Years ago I moved to Washington State form North Carolina. In the process of the move I decided to leave my vehicle, with hopes of finding a way to get it there later. It took me about a month to get settled in, and eventually I got tired of taking public transportation to get around. I thought it would be more feasible if I got my vehicle shipped rather than flying home and driving cross country. I had to take into account that the cost would simply be too high with having to pay for a ticket for me and my daughter to fly, pay for gas on a long road trip, lodging in order to get rest in between states, and plus the amount of time it would take to get my car their. With all that to be considered, I decided to get my vehicle shipped by a professional auto transport company.
I did research and found a reputable company, paid the non-refundable deposit and set the date for pick up. Everything was on track until……. you’ve got it “Scope Creep”. Let’s just say the car ended up residing in North Carolina for the next four years, due to unexpected circumstances. Scope creep is the change or growth of project scope and my car not being in Washington State with me, turned out to be that change.
Scope changes can make a project larger or smaller, and affect the timeline and the cost of the project (Gurlen, 2003). I lost money, my patients, and most importantly what I was working so hard to get, my car. Even though it was hard for me to handle at the time, I had to adjust to the fact that I would have to depend on public transportation for just a little while longer. After about another couple of months, I saved up some money and bought a used car. That car turned out to be a lemon, but I luckily got my money back and purchased a more reliable vehicle.
What I thought was an easy task or project, turned out to be a little bit of a headache, kind of like scope creep. I made the best out of the situation and found my self becoming more independent and capable of making important decisions. I was young, but learned very important life lessons from this little situation which grew to be a bigger, but workable problem.
References:
Gurlen, S. (2003). Scope Creep. Retrieved February 9, 2011 from, Web site:
http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis/6840_f03_papers/gurlen/
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Wow, it defintely sounds like scope creep, " the expansion of a project outside of the planned objectives," truly was evident in your experience(Doll, 2001). You adjusted and worked within your situation to make your move and lack of a vehicle work. Good example of scope creep in a personal experience.
ReplyDeleteWe have made several trips cross country from Texas to Washington and from Kentucky to Washington. I was raised in WA and still have family there. So I understand the decision to put that off and try another plan. :)
Glad that everything worked out in the end!
Resources:
Doll, S. (2001)Seven steps for avoiding scope creep. Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.techrepublic.com/article/seven-steps-for-avoiding-scope-creep/1045555
Hi Naquai,
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how you felt when your car did not arrive as you planned. Portny et al. (2008) states that uncertainty is a lack of sureness that something will come to pass. I'm almost sure that you felt much uncertainty throughout that entire process!Waiting four years to receive your car had to be a wreck on your mind! The great thing is that you learned alot in the meantime and were able to adapt and move forward.
Reference:
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Naquai,
ReplyDeleteJust reading your blog made my blood pressure rise. I've experienced having things all planned out only to find out that my plan "A" didn't work and having no plan "B" to fall back on. I can't imagine not having a car for 4 years unexpectately. According to projectsmart you should do the following to ensure that scope creep does not happen.
(1) Ensure you understand the project vision and spend time documenting.
(2) Document what is out of scope, this shows you upfront what the uncertainties are with the plan.
(3) Get key players involved early
(4) A contingency plan needs to be put into place.
(5) Ensure that all players are fully aware of the project scope so that all can focus on delivering it on-time.
Naquai,
ReplyDeleteThe reference used for the points provide above is as follows:
Haughey, D. "Stop Scope Creep Running Away With Your Project"
Dear Naquai,
ReplyDeleteWow! That was quite a project trying to get your car across the country. I grew up in Washington State so I’m hoping you were in a major city that entire time considering how spread out places are in Washington. Your post just proves that no matter how great things seem and how well you plan, they may not work out as expected. Contingencies arise without notice and planning for all possibilities can be difficult. In your situation, I’m sure you considered a delay, but not for four years!!! You opted for another solution that satisfied your needs, in which I applaud you.
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.