If you’re still working on it, don’t call it “Agile”

In project management, the project scope is the work required to output a project’s deliverable. It is in the project scope where we explain, from the customer/client/owner perspective, why the project has been undertaken, summarize the item whose full and satisfactory delivery marks completion of the project, and list any additional measurable criteria that must be met for the project to be successful (Duncan, 1994). Scope creep refers to continuous or uncontrolled growth and changes in a project's scope, at any point after the project begins (Komal, Bakhtawar & Janjua, 2020). When managing the different processes involved in instructional design, scope creep can lead to compromise in quality, delayed schedules, missed objectives, increase costs, shorter development time, poor instruction delivery, and consequently, poor learning outcomes (Rimmer, 2019). Ultimately scope creep is damaging to learners because a poorly crafted learning experience can lead to discouraging, negative, difficult or impossible learning experiences.

When managing learning projects, we depend on different contributors and stakeholders, such as subject matter experts, content authors/owners and regulatory agencies, to accomplish learning objectives that align with established organizational goals. We also select and use different instructional design frameworks based on their adequacy for the project in hand. In complex learning projects we might use sophisticated frameworks with logic models that serve as roadmaps to explain why the selected strategy is a good solution to the problem at hand. We might conduct needs assessments and use the instructional design models (Brown & Green 2015) that align with the desired delivery and evaluation of instruction and instructional materials. In agile learning projects, depending on the selected approach, we identify gaps in knowledge or skills, propose a solution, and commence a series of project iterations where we evaluate, design and develop instruction, making adjustments and improvements in each iteration. Although some frameworks can provide a clear roadmap to the different stages of instructional design and development, scope creep can still occur for different reasons, many of which are related to project communication or project iterations that are not properly managed. As managers of learning projects, we need to avoid scope creep. However, in order to avoid or reduce scope creep in projects, we must first know where in the project phases it is most likely to occur, and what causes it.

What Causes Project Scope Creep?

According to the Project Management Institute (PMBOK® Guide, 2021), lack of clarity in project communication, and lack of foresight and planning are among the top reasons why many projects fail or incur an excessive consumption of project resources. Other reasons are customers trying to get extra work “on the cheap”, beginning the design and development process before a thorough requirements and cost-benefit analysis has been done, and poorly defined initial requirements, goals or objectives.

Lack of Clarity in Project Communication

In project management, managing communication involves a collection of processes that help make sure the right messages are sent, received, and understood by the right people (PMBOK® Guide, 2021). According to research, about 90% of the time in a project is spent on communication by the project manager (Rajkumar 2010). Excessive, ineffective, ill-timed or inadequate communication in a project might pose a danger of missing the deliverables or other outcomes as required by the project stakeholders.

Collaboration in project management is a method by which teams and team leaders plan, coordinate, control and monitor the project they are working on. The premise of collaboration is having individuals work together for a common purpose to achieve a benefit. Contributors bring their expertise to maintain or enhance the quality of the final product, in this case, learning. Studies show that extensive collaboration play a key role in sustainable project management practices (Larsson & Larsson 2020). In fact, most-to-all project management software provides the means for communication and collaboration between project managers and stakeholders. Collaboration in instructional design helps improving the final quality and delivery of learning. It also significantly contributes to delivering adequate learning faster and efficiently. Efficient collaboration cannot exist without proper communication. However, communication alone does not guarantee proper collaboration (I expand on effective collaboration in Part 2: Foresight and Planning in Project Management).

Scope creep due to lack of clarity in project communication occurs when:

1. There is no clear definition of who should be the sender(s) and who should be the recipient(s) of the communication. Not having a formally designated person or team that will communicate throughout the span of the project can cause poor project communication. On one hand, a person involved in the project might make the assumption that some other person will be communicating, which will cause loss of communication. On the other hand, there might be redundant, multiple people communicating at the same time about the same thing, which results in redundancies and/or mixed messages. Also, lack of clarity about who should be included in the communication can cause problems in the decision-making required during the different phases of the project. Scope creep occurs when key contributors to the project are left out of the official project communication, requiring additional time or resources in additional communication, changes due to lack of proper feedback or repetition of tasks that are expected to be completed.


2. No official or agreed communication medium exists. There are always multiple means of communication in project management. However, using inadequate means of communication can cause scope creep. For example, if a project manager decides to communicate in person or by phone about a given problem, that communication is limited to the people listening to that communication. That might leave out other stakeholders that might need to be aware of what was communicated. On the other hand, sending emails or texts to every single person about every single aspect of the project might cause an avalanche of unnecessary messages to team members who are not involved in certain parts of the project. Another way scope creep can happen is by having what I call “technology diarrhea”, that is when multiple and excessively redundant technology is used to communicate and manage a project. Scope creep can happen when multiple people use multiple means for communication that result in excessive redundancies and requires multiple places to look and track communication.


3. There are poorly stated, unclear, mixed or contradictory messages. Regardless of whether the message is delivered in hard or soft format, scope creep due to poor communication happens when the communication does not initiate or stimulate a relationship between the parties involved in the project. This occurs when a sender or a replier does not use appropriate vocabulary when providing details (i.e., calling a curriculum a certification – the former is a one-time event while the latter is a renewable event). It can also occur when the content of the communication is too short (no enough details or specificity), too long (too many details), unrelated or disorganized.


4. There is poor or no feedback between the sender and receiver, or there is out-of-scope feedback. Feedback can be simple or complex. Simple feedback is when it involves a non-critical task or when the feedback is required by only one person. It is most common that scope creep arises when project feedback is complex, meaning that it requires feedback from multiple people and/or it involves key decisions that can impact the project or the project’s progress. Scope creep occurs when the number of channels and opportunities for misinterpretation increases. There are many ways in which this can happen. A good example is when there are conflicting opinions about a given aspect of the learning experience content (i.e., “should this be a topic in the course or additional reference?”). It is during the process of providing feedback when projects can grow in expectations, go on tangents towards out-of-objectives topics, or unravel additional situations around the project (some of them political in nature). Another way in which project feedback can cause scope creep is when the feedback provided in one medium is different from the feedback provided in a different medium. For example, a client gives negative feedback in soft format (i.e., email), but then suggests a follow-up meeting to discuss the results.


5. There is a lack of consideration for multiple means of communication, action and expression. As instructional designers, we accommodate for multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression. Scope creep can occur when such multiple means are not acknowledged when communicating with team members and project stakeholders. We create a communication problem when we don’t take into consideration other people’s beliefs, values, the emotional impact of our message, and the medium employed. These factors (among others) are often referred to as “noise,” and can affect the degree of receptivity of a message and the feedback on the part of the sender or receiver. When there is no cultural competence in communication, or when diversity is not properly acknowledged when communicating using any of the multiple formats, miscommunication occurs, causing misunderstandings and consequently, project delays.


6. There is a lack of situational considerations, such as setting, timing or location. Clear and competent communication content is ineffective if it’s not delivered in a timely manner. Scope creep occurs when the communication is sent or received after events occurred, after decisions have been made, or after some tasks have progressed to a following phase without key stakeholders knowing in a timely manner. A common occurrence of inadequate timing in project communication is when a client has an eLearning Developer complete a course, and when the developer has the course “ready”, the stakeholder then communicates that some higher-up now has to revise it. That makes the timelines for the project deliverables change due to a violation in the course development process, more specifically around review cycles. Sometimes the setting of the project scope is out of the control of the people involved. Sometimes there are unexpected changes that impact projects. For example, recently, a global pandemic forced many learning professionals to prioritize projects and re-design learning for a virtual medium. Communication during the development of learning projects certainly evolved, impacting many projects in many different ways.

How to Manage Project Communication

Once we understand the factors that can negatively impact project communication, we can find ways of avoiding project scope creep. A good starting point is understanding (or reaffirming) how project communication works and why it’s important to manage it. We can never take for granted that people we communicate to will interpret our message the same way as we intended it. Communication is never an absolute, finite thing. As managers of instructional design projects, we need to consider all the above-mentioned factors in order to avoid project scope creep due to lack of clear communication. Below are some useful recommendations to maintain a healthy project communication.

Scope Creep Occurrence	Recommendations
To avoid unclear definition of who should be the sender(s) and who should be the recipient(s) of the communication	* As the communication sender, make sure that the content is created with a specific intent in mind. For example, inform the customer that a milestone will occur and provides reasons. * As the communication receiver, accept, revise, or reject the message. For example, inform of a decision based upon the received information. * As a sender or replier, make sure that the recipients of the communication are the all and the right ones.
To avoid redundant and unnecessary means of communication	* Though the communication medium can take just about any form, each means of communication unique in its ability to influence the receptivity of the receiver. There are several factors that influence the selection of the right means of communication, such as the intended recipients, timeliness of feedback, whether the communication should be documented, confidentiality, urgency, and reach. * Perform a stakeholder analysis, where there can be a discussion with all people involved in the project about the official means of communication. * Ensure that all members of the team know and can use the official means of communication.
To avoid (or address) poorly stated, unclear, mixed or contradictory messages	* Ask for clarification, repeat the question, or be more specific about what you are communicating. * Provide examples if appropriate, or provide a reason or background information that can place the communication in context.
To address poor or no feedback between the parties and/or out-of-scope feedback	* Objectives, objectives, objectives. Clearly defined objectives provide a roadmap for project decision-making, and to maintain the project within scope. * Always reconcile any communication (especially communication that involves actions or decisions) with the clearly stated objectives and scope of the project.
To accommodate for multiple means of communication, action and expression	* Think Universal Design for Learning. As instructional designers, we design for learning that accommodates for multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression. The same applies for project communication. * Ensure all project communication is culturally competent. Demonstrate cultural humility by always evolving and adapting communication to such multiple means.
To ensure appropriate setting, timing and/or location	* Make sure that communication happens in a setting or context that influences results. * Reach out or reply in a timely manner, and ensure that all parties that are require to provide feedback do so. * Communicate decisions clearly and with a rationale that can provide context to project stakeholders.

These recommendations apply to both the project stakeholders and the members of the project management team. These recommendations are not all-inclusive, and can be adapted to specific situations. Communication is always a vital element of a well-managed project. As leads of instructional design projects, it is on us to identify who needs what information. The instructional design project manager must establish the requirements of successful communication and how to achieve those requirements. “Good communication and strong leadership move hand in hand” (Campbell 2011). Below is a slide show with a few suggestions on how to accomplish that.

Click on the slides to advance

Communication is the key for success for any project. Ultimately, when communicating with learning project stakeholders, it is our responsibility as instructional designers to communicate with the right people, use the right means, and to be clear and timely when communicating. Proper project communication saves time and money, and makes learning experiences effective. It also plays a major role in avoiding and reducing project scope creep.

In Part 2 of this series, I’ll explore project scope creep due to lack of foresight and planning.

References

• Brown, Abbie H., and Timothy D. Green. The Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice, Third Edition, Routledge, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central.


• Campbell G. Alpha Books; Indianapolis, IN: 2011. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management.


• Duncan, W. R. (1994). Scoping out a scope statement. PM Network, 8(12), 47–48.


• Larsson, J. and Larsson L. 2020. "Integration, Application and Importance of Collaboration in Sustainable Project Management" Sustainability 12, no. 2: 585.


• Larson, R. & Larson, E. (2009). Top five causes of scope creep... and what to do about them. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2009—North America, Orlando, FL. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.


• Komal, Bakhtawar & Janjua, Uzair & Anwar, Fozia & Madni, Mustafa & Cheema, Muhammad & Malik, Muhammad & Shahid, Ahmad. (2020). The Impact of Scope Creep on Project Success: An Empirical Investigation. IEEE Access. PP. 1-1. 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3007098.


• Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.


• Rajkumar, S. (2010). Art of communication in project management. Paper presented at PMI® Research Conference: Defining the Future of Project Management, Washington, DC. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.


• Rimmer, Trina. How to Manage E-Learning Project Scope Creep. 2019. E-Learning Heroes.