Scope Creep Kills Project

When the U.S. Census Bureau "failed to lay out detailed specifications" for their subcontractor, the additional costs caused the project to be cancelled. The failure to plan (take the time to define complete, specific requirements) proved to be their plan to fail.

It happens in large and small organizations alike. We hate to plan. Anything that feels like planning and analysis feels like a delay. Since we hate delays, we rush forward into construction with a plan or design that is only halfway thought out.

It's not a certain type of person who does this, and it isn't a goverment problem. We all do it. It's part of the human condition. We are impatient. We want to impress others. We are pushed to hit deadlines and we comply because we don't want to rock the boat.

It's actually the exceptional person who avoids this trap. This unusual person has such a high regard for doing things right the first time that they enforce planning disciplines, sometimes in the face of significant personal risk. When was the last time you told a VP "No" (politely or otherwise) in a meeting where significant political deadlines were at stake?

I saw the problem just this week. A group of eight or more people, several of whom knew better, were cowed by a hard-charging VP on a project that hasn't a chance of hitting its deadline. Why is the deadline doomed? Because so far the team has "failed to lay out detailed specifications."

Read the whole census story here.