Project Profiling: Case Study

Effective project management relies on a thorough understanding of the project. An effective method to better understand a project is to create a project profile. Creating a project profile will help identify the characteristics of the project, identify the project scope, prevent project scope creep, identify required technology, and help in developing an appropriate action plan and timeline to complete the project. But what happens when a project is started without conducting a thorough project profile? Read the scenario below and consider how creating a project profile could have helped Francine with her renovations.

Francine has recently purchased an older house in her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with the purpose of renovating it. Francine has extensive experience in construction as she worked with various local construction companies during her summers off from university.

Francine decides she is going to renovate her kitchen. She begins by purchasing new cabinets and removing the old kitchen cabinets. She then realizes that the new cabinets do not match with the old countertops, so she decides to remove them. Once the old countertops have been removed, she notices that the floor around the sink is water-damaged. Francine realizes that there are issues with the plumbing and that she will need to call a certified plumber to complete the required work. The plumber reports back to Francine that there are many issues with the plumbing in her house and that the project is larger than she expected. She will also need to replace a section of the floor in the kitchen as the water damage was quite extensive. This means she will also need to replace the kitchen tiles. Francine comes to the unfortunate realization that the renovations she desires to complete are much too extensive, expensive, and complex for her to complete herself.

Francine begins to calculate the amount of money she has invested and the projected costs of fixing the plumbing, floor, and new kitchen floor tiles. She now realizes that she is over her budget and this renovation will take much longer than expected while requiring an expertise that she does not have.

In this scenario, what prior steps could Francine have taken to ensure that the project would meet her timeline, budget, and still be within her construction expertise?