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Home
Improvement Projects and Scope Creep
I
know I’m not alone in undertaking a home improvement project that morphs into
something much larger than anticipated. A
few years ago, we started with the idea of stripping off the wallpaper (previous
owner – way too flowery) of our master bathroom and painting the walls to
update the look. While we were
brainstorming about paint colors, we thought we’d update the light fixtures and
towel rods also. Once we got started
with this basic project, the wallpaper did not want to come off and tore up the
drywall. Somehow, that led to ripping out
the whirlpool tub (took up too much of the room) and separate glass shower
(leaking issue). We decided on a large
garden tub/shower combo. That meant my
husband needed to build a new wall to accommodate this change. With the new wall built, to get back to the
original project, we finally decided to cover the torn up drywall with bead
board. My teen sons got involved and
thought we should tile above the tub/shower.
They had so much fun tiling on the wall that they convinced my husband
to rip up the carpeting and tile the bathroom floor! Oh, I almost forgot that my husband then decided
“while we were at it” to change the layout of the closet. (Seriously – we’re really not that
crazy.) All of this meant sharing our
sons’ bathroom for the entire school year.
We’re finished now (except for hanging the pictures) and back in our own
bathroom. It does look fabulous, but the
project turned into much more than “hey, let’s remove this ugly wallpaper and
apply a nice shade of paint”.
Looking
back, if we would have applied some principles of project management, this
project would have been more effective and efficient. One suggestion that Dr. Stolovitch offers is
to scope the work – this is where it begins, and this is where it ends
(Laureate Education, n.d.). We had a
loose plan in place, but we did not really take the time to look at the big
picture, nor did we think long term enough.
Portny et al. (2008) also state that the success of a project is “absolutely
dependent on detailed planning”. While I
would call our project a success, because of the scope creep the project
dragged on as each new development caused a project delay (and project stress). Every activity eats up your scarcest resource
– time (Laureate Education, n.d.). All
of those changes ate up a lot of time! We
also spent much more money than the originally budgeted few gallons of paint. The
moneybucket.org website suggests that before starting any home improvement
project, homeowners need to do some research to understand each step from start
to finish. By not brainstorming and
planning out the scope, tasks involved, and all of the steps involved, we ended
up spending much more time, effort, and money on this project.
References
Gerri (2011).
Saving money – or not – with DIY projects. Moneybucket.org. Retrieved from http://www.moneybucket.org/saving-money-or-not-with-diy-projects/
Laureate Education, (n.d.). Creating a project schedule. Retrieved
from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp
Laureate Education, (n.d.). Defining the scope of an ID project.
Retrieved from
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.
I just had to smile as I read this, Melissa. What a great example of scope creep! It all seems so innocent and makes sense since everything is already a mess, but it certainly does mess with the timeline and budget. Before this course I never would have even thought about creating some of the documents we've had to make; however, it's becoming clearer and clearer that they are a necessity if one wants to save time and money. After all, I believe it was Troy Achong who said that "an ounce of prevention (or perhaps planning) is worth a pound of cure." It holds true in all areas of life, but it's almost too easy to skim over with our personal projects. Besides, we know what we're doing, right? ;-)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Lesley
Hi Lesley,
DeleteSame here - I never would have thought about applying project management theories and creating documents to assist the project process for a home project (other than a list of supplies needed from Home Depot!). These ideas that we've learned about through this course can assist us with being more successful in all projects.
Good quote from Achong!
Thanks,
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post this week and had to laugh a bit as I can definitely relate to your example of scope creep. I have seen this occur for myself and many family and friends. I think using the idiom it’s like opening a can of worms is fairly accurate for many home improvement projects as you start one thing and suddenly notice something else that could be improved. I imagine this can also be applied in other contexts as well. I would agree with you that detailed planning and having an understanding of the broad scope from start to finish can help for avoiding scope creep and managing scope creep when it does occur. Being able to go back to the original plan and analyze the project and the impact the change will have on different aspects of the project plan is useful for making the determination on whether or not to approve the scope change or identify alternative options. I will have to keep repeating this to myself as we continue to move forward on our basement remodel project and as I approach and collaborate on projects at work.
Thanks!
Amber
Your post was very enjoyable. I can relate to this in so many ways. I never really thought about scope creep and how it applies to our personal lives but it does, I like your suggestion to look at where it begins and where it ends, that is very important and I hope as I start projects I will think about the entire project.
ReplyDeleteHey Melissa,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great example...you certainly gave me a chuckle! I am a huge fan of HGTV and home improvement jobs almost always have scope creep. You said when the wallpaper came off it ripped off some of the drywall with it...what a prime example. This must be one of the hardest jobs to budget for and is exactly why planning is essential.
I'm so happy to hear that your place looks fabulous after all of the (unanticipated) effort. I really enjoyed your post!
Layla
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMelissa,
ReplyDeleteI like the project you selected to share with us, and I can fully understand how things start and how it end up :)
You reminded me of what we did last summer, while we were at the end of our vacation, two weeks to go back to Dubai where we live, we decided that we need to change the basin in our kids bathroom. This work ended up to remove all tiles; walls and floor, change the whole things in the bathroom and… imagine the work.
Do you think, if you, or we in my case, plan what we want to do ahead, this would help in preventing any risk?
What do you do when the scope creep goes beyond the time and money budgeted for a project? You all did a great job of including all the add-ons without it causing any major issues in disrupting the project. However, there may be projects with creeping scope that will require a Change of Scope document to keep everyone in agreement about the changes and to adhere to the allotted schedule of resources. (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010) What a great project for your family!!! Thanks, Melissa!
ReplyDeleteReferences
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Monitoring Projects. Video Podcast with Dr. Harold Stolovitch] Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4065699_1%26url%3D