Society · Coordination
BalancedScopeChange
Let scope move in and out of a project in balance, so the resource forecast stays intact while the delivered value rises
Definition
Mechanism
Project management usually treats scope creep as a risk and locks scope down to protect the estimate. But locking scope is a proxy for reliable resource prediction, not the goal. Under ResourceShapeSeparation, an accurate high-level estimate can allow goals to change during the project, as long as items leaving scope roughly balance items entering it, just as a monthly rainfall forecast stays right whichever days it rains. The project then collects the InformationDividend of reprioritising on short-range information without breaking its forecast. If plans are realistic, in and out should balance or be covered by contingency; persistent imbalance signals over-ambitious planning, not a reason to forbid change.
Preconditions
- A realistic high-level resource estimate with some contingency
Invariants
- The resource forecast is preserved when additions and removals balance
- Scope changes are made on reliable short-range information
- Persistent imbalance is a planning signal, not a scope-change failure
Risks
Failure modes
Freezing scope and so delivering less value than the same resources allowed
Adding scope without removing any, breaking the forecast
Hiding an over-ambitious plan behind scope flexibility
Relationships
Builds on
References
Mind
The payoff from changing shape to exploit reliable short-term information, which exists even when the long-range forecast is entirely correct
Predict resources over the long range, and leave the shape of the work free to follow short-range information
Nothing in this library builds on this pattern yet.