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DIY Project Scope Creep: ORC Week 3

I’m now well into my project for The One Room Challenge, and I want to have a real conversation about scope creep when you’re doing DIY projects.

Because it’s a problem.

A big one.

But first, if you’ve missed my previous posts on the One Room Challenge, check out week one here, and week two here.

Avoiding DIY Project Scope Creep

What is DIY Project Scope Creep?

Scope creep is a term that comes from project management practices deployed by many corporations to manage large projects that impact a big portion of the company. It’s when the original scope, or size, of the project – that was agreed upon by everyone – gets added to, and added to, and added to.

It’s not usually big things. It’s one tiny thing over here. Another tiny thing over there as a favor to someone else. It’s the “can we sneak this on thing in so we don’t have to pay for it later?”

Over time, the scope, or size, of the project continues to creep up, and up, and up. Until it gets SO much bigger than the original, it almost cripples you or drastically changes the timeline or costs.

That’s where I currently am at in my project… whoops.

How did my project get so big!?

When I first left Maryland for Florida, Kyle asked me how long he thought it would take me to do his office.

“Two weeks, no problem!” I replied.

HA.

I’m a habitual under-estimator, so the two weeks blew right by. We’re now on week four. BUT, had I stuck to my original scope, I probably actually would have been pretty close to done by now.

And then when I got there and started working, I kept changing my mind. I changed it like ten times. And then I saw new things that I didn’t like or wanted to change. And then I added those. Until my “to-do” list became MUCH bigger than the original.

Here’s what the original scope looked like

  1. Remove closet, patch, and repair wall and floor
  2. Put TVs up on the wall
  3. Remove the door to bathroom, patch and repair wall and trim
  4. Add built-in Ikea cabinets
  5. Add countertop
  6. Add trim
  7. Paint everything

Here’s what the scope looks like now

The italicized items are what have been added, including their estimate time (remember though, I’m a habitual under-estimator)

  1. Remove closet, patch, and repair wall and floor
  2. Add wood feature wall and stain (+15 hours and ~$400)
  3. Rebuild Kyle’s desk so it matches the wood feature wall (+10 hours and ~$300)
  4. Put TVs up on the wall
  5. Remove the door to bathroom, patch and repair wall and trim
  6. Add built-in Ikea cabinets
  7. Skim coat the ceiling so it’s all smooth (+20 hours and ~$100)
  8. Add countertop
  9. Add trim
  10. Paint everything

So these “little” projects I added that, yes, will make the overall room so much better, will also add about 50 hours to my project. It will also add roughly $800 dollars.

While I didn’t have a budget for this project, $800 is no small amount of money.

And that’s where I’m at right now.

And, stupid me, didn’t start these things AFTER I had finished the original scope. I started each of them in the middle, which means I now HAVE to finish all of these things.

So, the moral of the story? Don’t be like me.

Avoiding Scope Creep in DIY Projects

There are two big things you can do to reduce scope creep in your projects and make sure you complete your project on time and within [a reasonable range of] the original budget.

  1. If you do find additional things that you want to add to your project, try to do them at the END, after you have completed the original scope (note: this is not always possible given the order of operations of a project)
  2. Before you change your mind, do a complete evaluation of your current costs and the costs of the new project. Don’t just go to the store and start buying. Sometimes, the dollar amount itself will dissuade you from continuing with the scope creep.

What’s Good About Scope Creep?

While scope creeps is largely something that should be avoided for the sake of your sanity – and your wallet – it’s not ALL bad. Had I not let this project grow slightly when I “finished” this room, there’d always be things that I didn’t like about it. I would have probably done them at another time later, and it may have made these projects take even longer and disrupt our life even more. I’m glad when I’m done with this project that I’ll actually be “done” and can truly enjoy the room.

Can you relate to this? Tell me about a project you’ve done – at work or at home – that has been greatly affected by scope creep. What ended up happening? Are you happy with the results?