It was all so clear in the beginning. What the project was supposed to accomplish, what the deliverables were, what features those deliverables were supposed to have.
Ahh. Those were the days.
Now it’s all a bit muddied. Sales wanted to add a new feature because the competition will have it in their product and the clients loved the idea. The Engineers needed a bit more work for that, which meant a bit more budget, and a longer timeline. The VP chimed in with another feature she thinks is good to have, and would give your product an edge, but that means more work, more money, and a later deadline.
This is what’s known as scope creep: when your project needs to do “just one more thing.” It results in broken budgets, missed milestones, tanked timelines, surly salespeople, and curt clients because deliverables aren’t delivered when they were expected.
Please know and understand: there will always be a version 2. It may be an upgraded version of the same product or a next generation version of the product. What you call it doesn’t matter. Just get a decent product ready to go. Bells and whistles can be added later.
Would you like someone to come in with a fresh set of eyes to help you sort that out? I can help you figure out what’s your minimum viable product and what can wait until the update. In this case, I’d suggest double checking that your competition really will have that shiny new feature. If they will, it’s worth adding that feature to your product if possible. Your VP has a great idea, but that can wait until version 2.
I work part time, full time, or on a project by project basis, or fractionally. (What’s fractionally? Every Monday and Tuesday I’m your PM all day. The rest of the week I work with someone else.) Contact me to check availability.