As a project manager, it is instinctive and natural to want to satisfy your stakeholders, clients, team members, and organization. In fact, that is one of the core responsibilities of a project manager.
However, in a bid to satisfy and make them happy by delivering quality projects and products, it is not uncommon to end up over-delivering when it comes to features.
When it comes to projects, this is not necessarily a good thing and often leads to gold plating in project management.
In this article, we take a close look at what gold plating in project management entails, the causes, and ways to avoid or eliminate it from your projects.
A good understanding of this concept is key to helping you as a project manager in creating value efficiently for your stakeholders by delivering their actual needs instead of delivering what you feel they need.
What is Gold Plating in Project Management?
Don’t let the name fool you. Gold plating in project management has absolutely nothing to do with actual gold or any metal at all.
Gold plating is the act of adding extra features, functionality, or services to a project that was not requested by the client, project sponsor, or management.
This occurs when the project manager or project team believes that certain features that are not part of the project scope and requirements will enhance the project, and go ahead to add them without discussion with the client, and getting documented approval.
While these features may seem like an upgrade to the project or provide more benefits, the fact remains that they were not part of the project requirements.
These extra features are basically unauthorized changes at probably extra cost, time, and resource use, and constitute bad business practice according to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK).
Any changes to the project scope or requirements have to be discussed and approved by the project sponsor or client, as the ultimate outcome of the project is their sole responsibility.
Read Also: Kill Point in Project Management
What are the Causes of Gold Plating in Project Management?
Most cases of gold plating in project management are actually prompted by good intentions. I doubt if any project manager goes out to add extra features to a project with the aim of sabotaging it, as a good project manager always aims to do what is best for the project.
However, there is often a disconnect between project managers and the sponsor. This is because the project manager is focused on delivering the project right, while the client or sponsor is focused on delivering the right project to satisfy an organizational business need.
One of the major causes of gold plating is the desire of the project manager and team to over-deliver on the project and demonstrate expertise. This is erroneous as the expertise of a project manager lies in delivering to the client exactly what was requested.
Another common cause of gold plating is the desire to make the client happy by adding functionality with the assumption that it will provide more value. Value remains a matter of perception and what may be more valuable to you as a project manager may just be overkill and unnecessary to the client.
Sometimes when delivering projects or developing products, defects arise. In a bid to cover up or make amends for these defects, some project teams add features and functionalities that are not part of the scope in a bid to deflect attention from the defects or placate the client.
Also, gold plating may arise when tasks are finished way ahead of schedule. Some team members working on a project may finish assigned tasks early and then try to add extra features.
Effects of Gold Plating in Project Management
Just like in life, actions have consequences when managing projects, and gold plating is no exception. When you add features and functionality not requested, there are different directions it could go.
While gold plating may be done with good intentions, extra work requires extra funds, time, and resources. Since the client did not approve these additions, the client is not bound or obliged to provide compensation.
A worse scenario may arise where the client when doing scope validation insists that those features are neither needed or wanted. Extra time and effort will then be spent to restore the project to the original requested specifications.
Another possible effect of gold plating a project is an increase in the project risk. An increase in the scope leads to the possibility of more defects and bugs, an increased likelihood of going over the project budget and schedule, and a reduction in quality since more work is being done than what was originally planned.
You must also consider the effect on the client and future engagements. Since you have added to the project functionality at no extra cost to the client, they may end up expecting the same on future projects and feel disappointed when you deliver just what is in the project scope.
And finally, the client or stakeholders will likely lose some trust in the project manager and team. This is because they have provided a project scope that has been distorted without their knowledge. There is no guarantee that they will get exactly what they require in the future.
How to Prevent Gold Plating in Project Management
Haven understood the effects of gold plating in project management, it is obvious that this practice has more potential negative effects and a conscious effort has to be made to avoid it.
These are 5 top ways that will help you as a project manager and your team from falling into the lure of gold plating.
1. As a project manager, you need to ensure the team is firmly focused on the project requirements and scope as documented in the project performance baseline. Also, regular project monitoring is required in order to quickly observe any deviations and nip off-track activities in the bud.
2. Ensure the priority of the project team is firmly on the approved project requirements rather than any extras. In cases where deliverables are finished ahead of schedule, the team member should continually reevaluate and test rather than try something new outside the requirements.
3. The scope of the project should be clearly defined with the client or stakeholders, documented in detail, and signed off by both parties. It should be communicated clearly to the project team with the understanding not to go beyond the agreed-upon project scope.
4. Constantly monitor the project execution to ensure the right work is being done in order to quickly identify any attempts by the project team members in gold plating the project.
5. Communication is the bedrock of successful project management. To ensure that the scope of the project has not changed, communicate with all parties involved, including the client.
Gold Plating vs Scope Creep
While both scope creep and gold plating in project management involve adding extra features to a project or initiative, their definitions differ slightly and it is not uncommon for even Project Management Professionals (PMP) to use them interchangeably.
Scope creep occurs in project management when additional features are added to a project at the request of a client without following the established change control procedure.
This can happen when the scope is vaguely defined or informally agreed upon. Scope creep can drive up project costs and should be avoided.
Gold plating, on the other hand, occurs when a project team adds features that the client did not request. Gold plating can be done for a variety of reasons. This is sometimes done to obtain the approval of a client or internal management. This is also done on occasion to divert attention away from project flaws.
So while gold plating and scope creep are deviations from the project scope, scope creep comes from the client while gold plating is by the project team without the client’s consent.
Examples of Gold Plating in Project Management
Although gold plating in project management can cut across all domains and industries, it is particularly common in software product development as these are projects that are feature-based and all about functionality.
A simple example is a project to develop a mobile web application for employees of a company to sign in. The client’s requirements include capturing the employee’s GPS location across the various offices, and a biometric sign-in.
Now the development team decides to add a functionality where the employee has to take a photo at the office while signing in to prevent impersonation.
While this may seem sensible, this added feature has effects. In the first place, the client may want an application that is simple, minimalistic, and lightweight. Adding this feature is gold plating and may affect the backend database performance, or it may be that the client simply does not need or want the feature.
A simpler example is the production of office chairs. The client has given the requirements for simple office chairs. Then the project team goes ahead to design chairs that swivel and have the functionality of height adjustment.
This is a case of gold plating as the additions imply an increase in cost. The client is working on a budget and may have considered these features earlier but did not include them in order to stay within the budget constraint.
Conclusion
From the examples above, it is obvious that the added features happen to look very sensible. However, each additional feature impacts the project constraints of scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk.
Quality in project management is giving the client what was requested and not what you as a project manager feel is what is best.
So in all your projects, ensure you always keep the negative effects of gold plating firmly in mind, and work proactively to avoid it and deliver projects according to the client’s requirements.
