Hans Jonasson, PMP, CBAP, founder of JTC Unlimited, has over 25 years of experience in the areas of project management, business analysis and professional development Scope creep tends to be one of the most common problems in projects. We are very focused on minimizing scope and then trying to stick to it. Well, one alternative can be to try to do scope creep upfront, before we sign the contract with the customer. A few years ago I began a long overdue kitchen remodeling project. It is one of those projects that lends itself very well to scope creep (or in our case, scope leap).
Hans Jonasson
PMI is Taking Over the World...!
How's that for a heading? Exaggerated? Cheap shot? Maybe, but probably also with a bit of truth. Opening the PMBOK 4th edition I saw that PMI has added "Collecting Requirements" to the core processes and this immediately made me very uncomfortable. I have been in the PM business for 20 plus years and in the requirements business even longer, and I have always talked about the importance of separating the ownership of the product definition from the ownership of the project execution. The ownership of the product definition lies with the customer, or the buyer. They are the ones that must define what they want, the capabilities and functions that they are looking for in a product. The project manager represents the seller, or the developer, and as such their interest is often in direct conflict with the buyer.
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