Having not had a personal or professional experience with a project that involved Scope Creep, in response to this week’s question, I will analyze a real life example from an article by Jean Scheid, I discovered on Bright Hub.
The article explains the dilemma of the Chrysler PT Cruiser. According to Scheid, Chrysler Corporation had mastered the design, production, and advertising of the PT Cruiser, but they failed to include dealer showroom delivery times into the project equation. As a result, dealers lost deposits and customers were forced to purchase cars from other automakers. Stakeholders reacted negatively to the situation by placing unpleasant phone calls to top heads at Chrysler production plants. To try to resolve the problem, Chrysler decided “to ship out cars to any old rails in any old city and let the dealers figure it all out” (Scheid, 2011).
Had I been the manager of this project, I would have done three essential things: I would have created a Work Breakdown Structure; a Project Schedule, and a Communication Plan. These documents particularly, the Communication Plan would help determine everything a project manager needs from initiation to testing to completion to delivery to market, as well as the project tasks that need to be completed. (Scheid, 2011)
A properly designed Project Schedule is very important because all members of the team would be able to review it consistently and address problematic areas. Lastly, team members must communicate in order to ensure a successful project. Levine states “Having a communication plan in place is an essential component for good project management. This document ensures that all stakeholders are equally informed of how, when, and why communication will happen.
Communication is often a very effective way to solve problems, deal with risks, and ensure that tasks are completed on time” (Levine, 2011). I observed on the streets in America I no longer see much of the PT Cruiser. I often wondered why it had such a short life span, I would never have known had I not had this assignment. It is unfortunate that Chrysler’s failure to analyze their delivery times had such a negative impact on their initial sales.
References
Levine, R. (2011). An Example Communication Plan for the Project Manager. Retrieved June 7, 2012, from http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/16931.aspx
Scheid, J. (2011). Product Scope Creep. Retrieved June 7, 2012, from www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/.../94628.aspx
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