In a previous post I discussed my believe that I failed to plan my daughter's first birthday correctly. Since this is the only thing that I have been responsible for that can be closely related to a project manager's role I will use it again. Experiencing scope creep is the reason I believe that the project was not as successful as it could have been. I experience scope creep in my budget which effected my resources both material and human. A month before the party, I signed up to take a fondant and gumpaste class so that I could make my daughter's cake. I found a design on Google images that I was just absolutely in love with.I was the human resource that was responsible for the cake. However, a few days after my first class I began experiencing car trouble and in completely wiped out my savings. I was counting on having that has a cushion for the budget, just in case I went over. Now I was in a position to where I had to readjust the budget because I not only needed money for materials, but I had to survive until payday.
I managed to still pull off a great design using the knowledge I gained from the first class. I burnt the midnight oil making sure that I had all materials lined up and packed up. The next day, I packed the car with party materials and the baby. Ten minutes down the road I look in the review mirror and the top layer of my cake has slid off and is smushed against the side of the box. I did not do the proper research to know that the homemade fondant I made was not suited for hot weather and melts rather quickly. Scope creep was returning at the last minute. As a result of a new set back I now had to think quickly on how to fix the situation and call in some group members to take over task that I was not able to handle in time. In the end, the top half was saved and looked great and the party came to gather right as the time was up. Everyone gave great compliments on the party, but they had no idea the amount of effort it took to pull it off.
