What is Scope Creep? Portny, S. et al, (2008), define project the scope as a "description of the deliverables or what work will be performed" by the project (p. 30). On the other hand, scope creep is defined as the "natural tendency of the client, as well as project team members, to try to improve to project's output as the project progresses" (Portny, S. et al, 2008,p.346). As scope creep is inevitable, it behooves project managers to reserve project time and money for such contingencies (Laureate Education Inc.). An Example of  Scope Creep I would like to share an experience I had, some years ago, while working with a project. The goals of this project were to strengthen and increase the capacity for information and computer technologies (ICT) at the tertiary education level, and in the community in my twin island federation. The project sponsor, an international agency, had committed funds to the tune of one million pounds sterling to the project and its goals. A major goal of the project was to install computers in the community centers and also in the computer laboratories of select tertiary instructions. A preliminary inspection of the physical infrastructure of these buildings had revealed the following: The community centers were newly constructed and consequently required minimal modifications before the installation of computers. The computer laboratories of the tertiary institutions required an overhaul of their electrical and security systems before installation was possible. The activities required to refurbish these buildings were added to the project scope, and formed the basis for project scheduling, costing and resource allocation. Midway in the project, somebody suggested that as there were no community centers in some villages, perhaps we could consider the secondary schools in these areas as community centers. The idea was laudable, and the team recognized it as an attempt to improve the project output by distributing the deliverables more equitably. This seemingly innocuous suggestion was a harbinger of scope creep of an immense magnitude. The project scope spiraled out of control. The secondary schools mentioned were in a state of disrepair. Moreover, some of these schools, because of their location, had a high incidence of break-in and robberies. The project scope spiraled out of control. We now had to factor the new activities, associated with the repair, refurbishment, and the installation of security systems in these schools, into the project scope, schedule, and resource allocation plan. The repairs to the buildings alone incurred significant cost both in terms of resources and money. In fact, this experience confirms that "scope creep is indeed a major cause of cost and project over-run" (Lynch, M., & Roecker, J., 2007, p. 96).   The Project Manager's Scope Control Strategies The project manager accepted the suggested change to the project scope. To be honest, given the prevailing organizational culture, and the villages in question, it was in his best interest to acquiesce. However, this decision was not in the best interest of the project. He then sought approval, from the sponsors, for the changes . They granted approval; but did not entertain any changes in the established baseline schedule of the project. Of course, from that point onwards, the project became unwieldy and lagged behind schedule. My Perspective From my vantage point, and having been exposed to the tools of project management, I would have done things differently. Portny, et al (2008) posit that changes should be anticipated at the beginning of a project, and that "the best practice for dealing with this kind of change is to include a formal change control procedure in the contract" (p. 140). This would have entailed the establishment of a scope change control process during the planning phase of the project. Beyond this, even before contemplating to accept the change, I would have broken down the new activities and formulate a work break down structure, estimate the duration of each task and the additional resources required to complete the work. Then I would have assessed the impact of the changes on the project product, schedule and resources. This analyses would indicate whether the change will have a high, medium or low impact on the project variables. This information would be documented in a "Change Management Plan Document" which will be "communicated to project team members and stakeholders, and will also require the signatures of the sponsors, and key project stakeholders (Cox, D., 2009, pp. 175-177; Lynch, M., et al, 2007, p. 96).). Ultimately I believe that I would have adopted Dr. Budrovich's position, and insisted very cordially that the team "will maintain what we set out to do", we will limit the scope to what we had planned originally and that these new ideas will form the basis of a subsequent project (Laureate Education Inc.). References: Cox, D., (2009). Project management for instructional designers, a practical guide. IN: iUniverse Laureate Education, Inc. Walden University. (2011) "Practitioner Voices: Overcoming 'Scope Creep'" [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4894962&Survey=1&47=7389572&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1 Lozier, T., (2008). Avoid scope creep. Retrieved from: http://blog.etq.com/Home-0/bid/41605/Avoid-Scope-Creep-in-Enterprise-Software-Implementation Lynch, M. M., & Roecker, J. (2007). Project managing e-learning: A handbook for successful design, delivery, and management. London: Routledge 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.

Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources

       

Introduction       Projects, including instructional design projects based on the ADDIE process illustrated in the diagram above, are not only costly, but because they are also managed "in a world of limited resources" all stakeholders, including the project manager must strive for accuracy in estimating in order to realize the most return on their investment (Portny, S., 2008, p. 124).  Cost estimation, budgeting, and estimating duration of tasks (effort) are among the essential processes that characterize the planning phase of an instructional design process. I found the following web resources helpful as they gave valuable insight into methodologies for estimating cost and effort, and allocating resources in instructional design projects.      Thackaberry, C. W., & Rada, R., (1998).Estimation metrics for course maintenance effort. Journal of Universal  Computer Science, vol. 4, no. 3 (1998), 308-325. Retrieved from: citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.17...rep...       This article provided a systematic method for calculating  the total effort expended during the development phase of a project.  Development was broken down into  its sub-tasks: Design (De), Programming (Pe), Development of graphics, video  and audio (Me), Text entry (Te) and Testing (Te).  The average number of staff hours for each  task was provided empirically through historical data.    Thakaberry & Yada (1998) also proposed a formula which could be used to calculate the total effort for each phase of the project.    This article is a must read for budding instructional designers.  Gordon, S., He, W., Abdous, M., (2009. Using a web-based system to estimate the cost of an online course. Online Journal of Distance Learning  Administration, v12 n3 . Retrieved from:              http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall123/gordon123.html In the above captioned article, Gordon, He & Abdous (2009) explored the use of web-based software to improve the efficiency in estimating costs for the production of online  courses. They noted that the "increasing demand for online courses requires efficiency and low cost" (para 1).  The major advantage of  the web-based system proposed is that it allows users access to the software at any time and from any location.   The free downloadable interactive spreadsheet costing model is also a useful guide for estimating the cost of instructional design project activities.  Additionally, the empirical data and formulae presented definitely provide a framework on which activity and effort costing can be developed. Finally, instructional design project managers can derive historical analogies, or what other organizations have learned from their experiences with previous instructional projects, and expert opinions from this article (Cox, D., 2009, p. 97). Thus, it is a welcome addition to the instructional design project management toolkit of inexperienced instructional designers. Estimating cost and time in instructional design, retrieved from: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/costs.html To my mind, the real value of this article resides in the guidelines it provides on training costs. It included a breakdown of the salary rates for instructional designers,  the cost of producing professional videos  and slides, and reminded us that these costs depended to a large extent on 'type  of training, skill level, etc (para. 7). The article also presented invaluable information on estimating the development hours required to create one hour of training, and estimating instructor preparation time  for each hour of the training. I particularly liked the section on tips for reducing the costs of developing training. For example, the authors directed viewers to free photos on stock.xching, and gave other helpful advice on how open software can reduce the cost of producing a video or making a digital recording. I highly recommend this article as another "must read" for instructional design project managers. References: Cox, D., (2009). Project management for instructional designers, a practical guide. IN: iUniverse 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.