3 Ways to Avoid Scope Creep in IT Consulting
Last updated: July 13, 2024 Read in fullscreen view
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As a consultant, be it IT or creative, you’ve probably experienced a moment of doubt or uncertainty at some point in your career - and in most cases, it’s been related to your overall profitability.
There are many consultants and creative managers who can’t even get to sleep at night without worrying about where money is being spent, or why their bottom line looks the way it does - they’re just lying in bed trying to figure out ways to recover lost revenue.
If this sounds all too familiar, don’t stress - we’ve found a way for you to avoid these restless nights. With service operations automation, you’ll be able to deliver on those short term projects which can negatively affect your bottom line. For example, a two-month project represents roughly 16% of your total revenue (before interest and taxes) and that kind of percentage can mean the difference between overall profitability or a major loss.
So with that in mind, here are some ways to manage your profits and avoid feeling overwhelmed:
1. Streamline Everything For Real-Time Visibility
If your data is spread out between different tools, it’s really hard to get a clear overview of what’s actually happening inside your business. But what if you had a smart platform that could show you just how profitable you are, in real-time?
With the right business software, you’ll be able to schedule resources more efficiently, double down on certain projects (or pull back), and make sure you and your team’s workloads are manageable - so that everyone can get some sleep at night.
2. Automate Repeatable Processes
A Harvard Business Review study found that on average, 27% of service-based projects go over budget because time isn’t being used effectively. By automating your repetitive admin tasks, you’ll have more time to spend on the important things like projects that drive revenue and clients that bring in money.
Additionally, optimize the way you spend your time even further with Retainers and Contracts. They can be used for recurring work or returning clients - saving you from the brain-numbing task of rehashing old work.
3. Bulk Invoicing
With projects running over time and budget more often than not, it's important to have a fast-tracked billing cycle. Select a platform that offers Bulk Invoicing which is ideal for when you have a lot of clients to bill (for a lot of work) at the end of the month - we're talking days to minutes. Filter and search through all of your contacts and all of the work done for them, to find the specific types of work you want to invoice for. Then use the Bulk Invoicing feature to quickly create and send invoices to all of your clients in an instant!
FAQ - "Food for thoughts"
What is an example of scope creep?
An example of scope creep is when a client’s needs change. For instance, a freelance writer may deliver a technical proposal that they have written in accordance with the client's specifications only to be asked to add more unexpected sections to the deliverable. Another example would be that after a product's design has been decided upon, customers could request significant revisions to the product's functionality. These projects ultimately take more time and money to finish.
How can scope creep be prevented?
You can avoid scope creep by clearly defining a project’s requirements before project initiation, ensuring all stakeholders agree on these requirements, clearly communicating the scope creep risks, creating a clear scope creep management plan and training stakeholders to execute this control plan. Adding extra costs to the project's cost for scope increases or replying "no" to change requests are two other strategies used by businesses to prevent scope creep.
How does scope creep differ from gold plating?
Scope creep is frequently the result of extra features being added to a project at the client's request; this can lead to delays and increased costs, among other problems. When extra features are added to a project internally rather than at the client's request, this is known as "gold plating." Sometimes gold plating is done to please management or to attract more clients to the project. It can also sometimes be used to draw attention away from other issues related to the project.
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