Christopher Global

Product lifecycles are characterized by changes in scope depending on the team's capacity at various points along the way. There are two types of changes, namely scope creep and scope reduction, which are the two main categories of changes. If you think about it, you could compare it to giving too much vs taking away a little; or in some cases taking away a lot. What's important to know is whether or not you have what it takes to control scope changes over time?

From the perspective of a consultant, I would start off by asking a question. Can you tell me if you have established your priorities and what they are? Having set priorities, the next step is managing the schedule and budget based on those priorities. What steps do you take to replan and reprioritize your priorities? This process should be executed regardless of whether you are adding more scope due to bandwidth or reducing scope due to complications.

It is for this reason that I am a big fan of product ceremonies. As a rule of thumb, consider this statement to be a guideline, you should always plan to replan. Taking control of change is the key to overcoming the inevitable change, so make sure to plan to replan. It is through this strategy that the team will be able to balance their velocity, their capacity, and their resource demands. The ebbs and flows of every lifecycle are a part of the process, and there will be times when you are up and sometimes when you are down. Is there a plan in place for those contingencies? If not, then you have a lot of work to do.