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.
Hello Shenice,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post on scope creep and it seems like the day of your daughter's birthday was hectic, but everything turned out beautifully. We must always have a back up plan when planning parties or events because it seems that when everything starts to fall apart. I can say that I experienced even more scope creep on Saturday which was my son's first birthday party. The menu didn't go as planned and everyone pretty much arrived late so I was not able to play games. I can definitely relate to your scope creep experience and hopefully in the future we will be better prepared.
Shenice
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a successful PM, to have all that creep (including the cake) and have no one notice. It seems to me that you did use one of the strategies from the text (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer, 2008) when you readjusted the budget. Congrats on your successful party!
References
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.
Shenice,
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with your tenacity to make that birthday happen without a glitch despite all of the setbacks you endured. While I agree with you that more detailed research might have prevented the initial problem with the icing, there comes a point when planning must end, and risks must be taken! I'm glad the party was a success. Never give up!