This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
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Project Influences
An influence is a project event or condition that can affect a project constraint. Project managers must be able to recognize whether an influence is about to occur, taking appropriate actions to either prevent the influence or adjust the project constraints to account for the influence. Common influences include change requests, scope creep, constraint reprioritization, interaction between constraints, stakeholders/sponsors/management, and other projects.
Change Requests
A change request is a formal proposal to modify a project in some way. Change requests include changes to deliverables, baselines, procedures, or documents. No matter which aspect of the project is changed, any approved changes will affect at least one of the triple constraints.
All change requests must be submitted to the change control board and undergo the formal change control process. The change control board reviews the change and decides whether to accept or deny it. Prior to approving a change request, the change control board should thoroughly analyze any project changes that will be necessary to accommodate the change. If the change request is approved, the project manager will then need to change the project scope, budget, and/or schedule to address the approved change.
EXAMPLE: During a kitchen remodeling project, the homeowner decides he wants to install granite instead of laminate countertops. Because the homeowner is the project sponsor, the project manager will need to explain how the proposed change in countertop materials will affect the project schedule and the budget. If the homeowner approves these time and budgetary changes, the project manager will need to take the necessary steps to implement the approved changes, including ordering the granite, canceling the laminate, renting a granite saw, rescheduling the painters, giving the homeowner a new move-in date, and billing for the difference in materials and labor costs.
Change requests usually affect all three triple constraints: scope, time, and cost. Regardless of the type of project, project managers need to fully analyze any changes to determine ways to offset these changes. For example, counterbalances to a change in project cost could include decreases in scope, time, quality, and/or resources. The project sponsor is best able to determine the changes that should occur if project cost is affected.
Scope Creep
Scope creep occurs when the project scope is changed without adjusting other project constraints, including cost, time, and resources. In most cases, this type of event occurs when the project’s scope and requirements are not properly documented during the Planning phase, and it tends to be more likely in larger projects. Think of scope creep as project changes that skip the formal change control process and therefore affect the project constraints without approved adjustments being made.
EXAMPLE: An application development project is affected by a newly enacted government regulation. Unfortunately, the required changes were added to the project requirements without also adjusting the corresponding project constraints, including scope, schedule, and budget. These changes result in the project taking longer than originally projected, and at a higher cost.
Scope creep affects all three triple constraints: scope, time, and cost. Besides documenting the project’s initial requirements, the best way to prevent scope creep from affecting the bottom line is to have—and follow!—the change management plan and communication plan described in Chapter 1.
Scope creep occurs when clients change their minds and are able to make project changes without going through the change control process. It can be a major problem when a project has team members who work autonomously. The project manager must ensure that team members understand that all changes, large or small, must follow the change control process. Scope creep can happen in any project but is particularly a problem when project team members work from different locations.
EXAMPLE: ABC Corporation hires Designs for You, LLC to redesign the ABC Corporation website. Designs for You, LLC contracts with Jane Smith to code the site and David Jones to design the graphics. Jane and David only interact during virtual project meetings. One month into the project, management at ABC Corporation decides that a graphic for one of the new pages is unsatisfactory, even though it is exactly what the contract specified. ABC Corporation contacts David Jones about the graphic, and David implements the change as requested. However, the change was not formally approved based on the change control process documented in the change management plan. When David’s work is complete, he bills Designs for You, LLC for all of his work, including the graphics change. The project manager at Designs for You, LLC adjusts the budget to cover the extra pay for David. When the finished graphics are delivered to Jane Smith, she discovers that the graphics change causes a functionality issue with her code. Jane will now need to adjust her coding, resulting in another budget increase to cover her work. If the higher costs for both workers exceed the budget reserves, Designs by You, LLC will need to either 1) absorb the budget overage, or 2) work with ABC Corporation to increase the budget. This late in the project, a budget increase is unlikely to be approved. To prevent this scope creep, which includes unauthorized graphics and coding changes, the project manager should have explained to all team members that all changes must go through the formal change control process, even if the change request comes directly from the project sponsor or customer.
Constraint Reprioritization
Constraint reprioritization occurs when a project that is limited by a particular constraint must shift priorities to another constraint. When reprioritization occurs, the project manager must fully assess all project constraints to document any effects on them. The project manager will then need to explain to the project sponsor what this reprioritization will do to the project.
If a project’s cost estimates were inaccurate and more money is required to produce a deliverable, cost becomes the primary constraint for the project. To meet the original scope, the project budget will need to be increased and approved by the project sponsor. If the budget is not increased, another project constraint will need to be adjusted to reduce the pressure of the cost constraint; the project might need to drop a requirement or change the quality standards.
EXAMPLE: While a publisher is working on a new book project, a competitor announces plans to publish a book on a similar topic with an earlier release date. Because the project’s original priority was minimizing costs, only a single author and editor were engaged. However, the publisher now wants to move up the book’s schedule to beat its competitor’s book to publication. To make the date, the publisher may need to increase the budget to employ additional resources or to give the current resources an incentive to speed up their work. Another option would be to change the scope of the book, perhaps by shortening the content. However, this change probably would also affect quality. No matter which choice is made, the project manager will have to adjust all of the affected project constraints.
Constraint reprioritization affects all three triple constraints—scope, time, and cost—and the ultimate effects depend on which constraint is being prioritized.
Interaction Between Constraints
Project constraints directly interact with each other throughout the life cycle of the project. During the Planning phase, the project manager uses the information gathered about constraints to create the project documents, budget, schedule, and scope.
It is important to realize that other constraints can actually affect one or more of the triple constraints (scope, time, and cost). Resources directly affect project costs. Quality, requirements, and deliverables directly affect project scope. Environment directly affects project time and costs. Results of such changes can be both negative and positive. Suppose two new team members are brought into an engine development project. While this staffing change will likely increase the project budget, it also has a good chance of shortening the project schedule.
EXAMPLE: A key project team member goes on medical leave halfway through a project. The project manager assesses the impact to the project schedule and then presents the sponsor or key stakeholder with possible courses of action. Suggestions might include securing more funding to hire another team member, or extending the project schedule to account for slower progress. The two options affect the project’s constraints in different ways:
If the project will remain understaffed but the schedule can be extended, the project manager will have to reassign the missing team member’s work to other resources and adjust the task start/finish dates, dependencies, and critical paths. Project milestones will have to be rescheduled.- If the original schedule must be followed but more funds will be made available, the project manager should assess the cost to hire new resources, the impact on the schedule if resources must be trained, and the impact on deliverable quality if a sufficiently skilled resource cannot be hired.
Project managers need to understand the relationships between all the constraints, adjusting project scope, budget, or schedule accordingly when other constraints change.
Stakeholder, Sponsor, and Management Influences
Stakeholders, sponsors, and management can also affect project constraints. Stakeholders and sponsors are involved in setting project requirements, which directly affect the project scope. Sponsors also establish the project budget and influence the project schedule.
Management usually affects the project schedule more than the other constraints, especially if the organization’s structure is functional rather than projectized. In a functional team structure, the managers control access to the project team members.
EXAMPLE: A key stakeholder asks the project manager to make a significant change in a deliverable. The stakeholder did not consult the project sponsor about this request. The project manager asks the stakeholder to complete a change request that documents the proposed revision and assesses the impact of the change. Only then should the project manager approach the sponsor to seek approval, following the change control procedure detailed in the change management plan.
As with other influences, stakeholders, sponsors, and management can affect all three triple constraints: scope, time, and cost.
Influence by Other Projects
Other projects can influence project constraints; for example, by competing for the use of shared resources. The project manager may need to negotiate with other project managers and with the project management office (PMO), if one is available, to obtain the resources when needed.
EXAMPLE: Two projects need access to the same laboratory as part of the research portion of each project. During project planning, the project management office discovers that the two projects have planned to use the laboratory during the same two-week period. The PMO works with the project managers of the two projects to come up with three options: 1) finding a way to share the laboratory at the same time; 2) allowing each team half-day access to the laboratory, with one project team having mornings and the other having afternoons; or 3) giving primary laboratory access to the higher-priority project and delaying laboratory access until later for the lower-priority project. The first two choices would require a schedule adjustment for both projects, and the third choice would require a schedule adjustment for only one of the projects. After fully assessing the options and reaching a decision on how to proceed, the project managers can make the necessary adjustments. In this case, it is not necessary to follow the change control process because the issue was discovered during the Planning phase, prior to project execution.
During the Planning phase, project managers should document any resources that will be shared with other projects. Inter-project conflicts should be negotiated between the project managers. If they are unable to resolve a problem, the PMO or upper management should make the decision. In larger corporations, company policies may dictate how such issues will be resolved.
