Scope Creep - Inevitable with Inexperience

                Scope creep is a new terminology for me within the past few months, however I have come to realize it has been a part of both my work and personal life for much longer. Recently I have taken on a new responsibility in my school building that has been a major learning experience. In addition to my duties as a classroom teacher, I am also the school’s technology liaison. Originally, I thought I could handle these responsibilities on my own, but quickly realized I needed the assistance of a trusted colleague to forgo this new adventure with me. As the technology liaison’s, we are responsible for assuring all technology in the building is running correctly and communicate any news, initiatives, or policies from the office of Digital Learning.

                As a digital native, growing up with technology and tinkering to figure it all out was something that came naturally to me. While I didn’t know the technical name for a VGA cable, I often referred to it as the blue spinning connector that went into the monitor. This new responsibility was off to a promising start when we decided to take on the job of cleaning out the computer lab. With years of former technology teachers who were hoarders, there was numerous outdated and unneeded equipment that scattered the room. It may have started off as an afternoon straightening up, quickly turned into something much greater.

                My partner and I soon realized that we didn’t have the appropriate knowledge to decipher what was trash and what was treasure. We had very little knowledge of the technology that existed out of our own classrooms. Also, some of the technology was so outdated that we didn’t even know what to do with it. We soon employed the help of our school district to come and help us develop a plan of action for organizing this technology. At the time it was difficult to have to halt progress, but we knew that this pause would be extremely beneficial for the future of the computer lab.

                A few weeks later, with a clear plan and path from the technology office, we forged forward in trashing and treasuring the equipment in the room. In organizing and perfecting the lab, we discovered that teachers were not utilizing the space because the computers had software that was outdated and unreliable. This brought on the new task of re-imaging and updating all of the computers in the lab in order to promote usage by students and staff. While it did take up a lot more time that we had planned for, the end results were well worth the added work.

                Although I was a member of the management for this project, I believe the scope creep with inevitable. Due to our lack of experience or knowledge, thinking the lab would be a simple clean up and organization was very naive of us. However, the process was a great learning experience for all parties involved. We were able to network with professionals in the technology office. From this experience, my partner and I have been able to evaluate problems through a more critical and experienced lens. As we both learn this new role and the responsibilities it entails; I feel confident that we will be able to prevent avoidable scope creep. From my experience as a self-professed workaholic, scope creep is an essential aspect of striving for excellence. However in a budgeted project, scope creep can be detrimental to the success of a project.