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O P I N I O N
Most AEC leaders are aware of the common causes of scope creep, but there are also some subtler internal causes to consider. Seven secret causes of scope creep
S cope creep – that vicious blood-sucker that steals your project profits. When the scope of the completed work exceeds what is promised in your contract, and you don’t get more money, you pay for it. It comes straight from your profit margins and, in the end, can leave a project at a loss. Just think: You are paying your client for the privilege of working for them!
June Jewell
Many of these common reasons for scope creep happen because of your firm’s culture and your project managers’ unwillingness to ask for money. With a culture focused mostly on technical excellence and client satisfaction instead of “What is so insidious about most of these secret scope creepers is that your client has nothing to do with them. Most of them are internal issues that require specific attention, focus, and training to overcome.”
We are all well versed on what causes scope creep – at least we think we are. Your client asks for something outside the scope and you don’t get approval for a change order. There are many reasons for this and these are the most common: ❚ ❚ Employees are trying to keep the client happy and the client does not like change orders ❚ ❚ Employees are afraid to ask the client for a change order (conflict stinks!) ❚ ❚ Employees don’t know how to ask for a change order (very common) ❚ ❚ Your client says you are “nickel and diming” them if you get a change order for every small change (in fact, these changes could cost hundreds and thou- sands of dollars – not nickels and dimes)
See JUNE JEWELL, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER June 10, 2019, ISSUE 1300
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