an offer.  A veteran armed with 20 years of experience is pitted against someone who is at the start of professional leg with 5 years under the belt. It isn’t fair-play? Well, the rules of the game have changed. Experience should have to be backed up with a certification. Take it or leave it. You cannot wallow in self-pity with “I have so many years to my credit.” Fine, show the credential.  The most popular project management certifications are PMP®, PRINCE2® . This paper will discuss the prospects of PRINCE2® shaping up your profile as that consummate project management professional.

PRINCE2® is a major prerequisite for Project Management

In UK, PRINCE2® ( Projects in Controlled Environments) is considered de facto standard for IT project management. PRINCE2 doesn’t define project as temporary endeavor, rather as a project management method it delivers based on a business case. The progress of the project is measured and monitored through periodical review of the business case  so as not to deviate from the business outcome,  and thus the situation at the ground level is assessed and addressed with a greater control and clarity. PRINCE2 can be used for any kind of project cutting across culture and setting aside geographic barriers.  It is an effective process method, also easy to learn and the ease of use of framework makes it more favorable with newcomers to PRINCE2®

PRINCE2® helps the Board oversee Project Management 

In PRINCE2 methodology, the decision making doesn’t rest with the project manager, rather the functional and financial authority is with the senior executive. The project manager will help in managing and administering he project  by directing resources on behalf of the board  and primarily the reason why government sector prefer this program due to its standardized approach.

PRINCE2® improves employment opportunities.

The mind has never been at such a premium and to those talented, corporate are just waiting to tap to make it a win-win. . It’s very mutual. But how does PRINCE2 can turn out to be an asset? Its world class and widely renowned and increasing number are wanting to be certified, especially the PRINCE2 Practitioner. You can go global for opportunities and show you got it what it takes with your PRINCE2 credential.  Just check the stats at the top which is a clear indicator in the surge for the demand for qualified and PRINCE2® certified project managers. 

IT Service Management – a gaze into the Future

A gaze into the future. That sounds exciting in terms of prospects and frightening given the expectation. We seem to be advancing at an incredible speed with technology spearheading and impacting our lives in ways we would have imagined, and that realized sooner than expected. The reality is the frightening aspect because of the sheer pace and the gap that stems from our preparation. According to Gartner’s prediction for 2016, some interesting insights that probably upped the ante would be

·               By 2018, 6 billion connected things will be requesting support.

·               In Gartner's IoT forecast, by 2020, more than 35 billion things will be connected to the Internet 

·               In 2016 spending on new Internet of things (IoT) hardware will exceed $2.5 million a minute. by 2021, 1 million IoT devices will be purchased and installed every single hour. 

Of course, we expect smartness not just from people but in the products made by the people. When a solution is proposed, pay attention and give equal weightage to the service aspect as well.   Going by the stats presented, there is going to an increased dependence on human intervention, the algorithm and artificial intelligence in place notwithstanding.

·               We also estimate that 47% of devices will have the necessary intelligence to request support. Things everywhere, from connected vehicle engines to connected prostheses, will be requesting support from humans and human-managed businesses.

The stress on system and humans is significant to assess the way things will turnaround tomorrow. And that suggests the need of qualified professionals in ITSM. If the numbers in the stats are mind boggling, think about the demand that will be generated as a result and in terms of readiness what it takes to be prepared to face the challenges ahead. Last of all it should not end in a number crunch falling short on headcount. Looking yonder, specialization and skills in service management will prove crucial and critical.

The advice to aspirants, especially those engaged in handling and managing of IT systems must step out of the comfort zone and step up their credentials, wherein training and certification will establish credibility. ITIL and COBIT come across as commendable certification that should bolster your candidature.  The digital divide is blurred and soon the switch to digital is expected to be complete attributing to the spike in the number presented. ‘47% of devices will have the necessary intelligence’ is a whopping number. Skilled professionals are clearly the order of the day. The support mechanism will be ramped up strategically so as to speed up service request, which calls for an innovative approach and solutions to enhance efficiency and improve request-response time.  

So it’s going to be Digital Business all the way going forward. So pay due diligence to yours and organization’s preparedness by anticipating changes and geared up face ensuing challenges.  Its definitely unprecedented to read news like ‘By 2018, 2 million employees will be required to wear health and fitness tracking devices as a condition of employment.’ From a service perspective, for the system to be up and running, downtime is just unthinkable and SLAs charted will determine the uptime expected, which should be '200%'. So where are we heading? And how are we placed should the prediction come true? It might be baffling but to disbelieve would be disastrous.  It’s a clear indicator that systems would go up and so will the coordination to streamline. IT Services would hold a prominent portfolio. And if you are service personnel, its time to roll up your sleeves and start preparing to face tomorrow.

Why is ITIL Certification important?

It is before your very eyes and under your nose the creeping cost tends to spiral leaving us fuming in frustration when things go haywire and out of control. But why do even allow that to happen is as perplexing a poser that’s always answered in the aftermath.   To save cost, cut cost. Organizations are looking into ways and means to weed out the unwanted, but first identify the wanted. How do you recognize the imminent need?

Forget for a moment being bookish. Don’t be pedantic but pragmatic by drawing from experience.  We were tasked with developing a portal, and the heads that went into the exercise of effort estimation discussed and deliberated the cause and ensuing cost. There was enough padding and buffer to accommodate last minute changes and mitigation of risk.  The customer, from an open-source moved diametrically opposite and chose SharePoint; consequently, the pricing was put on hold pending conclusion from the client.  For us, the technology wasn’t a stunner as worse as the hardware because the amount on the paper was a preposterous eye-popper figure.  The system analyst was sought for expert opinion and that would change the course of the game. Straight the analyst asked “are we ready to invest so much in server? This one not only stores but sinks deep its teeth into your flesh. So it’s a call to be taken.” It was a head-turner statement and the looks exchanged said it all. “Why should we invest? Let the client”, and the response from the calm analyst was nerve-racking “the farm version is needed for development. You can write a line of code” and when the consent for purchase was provided, another one followed “the machine does the math; who will man the machine? Get a system administrator onboard.” And team frowned upon this new inclusion, as the cost of a new hire would saddle the project with more spending.  Along with the system administrator, the allied requirements too were pieced together into the frame, and one look at the image made it inordinately expensive.

The catch in the cacophony that prevailed was ‘why weren’t the system in place to meet the shifting demand? The system analyst notwithstanding, we need strategic system initiatives.”  Why strategic? The investment on servers is going to be high which won’t justify the cost implication. So better hire server or lease? What happens if the client wants support that can be billable? Even then, will the odds favor an outright purchase? The project undertaking proved to be an eye-opener and the undertaking an education in itself about the stress on IT Service Management, which is either overlooked or obscured.  

The project requires a project manager; the system a system manager. This storage and service related issues are not an occurrence in isolation or confined within the IT realm. This is applicable to wherever data resides ad it could be hotel or hospital or factory or library. Of course, the scale differs but the severity stays on. There is a growing need for IT service related professionals – both from management and process standpoint. Hence soft skills complemented with specialization especially trained in ITIL or COBIT makes your identification and validation stand head over shoulders. You might wonder what is the brouhaha about certification. Is it the clincher? Well, we have been in this business to acknowledge the need and underscore the importance of certification as one of the criterion for knowledge quotient. They are not the scales to weigh your expertise nor as a symbol to attest your knowledge base.   You need to speak loud to be heard. Amplify your credential with help of certification. 

The Perils in Project Scope - a personal account

As Jobs puts it ‘we can only connect the dots afterwards’. That’s the benefit of hindsight? Well, if you have that as foresight, it makes you a visionary. Las Vegas was just a desert till one guy redrew the map toasting success on the sand dunes, and Vegas couldn’t have been just conjecture then.  

When I took over the reins, the project looked promising. Communications were open and the client very forthcoming in comments. One look at the team composition and my hopes were inflated: a trusted hand, a familiar figure and a total stranger, rest of the crew comprised of tester, Us Ex, web developer. The lead developer is more of a man-Friday as we have engaged in couple of projects and hence a tried and tested chap. It looked good and should have soared to great. We could spot the shore. If wishes were horses then beggars would ride!

We prepared the plan, sized the effort, scoped the requirement, and swung into action. The progress too was pretty much in line. We built a good rapport with the client and the stinkers were sporadic. The plan and progress almost matched with some slippage. A qualified tester got onboard and it was a shot in the arm. I had several sessions with the team and joint calls with client in understanding the requirement.

The long evenings, late nights, brainstorming sessions, soaring rhetoric and sizzling arguments, and not to miss the cat-fights, we saw it all as a team. The phone would suddenly scream followed by a volley of questions growing in decibel, and my team mate would politely hush her husband ‘I will be leaving in 5 minutes’. Remarkably, she taught me what I can never achieve no matter how much ever I aspire – that patience and politeness in answering an agitated call.

 

Perplexingly the problems and posers kept piling, and from then on, we prioritized issues as critical, major and minor with color red, yellow and orange respectively. An open document was created and shared with client. And the bug count closely monitored with status reports both at start and end of day. The fixes left me vexed; flummoxed by failure after failure as I knew for sure that the bugs will be reopened.  I chewed my finger nails all the way to my knuckles and went bone dry when the count refused to climb down. We dragged out weary souls and worn-out soles day-in and day-after licking defeat in the hope that ‘we lost the battle but will win the war’.

The client is not to be blamed completely as for the team goofed up pretty bad in managing the scope. A little here and a little there and the result wasn't scope creep but a bloated scope with too many ‘bells and whistles’. It wasn't the foot in my mouth but the whole leg. Chewed more than we could swallow? It wasn't time to wallow in self-pity. But I couldn't help feeling sorry for the team; for myself and then DH Lawrence hit me hard where it hurts the most ‘I have never known a wild animal feel sorry for itself’. May be I am ‘domestic’ – heck, man is a social animal, if it can be used as a disclaimer. The client squeezing hard and the management make it clear about the climbing cost, the noose was tightening. The stakeholders had a simple mandate – the timeline. Problems and philosophy are a pair. When you muck-up big time, be prepared for your back to be blackened. But as they say if the progress is as per the plan, then there is something wrong with the plan. Then why plan? [we will discuss as a different thread]

Tell me something, only Results count? Is it? I checked this quote by Jacob Riis who, it seems, coined it for me.

“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before” - Jacob Riis.

Results count but efforts can’t be discounted.

We narrowed down the action-items as in-scope’ and passed it around, armed ourselves with facts and figures as counterweight.  We managed to complete the project but not in the prospect and promise we had pinned our hopes, rather it was mixed-feeling of bitter-sweet that the final handover happened. Post the delivery, when we did the causal analysis, the scope creep sank our boat. Expectedly CRs (Change Request) were raised but they were either counted in as ‘courtesy’ or ‘cost-free’ who didn’t treat it binding as billable.

It was a lesson learnt about clearly recording your scope and securing a sign-off on the deliverables and we became more conscious and cautious about the creep in succeeding projects. It was indeed a slippery slope!

Join our PMP Certification program to learn more about countering scope creep. For further information, click http://goo.gl/9XoB5W  to know more.