Managing Scope Creep for Documentation and Training Projects

Yes, I said it – Scope Creep. The beast that terrorizes every project manager. Managing this monster can be tricky but taking a few preventative measures can help keep it leashed.

1. Clearly define the deliverables. Make sure everyone agrees on what the final product will be.
2. Identify any assumptions or constraint on the project. A good way to determine what these are is to look at what you used to estimate the project – page count, seat time, SME availability, stability of the project, travel expenses, etc.
3. Discuss the timeline with the client. Make sure it is reasonable for quality development and reasonable for the client.
4. Identify everyone that needs to be involved in the project – who are the subject matter experts, who are the reviewers, who has final sign off
5. Make sure that the person with final sign off authority is involve in these early discussions and agrees with them.
6. Have a process for completing the project and stick to it!! Make sure the client knows the process – how subject content will be gathered, how many reviews they get, what tool will be used
7. Make sure all of these terms are in writing and signed by the client before starting work!

Even with these preventative measures, the scope beast still occasional manages to slip past us. In these instances it is important that you are prepared and have prepared the client. Make sure that the client is aware that the monster takes the form of time, cost, or people and sometimes there are more than one monster lurking.

Having, following, and communicating a scope change process is key. (I call mine an impact process so that it doesn’t sound so scary.) A good practice is to discuss a change in scope prior to it being a reality and prior to sending an official document. For example, if a client requests an additional review, call or email the client before he has completed the review and is expecting you to revise the deliverable again. It does not have to be stressful. Say something like, “I would be happy to provide you with the opportunity for an additional review. However, the project process we discussed at the project kick-off meeting, and a partial basis of the project cost, is for one review.” Then explain to the client what the impact to the project will be – whether it is cost, time, or change in people. If the client decides to continue with the scope change then clearly state exactly what the change request is, why it was requested, and the impact to the project. Have the client sign the scope change before continuing with the change to make sure everyone is in agreement.

If you clearly define your project, the project expectations, and the scope change process, then if the beast rears its ugly head, you and the client can deal with it and come to a happy resolution.

Estimating Part 4 – Oddball Training and Documentation Projects

Every project is unique. It has its own set of challenges and requirements. To become a pro at estimating your documentation and training projects, you need to know how to account for these unique challenges.

First, make sure you understand the basics of estimating. Properly identifying what is included within the scope of a standard training or documentation project is key to creating an accurate estimate. Refer to my post Estimating Formulas for Documentation and Training.

Typically the oddball projects include additions to a standard project or they are only a portion of a standard project.

NOTE: If there is an addition to a project that is outside of your area of expertise, for example audio recording and editing, I strongly advise that you partner with someone who specializes in that area until you develop the necessary skills. It is difficult to accurately estimate a project that accounts for inexperience.

eLearning Storyboards

Occasionally, a client has in-house or alternative resource for programming an eLearning course, but they require an instructional designer to create the storyboard. Following are the considerations and calculations I use to estimate storyboards. I always round the seat time up to the nearest 20 minute increment. For example, if the seat time for a course is 35 minutes, I estimate for 40 minutes.

Type	Storyboard Includes	Estimate
Standard Storyboard (Usually created using Microsoft Word and is text based.)	Onscreen text Audio script Programming instructions Screen visual description Editing Client review	20 minutes seat time = 15 hours development 40 minutes seat time = 30 hours development 60 minutes seat time = 45 hours development
Visual Storyboard (Usually created using Microsoft PowerPoint and is graphic and text based. This takes more time in the storyboard phase, but it saves time in the programming phase.)	Screen visual such as graphics and text placement Onscreen text Audio script Programming instructions Editing Client review	20 minutes seat time = 30 hours development 40 minutes seat time = 60 hours development 60 minutes seat time = 90 hours development
Level 3 eLearning (Usually requires more information gathering and development time outside the standard seat time.)	Branching Scenario-based assessments Game-like interactions Editing Client review	Add 10% – 20% to the seat time estimate depending on the complexity.

Blended Learning

Blended learning consists of a course with classroom and eLearning components. To estimate a blended learning class, you need to identify the seat time for classroom and eLearning separately. Complete your estimate for each and then add them together. Refer to Estimating Formulas for Documentation and Training for the basic classroom and eLearning estimates.

For example, a two-day training course has nine hours of seat time for classroom training and four hours of seat time for level 2 eLearning. (NOTE: Typically a one-day classroom course is six hours seat time to leave time for breaks and lunch in an eight hour day.) Your estimate will look like this:

Classroom training                   9 hours seat time X     40 hours to develop =    360 hours
Level 2 eLearning training     4 hours seat time X     226 hours to develop =    904 hours
Total                                                                                                                    =   1264 hours

Job Aids

A job aid may be a supplement to classroom or eLearning training. It reinforces training and provides the learner with quick access to important information. Other names for a job aid are quick reference, post card, take away, instruction card, memory jogger, etc.  Often a job aid uses graphics and concise text.

There are three levels I use for estimating the development time for a job aid.

Type	Job Aid Includes	Development Time
Repurposed Content Job Aid (Content already created in the training like a PowerPoint slide or a page from the Participant Guide.)	Reformatting the content Editing Client review	2 hours per page
Standard Job Aid (Developed from scratch)	Developing the layout and text Adding visuals Editing Client review	8 hours per page
Creative Job Aid (It takes the form of something other than a standard size postcard or page.)	Creating formatting or visuals such as a pyramid, infographic, cube, pocket card, flipbook, etc. Editing Client review	Add 10% – 20% to standard job aid time depending on the complexity of the formatting.

After determining the development time for your oddball project, use the dependency calculator provided in Estimating Part 2 – Using a Dependency Calculator to account for other estimate dependencies such as subject matter expert availability and product stability.

Estimating Part 3 – Determining the Level of eLearning

A big part of estimating the cost to develop an eLearning course is to correctly determine the level of learning. If you read the first post in this series, Estimating Formulas for Documentation and Training, you know that I use three levels of eLearning. Recently, people have been using four levels: a base level, a low and high mid-level, and a high level. I have not had the need to further divide the mid-level in order to meet a client’s requirements or to create an accurate estimate. If you want to compare my three levels to a four level breakdown, SHIFT’s eLearning Blog provides good examples for comparison.

There are a few factors to consider when determining which level of eLearning to use:

• What is the learning goal?
• What skills do the learners need to demonstrate by the end of the training?
• How will the eLearning be used?
• What amount and type of interactivity and navigation will be in the eLearning?

Following is a chart that shows how each level meets the above requirements. This chart helps to understand how the training goal and requirements effect the cost of development and to insure that the correct level is being used to accomplish the desired end result.

	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Learning Goal	Knowledge Awareness Comprehension	Comprehension Application Skill development	Skill development to determined level of competency Analysis Synthesis Evaluation
Skills Demonstrated	Observation and recall of information Knowledge of major ideas Understanding of information Grasp meaning	Translate knowledge into new context Interpret facts, compare, contrast Order, group, infer causes Predict consequences Use information, methods, concepts, theories in new situations Generalize from given facts Organization of parts and Identification of components	Distinguish differences and patterns Recognition of hidden meanings Relate and compare knowledge from several areas Predict, draw conclusions, solve problems Make choices based on reasoned argument and recognize subjectivity Verify value of evidence
Best Suited For …	Best for situations where content is key.  Considered passive learning.  Information has short shelf-life, i.e. changes frequently. Examples include: changes in HR policy, information updates on processes or simple new features of existing products.	Introduces scenario based learning.  Considered limited interaction learning.  Information has longer shelf-life, i.e. changes infrequently. Examples include: new product introductions, new processes or procedures and complex new features for existing products.	Considered complex interaction.  Helps learner learn by doing. Preparing employees for situations they will face on the job. Examples include: new software, picking the right product, customer service, coaching, sales situations and Six Sigma.
Interactivity and Navigation	Low technology requirements, 75% of course is text-based, content-centric, may resemble an on-line presentation Basic interactions utilizing graphics and text including roll-overs, hot spots and pop up boxes.  “Click-through” learner experience. Tests learners’ understanding with limited use of quizzes, self-checks, and pre and post-tests containing true and false, multiple choice, single select, true/false, paired list, paired sort, multiple select, click to reveal, pull down menus, fill in the blank text boxes, matching textboxes, ordering textboxes, matching and drop and drag activities Up to 25% of the course or learning objects are media rich Uses linear navigation	More frequent and complex interactions including linear simulations and scenarios occur at least every 3rd slide Use of rich multi-media of at least two types, including animations, scenarios, real-life case studies and examples 25-50% of the course or learning objects are media rich Uses linear navigation	Sophisticated degree of interactivity; including simulations involving branching or pathing, case study based testing and assessment, gaming technology and text entry boxes 50-100% of the course or learning objects are media rich including animation, audio, and video Course may utilize non-linear navigation
Development Time	160 hours / hour of seat time	227 hours / hour of seat time	333 hours / hour of seat time

Estimating Formulas Interlude – “Secret Sauce” for Projects

Here is a mid-week interlude in the Estimating Formulas for Documentation and Training Projects blog posts.

This post was not originally planned, but an article from Bottom Line Performance entitled How to Create Award-Winning Training Solutions caught my eye. It identifies a “secret sauce” for developing award-winning training. I realized that part of the “sauce” also helps to plan, estimate, and sell projects. So enjoy this little interlude and add the information to your estimating arsenal.

I won’t keep you in suspense. The “secret sauce” is:

value + innovation = award-winning training

Though the article is about training, the “secret sauce” can also apply to documentation projects or any other consulting project.

What I found most interesting was the discussion on nailing down the value of the project to the client. As an instructional designer and technical writer, I am always careful to identify the value of the training or documentation for the audience and address the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me). However, as a consultant, I should be just as careful to identify the value of the project to the client. The project should solve a “quantifiable problem.” I should be asking clients “What bad things will happen if this project doesn’t occur?” “What bad things are happening now?” “How much are these bad things costing your company?”

Here is what I like about this:

1. If the problem has only a small dollar value then it is silly for the client to spend a large amount of money on training or documentation for the problem. This helps with budgeting/estimating the project and recommending a sensible solution.
2. It strengthens the client’s commitment to go through with the project.
3. It helps with cost justification if the person you are working with needs to present the estimate to a superior for approval.
4. It provides valuable data for completing a level 4 evaluation and for calculating the ROI.

So next time you are estimating a project, make sure to identify the value to the client.

Estimating Formulas for Documentation and Training

I have been estimating projects for eleven years, so I’ve collected a lot of data on how long it takes to complete a variety of technical documentation and training development projects.

I track the hours worked on every project. At the end of the project I compare the actual hours worked against what I estimated and put this information in a spreadsheet. If I notice that my estimated hours on projects of similar type are consistently off target then adjust how I estimate that type of project.

However, estimating is not only about knowing the right formula. Over the years I’ve learned what information and what questions to ask to create an accurate estimate.

In the next several blog posts I am going to share the information that I’ve collected these past eleven years. Today, I will get right to the point and provide the formulas that I use for estimating how long a project will take to complete. In other posts here’s what you can expect:

• How to use a dependency calculator
• What are eLearning levels
• How to determine what level of e-learning to use
• Estimating oddball projects – projects with more than one type of deliverable, projects that are only a portion of the entire development process, and projects that don’t fit into any category.
• How to protect your estimate against surprises during development

… and now what you’ve been waiting for – my estimating chart.

Deliverable	Description	Definition	Formula
eLearning	Level 1	Includes creating a storyboard, programming, client reviews, and project management. Voiceover is estimated separately.	160 hours per hour of seat time*
eLearning	Level 2	Includes creating a storyboard, programming, client reviews, and project management. Voiceover is estimated separately.	226 hours per hour of seat time
eLearning	Level 3	Includes creating a storyboard, programming, client reviews, and project management. Voiceover is estimated separately.	333 hours per hour of seat time
Classroom Training		Includes a leader guide, participant guide, and PowerPoint presentation.	40 hours per hour of seat time (40 X seat time = total hours for development)
Technical Documentation	New – nothing currently existing or more than 50% of existing is changing	Includes only minor edits for graphics (cropping, lightening/darkening, adding callouts), client reviews, and project management. Indexing, parts listing, and creating illustrations is estimated separately.	4 hours per page in the manual.
Technical Documentation	Edits – between 25% – 50% changing.	Includes client reviews and project management.	3 hours per page in the manual.
Technical Documentation	Edits – less than 25% changing	Includes client reviews and project management.	2 hours per page in the manual.

*Seat time = how long participants are in the classroom or how long it will take them to complete an online course.

Notes:

• If eLearning seat time is under an hour add 20% to the total. For example a half hour, level 2 course is figured 226 X .5 + 20% = 135.6 hours.
• Estimating how many pages a new manual will have is tricky. The best way is to ask the client if they have an existing manual that is similar to the one needing to be written. I also ask the subject matter expert for their opinion on a page count range. Eventually, through experience, you will be able to more accurately estimate the number of pages for manuals.
• Do not short change yourself on documents with a lot of images. Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way. Images still require time for edits/cropping, adding titles, cross referencing, adding callouts, formatting within the text, etc.