In one of my prior positions I was hired on as a contractor to complete time studies on a paint line. It was a crane manufacturing/assembly plant and the paint line was just recently added. The goal was to establish time standards to base labor rates and lead times for customers. There was a large variety of products that were routed through the paint line. The process consisted of a sandblast, prime, paint, and a bake to cure the paint. As the project progressed I found myself doing increasingly more tasks that had to do with improving ergonomics and work instructions rather than establishing a standard to improve upon.
There were some standards and work instructions that had been developed from a previous paint line but they were minimal. So as I was completing my portion of the project I also found myself having to create work instructions along the way. There was a deadline for having these time studies completed and it was in jeopardy because of all the unexpected tasks introduced and requirements from stakeholders in the project. I did bring these issues up and the fact that it may be difficult to meet the deadline with my manager. I was given some resources to aid in the process, mostly SME's that were buried in other projects and it was difficult to get time to talk to them. It was never made clear or given much priority but I was expected that I accomplish these tasks and figure out my own way to do it.
Looking back there are definitely strategies and approaches that could have been better utilized to control the scope of the project. Dr. Stolovitch recommended a change of scope document to get formal approval and specific resources added to the project. This would also help any changes in budget schedule to get clearly communicated to maintain clear expectations throughout the project. Dr. Stolovitch also cautioned project managers to not spend too much time on activities that surround a change in project scope. It was difficult to avoid in my situation and the quality of the project definitely suffered because of this. Ideally, it would have been helpful to implement a change control process as suggested by Lynch & Roecker (2007). In this scenario the change was unavoidable. When this is the case a project manager should “...identify their impact on the project plan and obtain approval from the customer and sponsor.” (Lynch & Roecker, p. 96) The simple fact of controlling a scope change allows those who are accountable for project activities to plan ahead in case there is a need of additional resources, funds, or time.
References
Lynch, M. M., & Roecker, J. (2007). Project managing e-learning: A handbook for successful design, delivery, and management. London: Routledge. Copyright by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Reprinted by permission of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
