Avoiding Scope Creep and Embracing Your Core Competency

Scope Creep

According to a report from Strategy+Business.com, a staggering 91.5% of projects overshoot their budgets, schedules, or both. Shockingly, less than 1% of projects are completed on time, on schedule, and deliver the promised results. 

‍

One of the prevailing causes for projects not being delivered, especially for businesses that focus on quality, is scope creep. Scope creep happens when the project's boundaries expand before meeting the initially defined goals. It often leads to increased resource allocation and time constraints that weren't accounted for among other issues. In project management terms, venturing into areas beyond your core competency, especially before fully delivering on your core promises, is considered "scope creep." 

‍

Your Core Genius: Jen Loving

Recently, I had the privilege of meeting Jen Loving, a seasoned entrepreneur with a remarkable track record of growing businesses from startup to seven-digit success stories. Jen's top tip for achieving the coveted $100k milestone is to "Focus on your core genius." Core genius is defined as the unique value you bring to the table. Jen emphasizes the importance of not just recognizing your core genius but effectively communicating it to others, as this is what turns it into profit.

‍

Those who concentrate on their core genius not only stand out from their competition, but are also efficient in meeting their goals and completing their projects because of the clearer vision of the future they are creating. There is no argument that this is every business’s goal, yet it's easy to get distracted and lose sight of our primary goals and begin to wander into unknown territory.

‍

In order to battle scope creep, one of the leading solutions is to keep your core genius at the forefront of your business strategy.

‍

Cloud Imperium: A case study on Scope Creep

For a comprehensive illustration of scope creep's consequences, look no further than the development saga of Star Citizen by Cloud Imperium Games. This crowdfunding project, which began in 2012, is the second-largest campaign ever, raising over $601 million USD to date. In 2023, the game is still in a testing state, far from an official release. Many of its basic features promised in 2012 remain unfulfilled and if you do a quick search you’ll find a lot of disappointed fans.

‍

By standard project management measures, Star Citizen's prolonged development is deemed a failure due to missed deadlines, budget overruns, and unmet promises to their audience and backers.

‍

In Conclusion

If you've ever grappled with projects going over time and budget, you're not alone. All businesses of many sizes encounter scope creep, resulting in projects being prolonged and increased spend. To overcome these hurdles, stay focused on delivering and promoting your core competency. By bringing your unique value to your community and the world, you'll find success.

‍

Stay tuned for my next article, where we will delve deeper into most businesses’ number one asset and highest cost: our people.

‍