Disastrous Projects Due To Scope Creep

Managing scope creep is an essential aspect of every project (Stolovitch, n.d.).  Had I understood scope creep prior to engaging in freelance work about 7 years ago my life might be very different.  Learning as you go and trying to make it as a freelance graphic designer was tough business.  I was either not getting paid or taking on jobs with such tight deadlines I was working until 2 in the morning to make the clients deadlines.  I felt as though I could not say no because I was not sure if there was more work coming in.  Therefore, I never said no despite the difficulties it caused in my personal life.  I really wanted to make freelancing work, I loved working from home and having freedom to work where I wanted.  Sometimes at a coffee shop and other times in the living room that flexibility inspired me and I was creative and happy.  However, the finances were a mess.

For this blog I am supposed to describe a project that relates to scope creep and the handling or lack of handling of that scope creep.  When I read the prompt, I immediately thought about the client I worked for that never paid me.  He was not the first client to refuse to pay me even though I had delivered.  What happened on this project is a former coworker was starting a new business with several people and they were in need of a logo.  I created a plan, had the client sign off on the plan including how many logos would be submitted for review and how the revisions would work.  I am not very confident in designing logos and therefore when he came back and said they did not really like any of the logos I felt bad.  I thought it was my fault.   So, I designed more logos and every time the same thing happened. I probably ended up designing about 30 logos for this former coworker.  Every time he would come back and say the partners did not like it.  I asked how many partners and the details of the presentation.  I found out that it was not just the partners but also their wives.  Yikes!   There were around ten people deciding on a logo and none of them could agree.   The project had crept up on me and I knew it was happening and I felt bad that my design skills were not as good as other designers.  Therefore, I did not charge them for all of the work. I just charged them my original quote but they were not happy with any of the logos.  Even after they chose one to make adjustments to they did not like the adjustments I made based on their recommendations.

It was a nightmare and I felt bad because I knew the guy.  However, looking back and analyzing the situation I realize that I should have done several things differently. 

1.       Stuck to the original signed agreement

2.       Not second guess my design ability, after all he liked all of my work at our former company, that is why he chose me

3.       Use documentation of the changes that were being asked of me along with associated costs that would be incurred due to those changes

4.       I should have presented the logos myself

5.       Let the client go after realizing I could not make them happy (which was after the first 5 logos)

Looking back I also realize that I had designed a lot of nice logos.  They were amazing and they weren’t going to win any awards but they were solid, reproducible in many formats and represented the company’s vision and mission.  Hindsight is always twenty-twenty which is why I should have reflected on the situation back then and I may have come to a different conclusion and stayed working as a freelancer. 

In talking to my husband right before posting this he reminded me of about three or four other clients who did the same thing.  They had me design some proofs and end up walking away and some never paid.  I quit calling to follow up after because it was apparent from the ignored emails and phone messages that they were taking my ideas and never planning to pay for them.  I ran across this website: http://www.graphicdesignblender.com/freelancing-advice-from-successful-designers in which several respected design professionals give advice to other designers interested in freelancing.   Many of them said that designers who are interested need to ensure they do not short change themselves and charge customers appropriate rates (Foster, 2011).  Several others mentioned knowing how to market yourself, write contracts, and network in order to find businesses that will choose your work and respect you as a designer and a professional (Foster, 2011). 

I wish I had thought to seek out a design community on the internet and network more often.  I did network and do some marketing of myself but most of the work I did was through word of mouth.  I met many nice people and was able to work on a wide range of projects which was exciting.  At the same time though I did not seek out specific design communities to connect with; however blogging, twitter, facebook, craigslist and the rest of the social media cites make it easier to connect to other designers and that is powerful.  Maybe I will try freelancing again in the future except this time I will be an instructional designer.

Resources:

Foster, N. (2011, August 19). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.graphicdesignblender.com/freelancing-advice-from-successful-designers

Stolovitch, H. (n.d.). Project management concerns: Scope creep. [video]. Lecture presented for Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved March 9, 2013 from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2652514_1%26url%3D

Communication ~ Interpreting Meaning

“The ability to communicate well, both orally and in writing, is a critical skill for project managers,” advices Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer (2008).

In this assignment I was to listen to, read and then look at a video in which Jane needs data (a report) from Mark.  She has been waiting on it and is concerned that she will miss her own deadline because she needs his data to complete her own work. The message was the same in each instance, however, my interpretation changed.  At first I felt she needed a report and later she needed data.  This is a little confusing because she was not specific as to which report or data that she needed.  However, what truly changed from each modality was the personal touch.  An email is less personal, Jane asked very nicely for the data; she was respectful, direct and appreciative.  In the voicemail she sounded urgent; however, she still showed compassion and understanding through the tone of her voice.  Finally the video or face to face meeting I could tell that Jane was kind and understanding and truly concerned about missing a deadline.  She even seems to want to help Mark solve the problem help him get the data to her faster.  Personally, I found the face to face meeting to be the most personal.

Portny, et al., (2008) explains that there are two types of communication; Formal and Informal.  “Formal communications are preplanned and conducted in a standard format in accordance with an established schedule” as described by Portny, et al., (2008, p. 357).  Portny, et al., (2008) defines, “informal communications occur as people think of information they want to share” (p. 357).  Choosing a communication style is essential because stakeholders need information given to them consistently and the project manager needs to understand that if they use informal communication often the rest of the team may not be privy to the original conversation.  Therefore, after informal communication it is necessary to follow up with a more formal communication like an email (Stolovich, 2012).  I also believe that it is necessary to communicate with people in multiple ways, at times multiple times to remind them and to document what is happening. I often will ask team members face to face for something.  Then give them a day or so then I’ll email them and remind them that we talked the day before and I am looking forward to receiving what I asked for.  Finally, I would leave a voicemail.  If there still was not a response, I would go by and see them again. 

Stolovich (2012) believes that ambiguity should be avoided and that being precise will ensure there are not miscommunications.  It is my belief that by keeping things precise the project manager’s job will be easier too as no one will be second guessing the project manager or themselves. When I worked at a software company the teams were precise and everyone could say what they needed and wanted in order to get the job done.  That saved a huge amount of time and concern for everyone. In the future I want to get back to communicating more precisely.  In a school, often time’s ambiguity can fill the air and it has rubbed off on me.  It will be difficult to overcome but I look forward to the challenge.  My peers may not understand though as they are not used to having that sort of communication but at least there will not be misunderstandings.

SIDE NOTE: While looking for images I ran across a funny comic, and wanted to share: http://criticalthinkingexamples.blogspot.com/2011/03/semantic-ambiguity-ii.html

Resources:

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.

Painting a Nursery / Reviewing the Process

Green and White stripes for nursery.

Working through household projects with one’s spouse can at times be trying.  In my house on every project my husband and I decide who should be in charge and who the laborer is.  This system has worked for us and was some great advice we received from a friend years ago.  However, that only solves part of the potential problems.  When I was pregnant with my first daughter in 2008 I wanted to make a nice nursery, paint furniture and everything.  I also knew what I wanted, or so I thought.  The outcome was to everyone else really nice, but to me the stripes on the wall weren't the color I was going for.  I wanted a stripes on the walls of varying thicknesses in white but not bright white and light green, really light green.  I also wanted a chair rail added.  The stripes would be above the chair rail and below would be solid white.  Basically, I was going for a clean, simple and airy feeling and not pink.  What I got was something close, the furniture and the details in painting turned out well (very nice vertical stripes that were straight).  The color of the paint was another story.  Now, I’m a graphic designer by trade and I've painted walls before.  I've even painted other people’s houses but for some reason I couldn't get the color right for this room.  So, where did I go wrong?

Greer (2010), has a ten step process he proposes to help ensure successful projects (p. 5):

 Step 1: Define the project concept, then get support and approval.

 Step 2: Get your team together and start the project.

 Step 3: Figure out exactly what the finished work products will be.

 Step 4: Figure out what you need to do to complete the work products. (Identify tasks and phases.)

 Step 5: Estimate time, effort, and resources.

 Step 6: Build a schedule.

 Step 7: Estimate the costs.

 Step 8: Keep the project moving.

 Step 9: Handle scope changes.

 Step 10: Close out phases, close out the project. 

Greer (2010) also has a list of what he calls “The People Stuff: 10 Sets of Challenges to Inspire Project Teams” (p. 5):

1.      Trust Your Judgment

2.      Let Go of Perfectionism

3.      Celebrate the Chaos Within

4.      Embrace the Work Itself

5.      Take the Risk

6.      Just Say No

7.      Listen, Understand, Collaborate

8.      Just Do It!

9.      Consciously Choose Your Attitude

10.  Be the Change You Want to See

The project was partially successful and many people thought I was being overly critical of myself.  However, the colors were not right and after all I love color but these two colors made my eyes vibrate.  I believe that I followed Greer’s ten steps to successful projects pretty well.  It’s “the people stuff” that got in my way.  I had everything going well until I went to the paint store and didn't trust my own judgment for fear I was making a mistake with the colors.  My husband and I walked into Home Depot, I knew what I wanted and had looked at colors for months at Home Depot and other places.  I showed him the swatches and said what do you think?  He said he thought the colors were too similar and there was not enough contrast. Hum, I said I didn't think about that but I wanted to get the paint samples anyway.  When we reached the paint counter to have the paint mixed, I asked the Home Depot employee what he thought about the colors for a nursery.  He felt they were too similar too and that I wouldn’t really notice a difference between the two colors on the wall.  Oh, now I’m thinking two people are saying this, they probably have a good point.  I’m trying to listen to my team now and I don’t want to nursery to look weird.  So, I say okay, and continue the conversation with what colors these two people think would go well.  I end up letting them choose the two colors and because I’m so certain of their choices, I don’t get samples. I get the gallons of paint that the room will need.

That is where I went wrong.  It’s not letting them choose the colors, well entirely anyway. I should have just bought a sample and tried it out.  I could not say no to these people because I wanted everything to be perfect and I didn't trust myself.

We went home and started painting the next day.  I was nervous the entire time we are painting, I was thinking to myself, “oh no, this is not going to look good”.  I even mentioned it to my husband who reminds me paint dries differently and I should give it a chance.  OK, I think, just breathe it will be okay.  Even though I have reservations we don’t stop and let a few stripes dry to see if I like it.  No, we paint the whole room.  Ugh. The next day we walked into the nursery and my husband says, "Ah, it looks nice."  I said, "Uhuh, the paint doesn't make your eyes vibrate?" He smiles and says, "Well, maybe a little. What do you want to do?" I said, "Give me the paint cans and I’ll try to mix the green down to a lighter shade," which was much better.  However, despite it really looking okay, it just wasn't quite right.  At this point in the project we didn't have the money, time or energy to redo the whole room.

 

In short, I needed to trust my own judgment and stick to the plan.  Deviating from the plan led the project away and caused the project to be less successful than I would have liked.

Resources:

Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.