How project scope management can save you big time
Time, resources, money, and more
Project scope is everything that’s needed to complete a project, including tasks, time, and resources. So, project scope management the process of overseeing and regulating all of those things so that you can complete your project on time and within budget.
You need to make a quick stop at the grocery store to buy eggs.
On your way to the dairy case, you remember that you’re out of cereal. So, you grab a box. Okay, two boxes. Then you get distracted by an end cap full of scented candles. You might as well snag one of those, too. Oh, and then you realize you need some paper towels.
At this point, jamming items under your chin and precariously balancing them in your arms isn’t working. Things are tumbling everywhere, no matter how hard you try to keep them together.
You take the walk of shame to the front of the store to grab a shopping cart. Then you toss a few more purchases into the cart as you make your way back to the dairy case to grab those eggs (you forgot about those for a minute, didn’t you?).
Before you even realize what happened, your five-minute stop at the grocery store turned into an hour-long shopping trip. What was supposed to cost you $5 ended up costing closer to $100. And honestly? The last thing you needed was another candle.
If you put that in the context of your work projects, this is known as “scope creep” — and it’s evidence of why defining and managing project scope is worth making a list ahead of time.
Yep, there are people out there who don’t get sidetracked by the paper towels or scented candles because they weren’t part of their initial shopping list. With project scope management, you can be one too.