Recently I have posted an article on the basic principles of project scope management. I then had a great discussion with David Gibbons about scope management that I would like to share with you in this post. Actually, our discussion led me to some more general ideas about scope management, but I will write about them in future articles.
From David Gibbons in response to my article
I read your article with interest and understand your points. You have accurately reflected the intention of the key project management methodologies of today which, on the face of it are perfectly sensible and will protect the project manager and his team from blame.
However, as methodologies become more prescriptive and detailed, I think they are becoming negative – guarding against every danger, real or imagined, that may hurt the project. Scope control is awful. It is a defensive, bureaucratic and stodgy process that can easily drag people down into details that drain their day dry of any inspiration. People in teams don’t respond very well to this ‘black hat’ (to steal a Debono-ism) thinking. This is a risk in itself.
