If you ask project managers to define scope creep, they will say it’s a hidden enemy. And want it or not, it appears out of the blue, sometimes even before the rubber hits the road. Being one of the most common reasons for project failure, scope creep has to be navigated intelligently. 

You need to be prepared from the start so that you can manage client expectations during the project and make sure everyone’s on the same page at all times. It involves understanding the definition of scope creep, its causes, and how to avoid it. And we’ve got a guide for you to answer the hardest questions. 

Let’s start with the basics.

So what is scope creep?

Scope creep, also called feature creep, or requirement creep, is the uncontrolled growth or change in the scope of a project. It can happen to any project at any time, and it’s something that every project manager dreads. 

By definition, scope creep happens when the client keeps adding new features and requirements to a project. The additions are not discussed with the team prior to being added and so require more work than expected. 

Samuel Willis, a project expert out of Florida, now part of the US Navy’s Intelligence Team says he had to “learn about scope creep real quick because you find out you’re being taken advantage of or the project would never end.” At the end of the day, this applies to all project managers.

But how do you know if it’s scope creep?

A project may be progressing along swimmingly, and then something out of left field changes everything. But how do you know whether it’s scope creep? Here’re some definitions you could benefit from knowing before tagging any change on your project as scope creep. 

Scope creep vs scope change vs scope gap

The difference between scope creep, scope change, and scope gap lies in the following:

Scope creep is when a project’s scope changes and the team involved with it isn’t notified, or the changes aren’t reflected in the project’s budget and timeline. The result is that the scope of the project can increase to the point where it leads to dissatisfaction or even failure.

Scope change is when both parties agree that a project should change its scope. This might include adding new features or expanding functionality. When this happens, adjustments are made to account for the budget, timeline, and resources involved.

Scope gap is when there is a mismatch between what the client expects and what the project team understands about the scope of a non-agile project. Since agile projects expect their scope to change and development happens iteratively, this kind of gap doesn’t exist beyond a single iteration.

Why scope creep is bad for your project

To date, scope creep is strongly believed to be the main issue impacting your organization’s ability to complete projects. 41% of project managers in the PMI community admit that scope creep has been a challenge.

While it’s true that some scope creep is inevitable — especially in creative projects — if the scope of your project changes dramatically without discussion, this can lead to serious problems. 

The thing is, if the budget doesn’t change to reflect the new requirements, then you’re out-of-pocket for all the extra work. And if there are certain aspects of the project that are no longer relevant because of the changes, then you’ll need to request payment for these “lost” tasks.

An example of project scope creep

Scope creep happens when you find yourself in endless rounds of “just one more feature,” and your project ends up taking way longer than you planned. 

The devil, or better say scope creep, is always in the details. New requests, even the smallest ones, can snowball into a big chunk of work. Consider this example of scope creep: 

You sit down with a new client and scope out their project. You write up your estimate in an email which includes everything they need to bring their project to completion. Then, they pick up their phone and call you saying they need this extra feature or what if this happened? The next day, they ask you to add yet another layer. 

This way, they add work to a project that wasn’t originally specified and agreed upon by both parties involved. It’s when you tack on that extra 20% that really can make the difference between a profitable job and an unsuccessful one! 

So it’s better to know all causes of scope creep before it hits you, which brings me to my next point. 

Top causes of scope creep

There are several reasons scope creep happens. Here are a few of the most common:

• Poor communication. Without proper communication, it’s hard to maintain an understanding of the vision and requirements of your product. If you don’t communicate effectively throughout the project, then you can easily lose track of your goals and end up with a product that will lack clarity and focus.
• Poorly defined objectives. If you don’t have clear parameters for what you’re trying to achieve, it will be hard to determine whether something falls within the scope of your project or not.
• Change in requirements. The client or stakeholders may not have all their requirements listed when they start working with you on the project, so changes are bound to happen as more features are added or discovered during the course of development. These unexpected changes could lead to scope creep if they aren’t properly communicated or understood by everyone involved in the project.
• Pressure from a client or upper management to increase the scope. Sometimes clients simply don’t know what they want and need time to get their thoughts in order before they can specify their needs. But if you say yes before they’ve finalized their requirements, that won’t help either one of you — it will just contribute to scope creep and cause delays down the road.

All in all, there are two kinds of scope creep:

1. The good kind: it’s when project changes are agreed on by both the client and the project manager. The agreed-upon changes are beneficial to both parties and don’t affect the budget or timeline.
2. The bad kind: when changes aren’t discussed by both parties, but still impact the budget, timeline, and possibly quality of work. These changes can be detrimental to both parties and lead to dissatisfaction with the final product.

Learn more about different types of scope creep here. And continue reading for tips to avoid scope creep.

How to avoid scope creep in the first place

Whatever the cause, scope creep is rarely malicious. Your clients aren’t trying to take advantage of you — they’re simply unaware that adding additional features will require more time and money, which will delay the original deadline for completion.

It’s your responsibility to communicate that reality, however, and avoid scope creep from happening in the first place. The thing is that project scope creep happens to the best of us, but there are ways to minimize the effects. Here are our top tips for how to avoid scope creep. That starts with defining the scope clearly at the beginning of the project.

1. Start with a project charter

The first thing to do when you’re about to start a brand new project is to create a project charter. A charter captures the boundaries of the project in terms of both functionality and time. The charter should be an agreement between your customer and your team. 

While a project charter is not a required part of the project management process, it’s something that should be included in your workflow. It helps to clarify the purpose of the entire project, setting expectations and providing guidelines in terms of how things will get done. 

2. Identify all stakeholders as early as possible

To minimize the risk of scope creep, you need to identify all the stakeholders who will be involved in the project. These are people or groups whose interests are affected by the results of your project. Stakeholders can be internal (your company) or external (a client company). They can be part of your team or not. You should include anyone who will be impacted by the project or who has the power to influence it.

You’ll likely come up with a long list of stakeholders, but don’t worry! The next step is to prioritize this list and focus on working with your most important stakeholders first.

3. Have an initial kick-off meeting 

Get everyone together for an initial kick-off meeting with all key stakeholders and customers, so that everyone understands the purpose of the project from the outset. This will allow you to set expectations at the start, rather than allowing them to morph into something else later on. 

This is also where you’ll need to get agreement on what’s in and out of scope: What will be included? What won’t? What are some things that we may not be able to include in this version but might consider later?

You don’t need to make a final decision about features at this point (that can come later), but you should agree on a basic framework.

4. Agree on a good scope definition

What are you building? What is your vision? A good scope definition is the first step in managing project scope. It should include objectives, deliverables, work breakdown structure, assumptions, and constraints. 

Even if your client changes their mind later on, you can easily refer back to this document and remind them that this change was not agreed upon.

In most cases, the best plan is to stick to your original scope definition. Adding new features will increase costs and introduce new risks, which can jeopardize your return on investment.

5. Create a Statement of Work

Another tool for preventing scope creep is called a Statement of Work (SOW). This document outlines exactly what the client will expect from your team. It breaks the project into smaller chunks. For example, if your team is working on developing an app, your SOW may break down each phase of development in detail so that there’s no room for confusion once you get started on the project.

6. Set expectations on what is out of scope (“specifically exclude”)

Just because a feature wasn’t included in the original spec doesn’t mean it can’t be added later. But stakeholders need to know that out-of-scope items will require more time and resources and might push the project deadline back. It’s always better to have this discussion at the outset of the project.

7. Define success criteria for your project 

Define what “success” will look like. Include a list of deliverables in your initial proposal, as well as what won’t be included in the project. This clarifies expectations from both parties’ perspectives.

8. Build a roadmap and timeline for your project 

To avoid scope creep, you need to set clear parameters for your project right from the start and make sure everyone involved understands what’s expected at each stage. A roadmap will make things visual. This way you can be sure everything happens when intended without having to deal with unnecessary delays caused by unexpected additions later on down the line.

9. Have clear deadlines and milestones in place

Tracking deliverables against deadlines helps keep everyone accountable, and also makes it easier to spot when things aren’t going according to plan. If an upcoming milestone looks like it might not be met, flag this early.

10. Be realistic about timeframes

Talk through every detail of the project carefully with your client before starting work. Be realistic about how long it will take to complete each task, and outline these clearly so your client knows what to expect. If they want to add or change anything, remind them of your original agreement and negotiate any changes before they spiral out of control.

11. Clarify the roles of every person involved in the project

You should establish the stakeholder roles and responsibilities as early as possible. Make sure that every team member, stakeholder, and client knows what their role is in relation to the project. This will also help with accountability when all parties know who is responsible for which aspects of the project.

12. Recognize who has authority over project changes

Projects are inherently risky. In order for projects to be successful, the people running them need to know whom they can rely on. One of the first steps in ensuring a project’s success is making sure each team member knows who has the authority over the project plans. 

While there might not be a formal hierarchy or titles in place—and while it might be different from company to company—it’s important that everyone understands what their role is and how they are supposed to act in order for their role to work.

13. Get input from stakeholders early and often

You may think that you know what your client wants, but do they really? Get feedback from stakeholders throughout the project—don’t wait until completion! 

It’s “talking to people” that helps project managers prevent scope creep, believes Alexander Stauber, a Project Lead at Payback. 

This will help keep everyone on the same page and prevent any last-minute changes that could jeopardize your timeline and budget.

14. Be crystal clear on what you’ll deliver

You need to establish clear expectations on what the final product will look like and how it will function before you start work on it. The more detail you can include at this stage, the better. Include sample materials (such as wireframes) where possible so everyone knows what they’re signing up for.

As you get started on your project, be sure everyone involved understands the scope of the work and how long it will take to accomplish. This can help prevent confusion later down the line when people start asking for additions or modifications. To establish clear expectations, creating a project schedule is necessary. 

15. Set boundaries

You need to set limits and not deviate from them if you hope to stick within budget and on schedule. That means letting people know you’ll consider their requests but only if they’re willing to pay for them. Once you’ve made a commitment and started work on something, it’s unlikely that anyone will agree to pay for alterations.

16. Get everything in writing

Don’t rely on verbal communication alone — always document any changes or additions in an official project update. This ensures that everyone has a record of what was discussed, as well as a paper trail you can refer back to if someone says they don’t remember agreeing to do something (or not do something)

17. Don’t overpromise

While you may have the best intentions in mind when starting a project, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement. When you’re managing a project, there’s a natural tendency to want to make it bigger and more ambitious. This is the point where your team starts overpromising and overdelivering in the end. 

Phil Simon, an award-winning author, advisor, dynamic keynote speaker in project management, told us he once delivered twice the functionality for 40% less than the budgeted amount only to have others excoriate him. “I learned that you can fail by succeeding,” Phil told us. 

This is when you need to take a step back and ask yourself if your plans are realistic, or if you’re setting yourself (and your team) up for failure.

You can avoid this pitfall by taking some time to think about how much time your team will realistically have to complete the task. You also don’t want to assume that every resource will be available at all times. It is better to plan for potential delays and setbacks before they happen than it is to assume everything will go as planned.

18. Assume there will be change

Change happens. It’s just an inevitability of life. You know that when you launch a project, things are going to change over its course; it’s just part of the process. So why do we always seem so surprised when it happens?

To combat this, it’s helpful to always assume that there will be some sort of change in the lifespan of your project. If you go into a campaign or contract with this mindset, then you’re more likely to plan accordingly. This means you’ll have a better handle on your budget and timeline.

19. Develop a change control process

Scope creep can lead to budget and time overruns, as well as a host of other issues. It is therefore important that you have a change control process in place.

A change control process is a formalized system for handling and evaluating requests for changes in the scope of a project. It’s incredibly important because it helps you define and manage the expectations of all stakeholders.

To set up your change control process, you’ll need to decide what types of changes will be allowed (minor modifications, major modifications) and when they’ll be allowed (e.g., at any time, before the next sprint). It’s also important to make sure that each team member has a clearly defined role within your change control process. You should also have an agreed-upon method for communicating changes to any relevant stakeholders who aren’t part of your project team.

Samuel Willis is certain that scope creep is prevented by change orders. “The change order either appropriately compensates for the additional scope or shuts it down,” he explains.  

All in all, here are three of the project management plans you can create to be able to control your scope:

* Scope Management Plan—This plan outlines what is included in the scope of your project and what’s not. It also identifies who should be involved in approving any changes to the scope.

* Change Management Plan—Changes happen, especially in projects. This plan documents how you will manage changes once they occur by providing guidelines for how new requests are assessed and approved.

* Risk Management Plan—This plan defines how your team will assess risks, determine their impact on the project, and prioritize them so that you can effectively handle them as they arise.

20. Measure progress at every step of the way

Measuring project progress involves monitoring tasks that have been completed as well as those that are still in process. It also involves comparing actual work with planned work in order to determine whether the work is on schedule. When measuring progress against a budget, you want to know whether you are over or under budget.

Here’s an example:

You have a team of four developers working on a new web application. They’re tasked with building the server-side code for the application (e.g., including user registration, user-to-user messaging, and other similar features). The team estimates that they’ll need 1,500 hours to complete this work.

After two months of development, they’ve completed 500 hours worth of work and they’re estimating that there are still 1,000 hours left. Based on this information, you calculate that the project is 25% complete (i.e., 500 / 2,000).

21. Create a weekly status report 

Creating a weekly status report is one of the best ways to stay on top of your project, and can help you avoid becoming “scathed” by scope creep.

A project manager has a huge role in avoiding scope creep — making sure all their team members are aware of their goals and how they’re going to achieve them. A good PM can also take into account the things that need done and those that can wait, so they don’t fall into the trap of trying to do it all themselves.

The single biggest reason for scope creep is losing sight of your original plan. If you don’t write down your plan and track how much work is left to do every week, you won’t be able to keep up with your schedule. And if you don’t write down your plan and track how much work is left to do every week, you might end up doing more than you intended. This can cause frustration, because everyone wants things finished by their deadline.

22. Use project management software

Project management software helps you avoid scope creep, too.

It gives you a reliable way to collaborate with your team and clients. Not only can you organize your plans, you’ll have one place to go for updates and clarifications. 

Advanced project management solutions will also allow you to track progress and plan different scenarios when change requests come in. 

23. Schedule regular scope definition meetings 

It may sound counterintuitive, but scheduling more meetings actually helps you avoid scope creep by giving your team more opportunities to discuss what is and isn’t included in the project.

You should set aside some time every few weeks to go over the specific requirements of your project. These meetings should be held at regular intervals (like once a month) and involve all stakeholders in the project — including anyone who will be using the final product.

24. Ask for feedback from clients

This can go a long way in preventing scope creep from happening. Check in with your clients regularly – ask what they think about deliverables and make sure they are happy with where you are headed. The sooner you get client feedback, the sooner you’ll be able to identify any potential issues or problems before they become bigger ones down the road.

Don’t wait until the very end of the project to ask for client feedback either. Ask for feedback at key milestones (design, development, etc.). This will also prevent unpleasant surprises while wrapping up your project too.

25. Be ready to say no 

In game design, when something’s no longer fun, it stops being fun. If this is happening for your team, and you’re being asked too much, then politely tell them that there’s no more time or resources for them to work on this issue. 

If they persist and ask again, it might mean that they don’t have the full picture of what is possible or how you need to proceed. When this happens, find someone who can help make sure they understand what everyone wants and needs so they can build something together in tandem with your goals.

Start by explaining to your client that you understand their needs and want to meet them, but only within the scope of what’s possible given your budget and schedule.

This isn’t always an easy conversation to have, but it’s better than agreeing to terms you can’t fulfill – or being forced to cut corners on your project in order to meet unrealistic expectations.

26. Know who to contact when change comes in

Identify the person who will make the final call on whether or not something gets added to the project’s scope. They may be your client, or they may be a sponsor within an organization. Once you know who this person is, keep them in the loop as much as possible and get their agreement before making any changes to the project.

27. Document change requests and submit them for approval 

It’s tempting to just roll with the punches and keep working, but this is a recipe for disaster. If you want to avoid scope creep (and the messiness that comes with it), you’ll need to document change requests and submit them for feedback and approval before the work begins.

This way, you won’t have to play guess-and-check with your clients about what their vision is – they’ll be able to sign off on specific changes as they come up. With this system, both you and your client will be able to save time and money.

As you can see, there are many ways you can avoid your projects from getting sidetracked by scope creep. While there’s no one magical way to avoid scope creep, there are methods that you can employ in a batch to help ensure the project stays on course. Let me know in the comments below if there’s anything missing from the equation!

The post Scope Creep in Project Management – And 27 Tips to Avoid it appeared first on PM Column.

What is predictive analytics in project management?

If you ask me, predictive analytics in project management is software functionality that helps managers see beyond their capacity. IBM experts define predictive analytics as a way to “discover patterns in data and go beyond knowing what has happened to anticipating what is likely to happen next.”

While I understand that there are projects that last less than a year, lots of construction, aerospace, finance, or software initiatives take years to reach the finish line. People assigned to manage such complex projects lack the ability to see the project landscape until they find a proper tool. Contractors, in turn, risk delivering a pig in a poke.

That’s precisely when project forecasting tools come into play.

To understand how predictive analytics evolved in project management, let’s travel a few years back to when, where, and, most importantly, why it became a trend.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the increased innovation-led competition has called on businesses to revamp their old approaches in favor of the new ones. Companies started to look for efficient ways to secure their competitive stronghold and advance business capacity. Sitting on huge volumes of data, many realized that the trove of available project information was a valuable asset.

According to MathWorks, “Data-driven predictive models can help companies solve long-standing problems in new ways.” Project management is no exception and a variety of machine learning algorithms are applied specifically to anticipate cost overruns, forecast resource needs, and make time tracking effortless.

That’s why predictive project analytics is pretty much equivalent to the lever in the time machine that could allow project managers to travel in time.

Deloitte was the first in a class of its own to introduce the notion of predictive project analytics (PPA) for the sake of reducing project risks, especially in complex projects. Deloitte consultants are of opinion that knowing key factors that cause project failure, it’s possible to build tools that benchmark project success. I agree with them on the following:

Research shows that project success hinges on a range of factors, including the project’s inherent complexity, the project team’s capability level and the maturity of existing controls and governance processes. So it stands to reason that your organization could mitigate project risk, reduce the incidence of failure and close gaps if you could accurately benchmark your capabilities in each of these areas against similar projects. – Deloitte

The term first coined by Deloitte, predictive project analytics blazed a trail for many companies that further developed techniques of forecasting in management. Forecast project management has become a widespread practice among PM software providers.

Why do project managers need predictive analytics?

Project managers work in swamps of data – tasks, time estimates, priorities, milestones, capacity, workload, costs, and other digitized variables. According to Clive Humby, a UK Mathematician and architect of Tesco’s Clubcard who coined the phrase “data is the new oil,” data is valuable only if it’s broken down, analyzed, and refined. So far, in project management, a possible way to unlock the value of project data is to apply a predictive model to it. This will help project managers analyze their projects under various scenarios and, literally, create a simulation out of their programs and portfolios. If you’re thinking of developing your own project forecasting tool, it’s always good to engage with developers and IT pros who have experience in data science.

What predictive analytics certainly does is helping project managers answer a vast range of “what-if” questions that predict the possible outcome of the project if something has to be changed. Project forecasting software powered by predictive analytics will instantly move project managers in time to help them investigate the chain reaction and make decisions backed up by data when project cost management is under concern.

Ideally, a project manager armed with a project forecasting tool is able to detect floundering projects, find hot spots in project plans, and identify areas for improvement. Having access to this information (and the possibility for project managers to travel in time) grows the chance of setting and meeting quality goals.

Overall, a data-driven approach to project management helps businesses take confident momentous decisions and save millions of dollars of investments.

How forecasting applies to agile project management

Today, only lazy project managers haven’t tried to blend Agile into their context. It’s no secret that once applied, this methodology has a tendency to bring spectacular results to companies, willing to embrace change. Guy Maslen, the Head of Geohazards Monitoring Department at GNS Science, sees agility delivering a reduction in risk, “specifically the risk that we fail to create value.” According to Maslen, “The frameworks, practices, and culture place barriers in the way of human error occurring and minimize the consequences of an error should those barriers fail. We might still get things wrong, however, it will be at the smallest cost of time and effort, with the least possible sunk costs.”

Many are moving towards agile to better deal with uncertainty and predictability, but there are two camps of Agilists arguing over the relevance of project forecasting software in project management. While the representatives of the first camp believe that tools are ineffective and hinder Agile, the second camp of representatives, as Perry Watkins consider predictive models to be an asset:

I would disagree with the notion that attempting to predict future outcomes is not agile. Being agile has to be relative to something. You are agile today because of some perceived threat to some future state. If you have not defined what you think that future state should be, why would you need to act agilely? – Perry Watkins, the President of The TAPFT Company

The truth is that equipped with a predictive analytics tool, agile project managers have more power. They are able to experiment with different variables and see how changing one variable can influence the outcome.

The days of solidly intuitive predictions are long GONE.

What are the best examples of forecasting and predictive analytics in project management?

There are analytical project management tools designed to show your progress on each step of the way – be it in the past, in the present, or in the future. They provide project managers with vital metrics and information to keep them posted on the project’s progress. But true predictive analytics tools should do more than that. They are able to forecast what could be the future outcome of the project under various scenarios based on the data you have. According to Robert Wells, the CEO of Allocable who has nearly 20 years of experience in Robotic Process Automation and Intelligent Automation, “This is done by using machines to process large volumes of performance and contextual data and predict outcomes that were previously impossible to foresee.”

Creating the list of these applications for project managers, I basically took into account two important things – available predictive modeling features and seamless integration with other tools, where you keep your data. These two things are critical to successful traveling in time. Apart from these preferences, I made sure that the tools can offer an exceptional user experience and help project managers at every stage of project management.

1. Runn – https://www.runn.io
2. Forecast – http://forecast.app
3. Celoxis – https://www.celoxis.com
4. Epicflow – https://www.epicflow.com
5. Hive – https://hive.com
6. ScopeMaster – https://www.scopemaster.com
7. Lili.ai – http://www.lili.ai
8. Certus 3 – https://certus3.com
9. nTask – https://www.ntaskmanager.com

1. Runn – https://www.runn.io

At its core, Runn is a resource management platform, and that’s what makes it so ideal for project forecasting in professional services businesses, where everything relies on people’s time and skills. Despite being fairly new on the market, the platform has become a favorite of IT consultancies, digital agencies, and software companies, and for good reason. 

Runn offers you the big picture of all your project plans, consisting of resource allocations (for actual work), placeholders (for work that’s in demand), and tentative bookings (for projects that haven’t materialized yet but were put in as opportunities by the sales team).

Project managers and operations leads appreciate Runn for the slickest and most intuitive interface, but what makes it stand out among the other solutions is the most dynamic financial reporting. Runn forecasts the revenue, cost, and profit of the project and with its robust capacity, workload, and availability charts, you can predict when you need to hire new people and spot the demand for different roles. 

In contrast to other project forecasting tools below, you won’t need to drill down to the details and estimate each single task. Just allocate your resources to projects and the system will put everything together and calculate whether your plan is feasible or not by taking into account resource availability and capacity and highlighting insights for you. 

2. Forecast – http://forecast.app

What makes Forecast stand out as a project management tool is that it learns from your project history and creates a regression model to provide future estimates of budget and task duration. It’s the first tool on the market that uses machine learning to automate project planning and thus provides you with valuable insights.

The beauty of Forecast is in algorithms that can learn and adjust for the future, but its main plus is uniting many project segments like planning, budgeting, time tracking, resource scheduling etc. in one platform. Additionally, Forecast has a myriad of integration capabilities that ease the transition and make connection simpler. For those tempted to try it out, the service includes a free 14-day trial without a credit card required. When it comes to AI and predictive analytics in project management, Forecast is second to none.

3. Epicflow – https://www.epicflow.com

Epicflow is an all-in-one tool for project and portfolio management powered by predictive analytics. Collecting all your data under one Epicflow roof, you can figure out the most efficient way to perform well within set budgets and deadlines. Based on the project schedules, resource calendars, and resource load, Epicflow can run multiple what-if simulations in parallel that show you the progress of your projects in the future and help figure out what’s optimal for you in terms of costs, time, and value. What-if scenarios allow project managers to check the impact analysis on the demand plan. Thus it’s possible to define common areas of potential risk and incorporate appropriate checks and balances into the project plan to mitigate those risks.

The software proved itself exceptionally effective for companies from different industries, like manufacturing, construction, shipbuilding, automotive, tech, and healthcare. A free trial is available after the live demonstration.

4. Celoxis – https://www.celoxis.com

Celoxis is a complete powerhouse of algorithms that promise to get you and your projects covered from risk and uncertainty. The tool has been the platform of choice for brands like HBO, Bombardier, KPMG, Tesla, Adobe, and others. It excels at matching demand with capacity. Celoxis also provides powerful data-driven predictive analytics around slippages, costs, and revenues, so that you don’t have to depend on guesswork and rather act on your findings.

5. Hive – https://hive.com

Hive is the productivity platform for project managers. By leveraging AI and machine learning, Hive Analytics provides interactive and customizable dashboards to gain actionable insights on team productivity and proactively spot risks. It forecasts how long it will take to finish projects based on how long it has taken your team in the past. Hive uses algorithms to track and predict the estimates.

6. ScopeMaster – https://www.scopemaster.com

ScopeMaster tends to be a real game-changer for large software projects. The software is a go-to for project managers to reduce rework and scope churn. It can be used as a standalone SaaS or Jira plugin. Both provide some rule of thumb forecasts for effort, cost, time, defects based on regression analysis of thousands of previous projects. But the instrumental part of ScopeMaster is the dedication to the analysis of user stories. The company examined over 10,000 user stories from different sources to build up some insight into what represents a good user story. According to the experts behind ScopeMaster, problems with requirements in large software projects tend to be the most costly if they are undetected until later stages of the project. The tool objective is to reduce risks, improve estimation, negotiation, and project control by making requirements and user stories clearer.

7. Lili.ai – http://www.lili.ai

Lili.ai is a recent new-comer in advanced project management that immediately became popular in professional circles due to its powerful AI algorithms. What its CEO Milie Taing intends to prove by means of Lili.ai is that real-time, optimized, self-learning project management is possible. The tool automates recurring tasks, strives to identify risks, and suggests measures to minimize them. It also helps to prioritize to-do lists to reduce wait time. Lili is designed especially for large multi-million dollar projects subject to heavy legal contractual penalties.

8. Certus 3 – https://certus3.com

Certus 3 is the first cognitive example of forecasting in management. The machine learning technology inside the tool analyzes how people are performing together as a team and optimizes the best route for them, counting the probability of project success in. To do this, Certus 3 considers six peak performance attributes – clarity of purpose, balance, alliance, drive, certainty, and effectiveness – and suggests areas for improvements. It is a good addition to such project management methodologies as Agile, DevOps, and Prince2.

9. nTask – https://www.ntaskmanager.com/

nTask is a versatile project management software available freely in the market. It comes packed with intelligent features providing a smart over-all coverage to many project needs. Through native modules, nTask mitigates the need to constantly switch applications for effective project management. The tool also ensures an intuitive and smooth experience on the application via a smartly developed user interface.

Whether you’re a freelancer, part of a small team, member of a big corporation, or simply a blogger with lots of tasks at hand, the tool caters a diverse range of professionals. nTask helps you manage several teams, workspaces, projects, tasks, issues and has risk management modules.

What’s next for predictive analytics in project management?

Even though there are many efficient tools, the experts committed to driving change in the project management space don’t stop, looking for better ways to improve project performance. A new market report reveals that the global online project management software market is expected to reach a value of 6.68 billion dollars by 2026. GlobeNewswire suggests these numbers are due to the increasing adoption of cloud-based project management solutions. According to the report, the market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.4% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026. I’ve collected insights from experts who develop tools expecting them to change project managers’ experience.

2nd Brain

Perry Watkins, the President of The TAPFT Company is in the middle of developing the project management tool powered by predictive analytics. It’s called 2nd Brain. He created it precisely because of the inflexibility of existing tools. “People invest enormous amounts of energy in creating project plans but from there on, they basically become static, adjusting only to completion or slippage of tasks,” remarks Watkins.

2nd Brain shouldn’t work that way. It would propose a new roadmap if, for instance, one of your best customers calls and says they need the product they have been delaying for 3 months but they still want you to stick to the estimated delivery date you committed to 3 months ago. It would also make adjustments when you find out that your lead programmer just broke his leg in 3 places and will be out for 6 weeks.

2nd Brain works like GPS software. You tell it where you want to go and, based on your current location, it tells you the best route for getting there and approximately when you are supposed to arrive. If that ETA is acceptable, great. You just follow the plan provided. If not, adjust accordingly. You might speed up. You might remove stops you had planned to make along the way. The options are limitless. The point is that you adjust the data until the ETA is within an acceptable range. – Perry Watkins

Project Outcome Prediction Software

Paul Boudreau, the President of Stonemeadow Consulting, Canada is currently involved in research about how AI technology can provide value to the project management methodology used by organizations. Boudreau is now developing the logic for a predictive analytics tool that will forecast project success before the project starts and in real time as the project progresses. Currently, his team of four people is building the model which will then be coded in Python programming language so they can run the data through a classifier such as a neural network. The project is being done as part of work at the college where Boudreau teaches.

“The most difficult part at this time is getting sample data. Companies are reluctant to provide historical data where their projects have failed” admits the expert. Boudreau is working more towards AI tools that predict success and can simulate the entire project based on key success factors. The downfall of predictive analytics, in his opinion, is that it is based on historical data so he plans to include the current environment and future factors as well.

To sum up, there are particularly effective tools to do project forecasts and refine your data and I can tell that these will certainly pave our way to better project management decisions in the future. I also hope you’ll find a project forecasting tool that applies to your context and method. Leave your comments below and don’t forget to subscribe to the next flow of project management inspiration.

Illustration: Copyright © Margarita Winkler

The post Tools for Project Managers to Travel in Time appeared first on PM Column.

No longer is agile a purely software development methodology reserved for techies – organizational leaders across all industries are looking to adopt Agile methodologies, or at least some form of agility in their own field.

I’ve asked project managers how to illustrate the concept of Agile in a simple engaging way that every kid can understand. Here’s my collection of answers.

1

If you take the purest meaning of agile, which is how I always explain it to my children, agile is about being able to move quickly and easily. — Belkis Vasquez-McCall, USA

2

You remember when we were at a zoo? The organization is like a big zoo, but a human one. There are many different kinds of people with different kinds of food to eat — interests. Agile is something to connect them better, to let them eat together and share their food with each other. Only then the organization can change as quick as a leopard and adapt like a chameleon. If they don’t, the lion will come and eat them. And we don’t want this, so it’s better to learn agile. — Aleš Štempihar, Slovenia

3

Agile Project Management is when you have a boring and complicated school task that you transform into an exciting game with your friends. All of you contribute to the game, using your skills and interests, and the task gets done. — Yulia Tchernaya, Denmark

Agile can take on many meanings as you continue along your agile journey. Complacency can set in, which is dangerous because it can truly make agile feel almost the opposite of how it should be. Instead of enabling us to move quickly and easily, sometimes we get so bogged down with processes and documentation that we seem to do more moving by standing still and talking about moving than actually getting the job done.

4

Like building something from LEGO and whatever you decide to make any time, you will always have all the pieces you need and always have the correct instructions. — Barry Curry, Ireland

While you’re here, would you like to check out the results of our Project Manager Book Survey 2018?

5

Son, you know when dad arrives from work, very hungry? Agile is like when we keep bringing him tapas rather than keeping him waiting for an elaborate main dish. — Marisa Silva, United Kingdom

Agile has several different flavors, but in most cases agile means you get started on something before you’re completely ready to get started. You then have a time box — say, two weeks — during which you are expected to deliver. At the end of that time box, you show what you did, and then you get input from others on whether or not to move forward. Over the next two weeks, you repeat that process and move progressively forward until you’ve achieved your goal.

6

Son, when grandpa and grandma married, a long time ago, times were tough and they didn’t have much money to build a big house (like Auntie Rose has). This was October and winter was coming so they had to build something very quick at first – here, have a look at this picture. Yeah, it was a very small house, just with the basic but grandpa ensured that the foundations and the roof were solid enough to survive winter. Then summer came and grandpa started adding to it — first, the living room, then he also extended the kitchen because grandma needed more space to cook. And for the next two years he was incrementally improving their house: here’s another picture, when he added the porch and the garden in the back. Grandpa did it all by himself (with the help of uncle Tom sometimes) and grandma was really happy with what they built. And that, son, is what Agile is about too! — Marisa Silva, United Kingdom

7

When my nearly two-year-old frames a question ever so thoughtfully by starting with “Daddy… I want to….”, however that ends, the next question is “Great. What’s the fastest and easiest way to do that?” Now you’re agile, kiddo. — Pete Adams, Australia

8

When you’re trying to build a prototype of the Eiffel Tower, just using your LEGO parts, that’s called the AGILE Version of Building a REAL one. — Afshin Montazami, Iran

All roads lead to Agile, but some project managers even try to explain backlog prioritizing to kids.

9

Backlog prioritizing is like sorting your LEGO. You put your favorite pieces into one box, so it is easy to reach them, and the other, less important ones, into the box that goes on the top shelf. A backlog is like all the homework you need to do. — Yulia Tchernaya, Denmark

But sometimes project managers have a hard time when a kid asks who’s a stakeholder. Then classmates, teachers, and principals automatically become stakeholders.

10

Treating and building good relationships with teachers, peers, and your principal is the same as building healthy relationships with clients or vendors, which in turn is a crucial aspect of Project Management. — Mayur Sonawane, India

11

Agile is what you do when the ice-cream shop you went to turned out to be closed. If you’re not agile, you go home because your plan was foiled. If you’re agile, you figure out something equally fun to do. — Allen Holub, United States

12

You know when mommy says NO and you go ask dad? That’s Agile. — Perry Watkins, United States

13

I want you to get dressed in the morning. You can do that yourself. These are the things we plan to do this week so you must pick your clothes accordingly. They need to be fit for purpose. You can’t go to school in your swimming costume, for example. Even though we have planned what we are going to wear, we have to expect that things may change. If it is raining you will need a raincoat. If it is hot, you probably won’t want a coat at all. Being able to change your mind on what you choose to wear is O.K. as long as you always wear what is fit for purpose and you always leave the house on time. You may make a mistake. You may not take a coat when you need one. We learn from mistakes so we don’t repeat them. — Kerry Burns, United Kingdom

14

I would describe a backlog as a washing basket. They add the clothes and when it’s time, you pull the clothes out of the basket that can go into the wash (the sprint) together. — Kerry Burns, United Kingdom

15

Well — we might make a mistake, so we work in small steps and ask ‘is this right?’ at each step. That way if we get something wrong, or have to change something, it’s not a disaster. — Guy Maslen, New Zealand

16

I would use examples from everyday life to explain these terms. I think kids (even adults!) learn more from concrete examples that they can learn from books. For example, set up a Kanban board on the fridge for household chores and work through it for a few weeks. The kids would begin by helping their parents create the Product Backlog, then volunteering to do certain chores (listed on the backlog) the next week. — Kirk Bryde, Canada

17

I’d say (very tongue in cheek) that a good parent has a child that says DOD before daddy. I used to scrum my little one’s bath time routines. Whiteboard and all. But had to stop when I was challenged on the DOR being my job to have bubble bath already in the water. — Garin Reyneke, South Africa

18

Mhm. I don’t do Jargon with the kids. My daughter composes music. Every couple of days, she plays a new or modified piece to me and asks how I like it. Sometimes, the feedback is along the lines of, “A bit too exciting”, but usually like, “I wish it was longer”  or, “Very enjoyable.” When I like it, she introduces the piece to her peers. — Michael Küsters, Germany

19

Depending on their age, I’d probably talk about planning a weekend, to get the best out of it. A list of things they want to do. A list of things they ought to do even if they don’t want. Prioritize and rough the schedule. During the weekend I’d ask them what happens if a friend calls with a good idea. Rearrange to fit it in? What happens if a friend / the weather cancels something that was planned? Rearrange. I’d encourage them to have a look back on Sunday evening. Was it a better weekend than usual? What do we want to keep? Want do we want to do better? — Paul Oldfield, United Kingdom

20

Agile is when groups of people believe that we can consistently break down work into smaller, simpler chunks and build something that is valuable to other people. As we keep doing this, we always see if there are ways we can do better, and make things more valuable. Imagine you and four friends started building the LEGO Voltron set. We’d break it down by having each of you work on one of the 5 lions. As each of you completed each step, you’d check your work, or have someone else check it, to make sure it was right. After you completed all the little steps, you’d each have built a single lion, which is valuable already. However, when you all come together and combine the lions, you’ve now formed Voltron, a giant robot who defends the universe from evil! Had you started by building one lion, then the next one, and so on until all 5 were done, it would have taken you much longer to form Voltron, and the universe would not have been protected. — Marc Morell, United States

21

Agile is what you do at your (Montessori) school, where the motto is: “Help me do it myself.” Many people haven’t been at such schools, therefore they still have to learn how to do things themselves, and then they need a word for that. Don’t worry about that word. You are already doing it. — Niels Malotaux, Germany

22

It’s like a group science/ social studies project assignment at school where you brainstorm, plan, assign or take up the work deciding who will do what, build, test in case if it’s a science project, finally submit your work with the presentations. And just like your grades, cumulative of data/fact, display, presentation, and how happy everyone felt looking at your project, etc. all this is done by teamwork. Or playing candy crush with your friends having to finish a level with at least one star (which is horrible) before moving to the next level. — Aneeta Gupta, United States

What is agile? It all depends on who you ask. Let’s enrich this collection of thoughts. Leave your ideas in the comment section below and don’t forget to subscribe to be the first to get project management insights of an even higher caliber.

Illustration: Copyright © Zhenya Oliinyk

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