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Holding The Line
Protecting project scope in the face of budget constraints isn’t fun, and can get downright ugly. The tug-of-war between individual stakeholders’ desires and overall objectives is often contentious, but project leaders can win respect, if not a popularity contest, when they combine disciplined change management procedures with interpersonal skills.
Project management is a taxing profession, particularly when it comes to managing scope. In executing a project plan, project managers are relentlessly besieged by stakeholders and anyone else in the organization who may be affected by the project — sponsors, end users, steering committee members, team members, line managers, the legal department, security managers, and on and on. It would be nice if project managers could always maintain a non-antagonistic relationship with the stakeholders, but the very nature of the role often leads to contentious interactions. Contention can easily lead to animosity.
Project managers are saddled with the thankless responsibility of protecting the project’s scope — or more precisely, protecting the strong link between the project scope and budget. Project Management Institute (PMI) defines project scope as the work that must be done in order to deliver a product with specified features and functions. On many projects, the pressure to change the scope …
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"History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme a lot." - Mark Twain |