Why Agile project management methodologies, such as Scrum or Kanban, cannot help control scope creep in a large scale LIMS project. We might need a new standard or Hybrid?

Large-scale LIMS projects may need to adopt additional measures beyond Agile project management methodologies to control scope creep. These may include centralized oversight and governance, robust change management processes, regular stakeholder communication and alignment, and a focus on managing technical debt throughout the project lifecycle. Here are few challenges I faced in LIMS project implementations in the past two decades.

Lack of central oversight: In a large-scale LIMS project, there may be multiple teams working on different aspects of the project. This can make it difficult to have centralized oversight and control over the project scope, which can lead to scope creep. I have seen PM from PMO office and Technical PMs struggle to meet timelines and continuous sprint deadline misses. This puts in lot of stress on BAs and Developers, In the end BAs finish their requirement docuements matching the developed solutions. LOL

Complexity of integration: Large-scale LIMS projects often require integration with many different systems, such as laboratory instruments, MES, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, Printers and other instrument software applications. This can make it difficult to manage and prioritize the project backlog, which can lead to scope creep as new requirements are added or prioritized differently.

Stakeholder alignment: In a large-scale LIMS project, there may be many different stakeholders, Busines owners with different priorities and requirements. It can be challenging to align all stakeholders on the project scope, which can lead to scope creep as new requirements are added or existing requirements are changed.

Read full article at LIMSNetwork.com