Project Scope Problems and Challenge Areas

Posted by SkillMaker in Dec, 2016

Project Scope Problems and Challenge Areas

Project scope problems and challenge areas are the points during project delivery when the project team encounters problems or challenges that could negatively impact on project scope. Some may have been already identified as potential scope impact factors, in which case they may be anticipated—and planned for. But others can be unexpected; they are the ones likely to be of most concern to the Project Manager.

What are some typical problems and challenges on projects?

Some typical problem and challenge areas include:

• industrial disputes
• sustained and unexpected bad weather that impacts on schedules (e.g. severe flood)
• unexpected loss of key staff
• demanding and difficult stakeholder acting outside the bounds of what they initially agreed
• the arrival of new technology and its impact on current systems
• an epidemic that causes widespread absenteeism among key project participants (e.g. bird flu or similar)
• currency fluctuations, which may affect the cost of imported equipment
• latent site conditions (e.g. underlying rock that was not identified)
• unexpected discovery of a toxic material on a building site or in a working area (e.g. asbestos)
• change in user requirements.

Events such as these can impact on project scope, substantially so if not managed correctly. As mentioned earlier, such events need to be identified early and planned for. This enables the project team to mitigate or minimise the risks associated with these problems or challenges. A prudent Project Manager will always have contingency plans—have Plan B ready to go if Plan A should fail.  

Additional information

For more information about project scope problems and challenge areas, visit:http://www.axium.com/blog/how-do-you-troubleshoot-scope-problems/