CASE STUDY: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND SCOPE CREEP

Case Study

A web development agency takes on a project to build an e-commerce website for a client. The initial scope includes creating a platform for selling clothes, with a focus on user-friendly navigation and a simple checkout process.

Scope Creep Occurs

As the project progresses, the client starts requesting additional features like a personalized recommendation system, a blog section, and integration with multiple payment gateways. These requests are not aligned with the original scope but are seen as enhancements to the project.

Impact on The Project

Time Delays – Schedule is Impacted

The development team needs more time to implement the new features, pushing back the launch date of the website.

Budget Overruns

Additional development hours and resources are required, leading to increased project costs.

Resource Strain

Developers are under pressure to deliver more in less time, leading to increased stress and potential burnout.

Reduced Quality

Rushing to implement new functionalities may lead to bugs and reduced overall quality of the website.

Stakeholder Frustration

Team members and the client might become frustrated due to the constant changes and unclear project objectives.

In this case, scope creep had a negative impact on the project's wellbeing by causing delays, increased costs, resource strain, and potential compromise in quality.

The team had to manage stakeholder expectations and find a balance between accommodating enhancements and sticking to the original scope.

Mitigating Scope Creep

To mitigate scope creep and its effects, project managers should establish clear project objectives, communicate effectively with stakeholders, define a change management process, and rigorously evaluate new requests before incorporating them into the project scope.

The Change Management system must be rigorous but not bureaucratic. Decisions to allow, defer or deny a change request should be communicated to Stakeholders with urgency, in order not to stall project activities.