Votre équipe est en désaccord sur les changements de portée. Comment allez-vous gérer les priorités conflictuelles ?

1. Determine the pros and cons of the conflicting priorities, and lay them out on a matrix 2. Determine the stack ranking or company ranking of those priorities and also put them in the matrix. If you cannot find the priorities written anywhere, ask your manager for help 3. Determine the estimated level of effort for the scope changes, and how it will effect the current trajectory and upcoming deliverables 4. Lay out all the information, and come up with recommendations/options for leadership to pursue. Determine the recommendations/options with input from the team

We need to start with a comprehensive impact analysis to understand how the scope changes will affect the project's overall scope, critical path, timeline, dependencies, and required resources. After assessing the impact, it's essential to facilitate open communication with all stakeholders to discuss the changes and address their concerns.

In agile, scope of work keeps changing or bewtter to say evolving and hence its really important to list down the baseline scope and the changes so that the path of development is traceable. While managing the changes it is important to understand the imapct on program, scope and budget along with new risk arises due to change. It is also important to anlayse if teh changes needs to be done in current sprint or can be taken in next sprint. The aim should be to reduce the rework due to changes.

Mantenha uma comunicação clara e aberta com os membros da equipe e as partes interessadas para garantir que todos estejam alinhados e informados sobre a mudança. É importante ter a certeza que a mudança proposta gerará valor ao projeto. A adaptabilidade e flexibilidade são habilidades que podem ser aprimoradas com prática e experiência.

Begin by thoroughly assessing the impact of the proposed scope changes. Evaluate how these changes will affect the project’s timeline, budget, resources, and overall objectives. Identify which areas of the project will be most impacted and quantify these effects as much as possible. This comprehensive understanding allows you to make informed decisions and helps the team appreciate the broader implications of the changes.

Prioritization is the key. One of the methods that has worked for us is categorization of tasks - must be done, should be done and nice to be done. Accordingly it can be planned and executed. Impact of the task and dependency of other tasks to a particular tasks etc., help with the categorization.

By using the value analysis technique, identify the task with maximum impact and assign resource to it. Which prioritising the task, identify the dependencies and risk associated with it. Create a plan to manage the risk due to dependencies.

Effective task prioritization involves considering both immediate and strategic impacts on the project. Categorizing tasks into critical, high, medium, and low priorities based on their alignment with project goals and deadlines can be useful. Evaluating how each task affects key deliverables and overall project success is also important. Involving team members in the prioritization process can provide valuable insights and expertise. Additionally, assessing dependencies between tasks helps to avoid creating bottlenecks when reallocating resources or adjusting timelines. Regularly reviewing and adjusting priorities as the project evolves ensures responsiveness to new information and changes in project scope.

Incorporate data-driven decision-making into the discussion: gather relevant data, such as user feedback, market research and technical feasibility spikes, to evaluate the potential benefits and drawbacks of the proposed scope changes. Present this data to the team and stakeholders to provide a factual basis for the decision-making process. By relying on objective information, you can reduce the influence of subjective opinions and biases.

Además de priorizar, es importante definir los criterios de priorización. Es muy importante que ya priorizadas la tareas hagamos un split extra para tener pequeños logros que permitan hacer visibles avances (quick wins)

Its extremly important for a Scrum Master or Project Manager to listen to the voice of the team and understand their concern. Try to use RCA technique to go deeper for the concern and note down the points which are raised and seek help from client or Produc t Owner to resolve it. Set up call with both the parties so that conflicts can be resolved and team can work toward the project goals.

Engage the entire team in discussions about the scope changes to ensure everyone’s perspectives are heard. Facilitate open and transparent communication, encouraging team members to voice their concerns, ideas, and suggestions. Use collaborative decision-making techniques, such as brainstorming sessions or workshops, to build consensus. Engaging the team fosters a sense of ownership and helps in finding solutions that accommodate different viewpoints.

Agile Scrum helps. Keeps the entire team engaged and aware of all the happenings in the project. It also helps identify dependencies which can be sorted in daily stand up in a cordial way. SInce the methodology is based on proactive responsibility everyone feels empowered to drive solutioning.

When engaging the team with a scope creep, it’s important to include all impacted disciplines, which could be across Product, Design, Engineering, Program, and Science/Analytics and ensure that the team members’ voices (both reasons for the scope creep and concerns of it) are heard before weighing in on decisions.

To further enhance team engagement during scope changes, it's beneficial to establish regular check-ins and feedback sessions where team members can voice their concerns and suggestions. Encouraging cross-functional collaboration can also bring diverse perspectives to the table, enriching problem-solving efforts. Additionally, acknowledging and addressing individual contributions fosters a sense of appreciation and motivation. By integrating these practices, the team can remain cohesive and aligned, adapting more effectively to scope changes and driving the project forward with a shared commitment.

Communication gaps often lead to catastrophic effects. Using tools and techniques to communicate clearly and openly helps manage the expectations in a transparent way. People are more open to bad news than hidden good news!

Engage stakeholders to provide insights and perspectives. Interested parties, such as clients, end-users or executives, can offer valuable input on how the scope changes align with business goals and user needs. Their perspectives can help clarify the bigger picture and may sway the team towards a more unified decision. It is crucial to communicate how any changes might affect their satisfaction and project success.

To enhance communication during scope changes, consider implementing structured communication plans and tools that facilitate ongoing dialogue among stakeholders. Schedule regular briefings and update meetings to provide comprehensive overviews of changes and their implications. Utilize visual aids such as charts and diagrams to illustrate the impact of scope changes clearly. Establish feedback mechanisms where team members and stakeholders can ask questions and express concerns. Ensuring that communication is not only clear but also empathetic helps address any anxieties or resistance to change. By adopting these practices, you can strengthen stakeholder engagement, mitigate misunderstandings, and maintain project momentum effectively.

Documenting facts and communicating them clearly, succinctly, and timely are two of the most important parts of how a team reacts to scope creep. Frequently the working team (usually: Product Manager, UX Designer, lead Engineer, Scrum Master, and Program Manager/Engineering Manager) will know more about the facts of the scope creep (eg acceptance criteria, effort, criticality of need, etc.) than will leadership, while leadership can aid in providing the team advice/a decision on resourcing and timelines so summarizing the facts and key decision points (an options table can help, with: description of implementation option, pros, cons, effort, and timeline impact) can quickly get to a path forward.

In today's world, nothing is constant. So is the case with requirement. In this fast changing environment process changes very frequently, due to which requirements are also changes. If consulting partner or implementation partner are not flexible to handle the scope change in the project, it will result in customer de-satisfaction. You must be ready to adapt changes and make it win win situation for both client and yourself.

Consider emphasizing the importance of flexibility and compromise; encourage team members to be open to adjusting their positions and finding middle ground. This might involve agreeing to implement certain changes in phases or incorporating critical changes now while scheduling less urgent ones for later iterations. By fostering a culture of collaboration and adaptability, you can help the team move forward together despite differing viewpoints.

To enhance adaptability in managing scope changes, develop a proactive change management strategy that includes contingency planning and risk assessment. Encourage a culture of flexibility within the team by fostering open discussions about potential adjustments and their impacts. Utilize agile methodologies to iteratively review and refine project plans based on evolving requirements and feedback. Regularly assess the effectiveness of the adaptations implemented and be ready to pivot strategies as needed. By integrating these practices, you can ensure that your team remains resilient and responsive, turning scope changes into opportunities for optimizing project outcomes and driving continuous improvement.

Por experiencia, una de las cosas que me ha funcionado para adaptarme al cambio y ser flexible es tener los oídos prestos a escuchar la razones del cambio en un proyecto. Una vez entendida la necesidad, ser agente de apoyo y cambio.

If conflicts persist despite your efforts, it may be necessary to make an executive decision as the software project manager. In such cases, clearly explain the rationale behind your decision, referencing the data, stakeholder input and alignment with project goals. While not everyone may agree with the outcome, transparent communication and a well-reasoned explanation can help mitigate frustration and maintain trust within the team.

ReAssess RePrioritize and ReAlign would help the teams achieve the Project goals when in conflict with scope. Clear communication to all team members and all stakeholders is a key attribute to bring everyone on same page rather be at logger heads. Balancing everything is difficult many times so it's ok to "Agree to Disagree" on some points as long as project goals are the focus. Taking team into confidence and showing the trust should help aligning the conflicts for the betterment of project.