Can You Spare Some Change?

  ProjectsAtWork  

Yes, you can prevent scope creep without killing innovation.

Change can intimidate or inspire as we navigate projects. Which of these two things happens can come down to distinguishing between scope creep and project agility. In scope creep, project teams miss targets by allowing nonvalue-added changes to exceed the reach of dedicated resources. Projects are vulnerable to scope creep when teams fail to anticipate negative changes upstream in the feasibility and planning phases. Preventable, negative changes then drain resources required for meeting schedule, budget and quality targets.

With project agility methods, teams approach and accommodate the unexpected as opportunities for innovation. By being "response-able" and inventive, agile teams can often deliver outcomes that exceed stakeholder expectations-and do so ahead of time and under budget.

Change Is Neutral

Project teams that effectively leverage agility tend to be agnostic about change: It can help or hurt projects depending on how it is assessed and managed from one phase to the next. "Change is a neutral factor," says Thomas Vecchione, design director at a major architecture firm. "If we're clever enough, especially in the earliest phases of project planning, we transform change from potential obstacle to opportunity."

Agile project teams quantify the …

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