Two steps away from the county line. Just trying to keep my customers satisfied.

Those are the words from Paul Simons song Keep the Customer Satisfied.

One of the most difficult challenges faced by senior project managers is scope control.

Whether it's an internal or an external one, clients always want the most they can get and team members are trained to try and satisfy the client.

It it's a major project you might have dozens of client interfaces with hundreds of staff and project team member all trying to make the "customer satisfied". The combination of trying to satisfy the customer and the customers desires for more, inevitably leads to scope creep. It's often little things that add up and become a big thing and when you move your focus for a second it's the little things that turn a big project south.

How do you as the person in charge control the inevitable? Well here is a short list.

Have a charter that clearly outlines the project mission and goals.

Have an agreed to list of priorities.

Make sure the clients know that there WILL BE trade-offs in time and scope if they ask for "extras". Keep the tradeoffs in front of the team and the client’s team. This may tend to retard client requests when they are confronted every time they ask for something, even if it is cost free.

Carefully define contract deliverables. If it’s not on the list ask for extra time to complete the work for extra coasts. If the client is confronted every time they ask for more with cost or schedule issues they will be reluctant to go up the food chain for permission.

Build a detailed WBS and if it’s not in the work plan it’s a change, ask for written notice whenever there is a change.

Make a critical path schedule for the project and review it with the team and the client. If a request from the client affects the critical path, ask for a time extension, or at least some consideration for the costs of "crashing the schedule".

Ensure that there is a system that requires decision makers to approve any client requested additional work. 

Team members who notify senior management before making client requested changes are REWARDED for helping control scope.

How do you reward team members for controlling scope?

Here are just a couple of suggestions; you need to look at your own operation to find better ones.

Ensure that change control is not confrontational. Pose it as focusing on effective and efficient work process for the team and client.

Add time to their task work. Don’t crowd them to finish and start other things, or overload them with new work. If you can, pay them extra for the extra work (overtime).

Publicly acknowledge scope control by publishing change lists to team members so they can see how others are controlling scope.

Each project and team is unique, make sure you tailor the scope control process to the needs of the client and the team.