Analyzing Scope Creep

Since I don't have any professional project management experience I will follow up on one of my previous blog post, Post Mortem of a Project to address scope creep affecting a project. When I was looking at purchasing a home, one of the items that I wanted was to be able to remodel certain parts of the house so I could add my own touch. When I purchased the house the first project I decided to do was to add a bathroom to the basement. I set a budget for the project that ended up being roughly $2,000 above my budget. 

I did a little bit of planning for the project and had some professional help a long the way. However, as I was progressing through the project I found myself adjusting my plan on the fly and thinking of different ideas and items to add to the bathroom. The relocation of the bathroom is what caused most of the scope creep. I ended up spending more time driving back and forth to Home Depot than I did actually working on the project in the initial phases of the project. Once I learned from my mistakes I was able to follow a plan of action and began to work more efficiently. 

My lack of planning led to me spending an exorbitant amount of time working on this project. As a result, I wasn't devoting as much attention to my homework and other aspects of my life as I did in the past. If I would of spent more time in the planning phase initially and consulting with subject matter experts (plumber, contractor, electrician, etc) I could of saved myself a lot of time and money (deadlines & budgeting).