An Odoo project that overruns its time and budget usually had a scope problem from the start. This piece is about how to scope an Odoo project so it does not overrun.
Scope and overrun
An Odoo project's scope is what the project sets out to do, how much of the operation, how many parts, how much customization. Overrun, taking far longer and costing far more than planned, usually traces back to scope: a scope that was too large for the plan, or unclear, or that grew uncontrolled as the project ran. Scoping a project well, defining the scope honestly and sensibly and then holding it, is what most keeps a project from overrunning.
Define the scope honestly
Scoping a project so it does not overrun starts with defining the scope honestly: a clear, genuine statement of what the project will do, matched to what can genuinely be done in the time and budget. An honestly defined scope is one where the project's plan, its time and budget, genuinely fits the scope, rather than a scope that is more than the plan can really deliver. Many overruns come from a scope that was, from the start, more than the plan honestly allowed; defining the scope honestly, so plan and scope genuinely match, avoids that.
Scope it sensibly: phase it
Scoping a project sensibly means, in large part, phasing it. Rather than scoping a project to do everything at once, which is a large scope that strains any plan, a sensible scope gets a sound core done first, then extends in phases. Phasing is itself a way of scoping: the first phase has a contained, achievable scope, getting a sound core live and stable, and the further phases each have their own contained scope. A project scoped in phases, each phase's scope contained and achievable, is far less prone to overrun than one scoped to do everything at once.
Hold the scope: guard against scope creep
Scoping a project well at the start is not enough; the scope has to be held as the project runs. Scope creep, the scope growing, bit by bit, as the project goes, more added, more wished in, is one of the great causes of overrun. A project whose scope keeps growing keeps moving its own finish line. Holding the scope means guarding against that: changes to the scope are not simply absorbed but considered deliberately, with their effect on the plan understood. A project that defines its scope honestly and then holds it, rather than letting it creep, stays on track.
The takeaway
An Odoo project overruns, usually, because of a scope problem: a scope too large for the plan, unclear, or grown uncontrolled. Scope a project so it does not overrun by defining the scope honestly, so the plan and scope genuinely match; scoping it sensibly, in phases, each phase's scope contained and achievable; and holding the scope as the project runs, guarding against scope creep. A project with an honest, sensible, held scope stays on track. For how we approach Odoo projects, see our ERP practice.