Understanding Scope Creep
By Harold D. Kerzner, Ph.D.
Abstract
Project managers are no longer envisioned as managing projects. Instead, they are viewed as managing part of a business. They have become business managers. Project managers are now spending more time managing strategic projects where the scope is susceptible to changes as the projects progress. Scope change control is now becoming a critical component of project management. Scope changes will require project teams to become more active in solving problems and making decisions. Scope change control will require collaboration with stakeholders and possibly government agencies.
For more than three decades, best practices, problem solving, and decision making focused heavily upon traditional projects using the waterfall approach to project management. Now, the use of Agile, Scrum, and Hybrid Methodologies applied to strategic projects are creating new best practices and new approaches for managing scope creep.
Harold Kerzner, Ph.D
Dr. Harold Kerzner is a globally recognized expert in project, program, and portfolio management, innovation, and strategic planning, and Senior Executive Director at International Institute for Learning (IIL). For over 50 years, Dr. Kerzner has shared vital guidance for making project management a strategic tool for competitive advantage and helping companies around the world build a powerful foundation for company improvement and excellence.
He has authored or co-authored more than 60 textbooks/workbooks on project management, including multiple editions of his seminal works. His books include Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling; Project Management Metrics, KPIs and Dashboards; Project Management Case Studies; Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence; The Future of Project Management; Using the Project Management Maturity Model; and Innovation Project Management.
Dr. Kerzner holds an MS and Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Utah State University. He taught engineering at the University of Illinois and business administration at Utah State University, and for 38 years taught project management at Baldwin-Wallace University. A testament to Dr. Kerzner’s profound influence on the field is the establishment of the Kerzner International Project Manager of the Year Award. This prestigious award, presented annually by the Project Management Institute (PMI) which recognizes outstanding project managers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and contributions to the project management profession.
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