Hello Indiana, Have you ever over-ordered in a restaurant? Everything looks so good, and you somehow convince yourself you can eat it all. Or you are full after your main course but then see the waiter bring a fantastic dessert for somebody else, and you must have it. Well, that happens all the time with projects as well.
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Think about how most web projects go. Stakeholders peruse a mental menu of everything they could have as part of the project, which becomes part of the specification. Then, during the project, they see something else that catches their eye and want to add it. This then becomes scope creep.
They are making decisions based on their desires rather than their appetite. It is hardly surprising that they end the meal stuffed and shocked at the bill.
Recently, one of my clients introduced me to the 37 Signals concept of appetite as defined in their book Shape Up. It was an idea that immediately resonated with me.
Starting with scope causes a problem
The problem stems from the fact that most projects are defined by their scope, an approach that creates all kinds of issues.
If you start with the scope, you must determine the budget needed to complete that work. This is challenging to get right, as I have previously mentioned.
Once the budget is set, you are stuck with the agreed scope, whether or not it is the best solution.
Start with appetite instead
37 Signals flips that on its head by introducing the concept of appetite and starting with that. Appetite refers to the time and money a company is willing to commit to developing a feature, project, or digital service.
It fixes the time being invested rather than the scope, encouraging the team to negotiate the scope of work to fit within the agreed time and budget.
This makes sense because it starts with the business constraints rather than a wishlist of features. Reducing features, rethinking the approach, or finding simpler solutions that deliver value without overextending resources is much healthier.
It also helps define how much effort goes into those features. For example, I could spend a couple of hours choosing a design template for a website or months of work crafting a custom design from scratch.
Appetite helps make strategic decisions about what can be achieved within the given time frame, forcing the organization to prioritize.
The advantages of using Appetite
Appetite also helps us avoid overcommitting to projects that don't align with the organization's strategic goals or resource capabilities. It encourages a more disciplined approach to project management and development.
But more than that, by setting boundaries, we are challenged to think creatively about achieving our goals within the constraints. This can lead to more innovative solutions and efficient resource use.
As you can tell, I was incredibly excited to read about this approach. It provided a simple solution to the issues I have been having with fixed-price projects in an elegant way. It will be an approach I will be adopting, and I encourage you to do the same.
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