Managing Project Scope and the Impact of Change

Course Outline/Topics

Seminar Overview

You are about to kick off a project you’re managing. The scope and budget are set – or are they? This project is too important: you need to keep a good handle on it to ensure the team doesn’t squander their hours away.

This course provides an in-depth look at ways to define a project’s scope clearly and concisely. Once the scope is approved, ways to deal with scope changes are addressed.

Value to the Organization

• Reduce runaway projects due to scope management problems.
• Improve accountability in changes made throughout the life of a project.
• Establish the basis of organizational rigor in controlling project scope.

Defining the Project’s Scope

• Defining Scope
• Project Scope Management- what, where and when
• Product scope versus project scope
• The Role of the PM in Project Scope Management
• Project charter scope examples
• Good and not-so-good scope statement examples
• Evaluating your project charter’s scope
• Scope statement components
• Do’s and Don’ts
• Roles and responsibilities in scope management

Discussion: Share your thoughts about scope management practices (good and bad) you have seen or experienced in a store.

Discussion: Review project charter templates.

Scope Details

• Creating a Service Level Agreement
• SLAs: It’s all about the details
• Defining project deliverables
• The magic of milestones
• WBS: physical vs. functional

Exercise: Craft a requirements specifications document template

Discussion:  Critique a sample WBS

Setting Expectations with Stakeholders

Satisfying Stakeholders

• Stakeholder influence
• Stakeholder register
• How to conduct a Stakeholder Analysis
• Balancing the interests of stakeholders
  • Types on Conflict
  • The Power Interest Grid
• Offering Critical Conversations
  • Conflict Resolution
• Maintaining Relationships in Troubled Times
  • Negotiations

Exercise: Develop a stakeholder register for the Shelter Box project.

Exercise: Create a Stakeholder Power/Interest Grid for the Shelter Box project.

Exercise: Building and Maintaining Good Relationships – What would you do?

Change Management

• Scope Management & Change Management
  • Who does change control?
  • Change management – The change process
  • The role of the Change Control Board (CCB)
  • Differentiating change management
  • When to apply change management processes
• Project Management Maturity Model
• Change control processes and documents
  • PMI’s ® Project Integration Management
  • Change request document
  • Change log
  • Ways to reduce changing requirements

Exercise: Develop a change management process for the Shelter Box effort

Final Exercise (in lieu of Final Exam)

• Exercise: Prepare 3 documents cited in this class for a current or former work project.