1) The phenomenon called "gold plating", as opposed to scope creep, can increase costs in software development projects. Please examine how the "gold plating" works and puts cost overhead.

2) " I do not believe enough of a risk mitigation factor was included, and this was compounded by an insistence from management to keep changing things at the last minute. Such changes can be entertained at some instances early in the Project development stages- but during the implementation stage this affects both resources and time" Was there any iterative approach to develop this project as this approach allows changes in the later stages? Was the project team consisted any one from the ministry as a member?

3) If you could focus on of the following reasons as being the candidate for Budget over runs, why one and why. Could you provide a critical analysis?

4) Great post. Evolving requirements are the major cause of budget overruns. In my company the project manager is tasked with protecting the scope of the project. This is an essential task in order to prevent too much scope creep which results in upsetting the balance of the triple project constraints cost, time and scope. If the scope changes, the cost will also rise to a point where it leads to budget overrun (Markgraf, n.d.). A solution to scope creep is to postpone some of the new requirements to be implemented post production if possible. If it is not possible then change requests need to be raised and budget for the change negotiated so that the change is not covered by the main project budget. Another option is to find a work around that resolves the business requirement. What do you think?

5) What do you think about the option of using agile project management? Hunsberger (2011) sees change as something that should not be resisted or limited. By using an iterative approach you can implement the product that are of high value to the organisation and then revisit the scope and requirement at each sprint. During the iteration the scope is fixed, but can be changed in between the iterations (Hunsberger, 2011). What do you think?

6) The failure to include a specific set of requirements in project definition can allow scope creep to move in on projects. In her work, (Schwalbe, 2014) managing information technology projects requires ideas and information that go beyond standard project management. The lack of user input, incomplete and changing requirements, and lack of executive support makes estimating costs in IS/IT projects all the more difficult. (Jennifer)