Evaluation of Scope Changes in Product Development Projects - Master's Thesis 2011 - Summary

Sep 12, 2026

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Product development projects must deliver innovative, customer-focused outcomes while coping with evolving requirements and customer needs throughout the project life cycle. Changes to original plans are often necessary to stay aligned with dynamic business environments, yet they can also create negative impacts and threaten project success. This thesis evaluates scope changes in product development projects and examines their types, causes, and impacts, emphasizing knowledge and tools needed to manage change effectively. Data were gathered through interviews at Volvo Bus Corporation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPaper Templates

FormatPDF

Pages61

Reading Time21 min

AccessFree to download

ABSTRACT

Preface

Abbreviations

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

1.2 Research Focus and Aim

1.3 Limitations and delimitations of the research

1.4 Outline of the report

2 Presentation of Volvo Buses and their processes

2.1 Volvo Buses a part of the Volvo Group

2.2 Global Development Process

3 Theoretical frame of references

3.1 The project life cycle

3.2 Scope Management

3.3 Scope changes

Evaluation of Scope Changes in Product Development Projects Master of Science Thesis in the Master´s Programme International Project Management & Project Management OSCAR TENGGREN Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Construction Management CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Department of the Built Environment Project Management NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY Göteborg, Sweden, 2011 Report No. 2011:100 MASTER´S THESIS 2011:100 Evaluation of Scope Changes in Product Development Projects Master of Science Thesis for the joint degree in the „International Project Management‟ and ‘Project Management’ OSCAR TENGGREN Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Construction Management CHALMERS UNITVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND Department of the Built Environment Project Management NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY Göteborg, Sweden 2011 Evaluation of Scope Changes in Product Development Projects Master‟s Thesis in the International Project Management & Project Management OSCAR TENGGREN Contact information: [tenggreo@student.chalmers.se](tenggreo@student.chalmers.se) © OSCAR TENGGREN Examensarbete / Institutionen för bygg-och miljöteknik, Chalmers tekniska högskola 2011:100 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Construction Management CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SE-412 96 Göteborg Sweden Telephone: + 46 (0)31-772 1000 Dissertation 2011 Department of the Built Environment Project Management NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY Newcastle City Campus Ellison Place Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST UK Telephone: +44 (0)191 232 6002 Göteborg, Sweden 2011 ABSTRACT Product development projects are striving to deliver innovative and customer focused products. Since new requirements and customer needs could be identified or changed during the project life cycle this triggers project to change the original plans. Literature is mentioning that projects changes have to occur in order to keep up with the dynamic business environment that is surrounding many organisations. At the same time projects changes are known for having impact and could cause project failure. Having the right knowledge about scope changes and tools to manage scope changes could for this reason be crucial when managing complex product development projects. This thesis is conducted at Volvo Bus Corporation (VBC) in Gothenburg in order to evaluate scope changes in product development projects. This includes identifying types, causes and impacts of scope changes in projects at VBC. With this information and an extensive literature review the author seeks what is important when evaluating and dealing with scope changes. The data was mainly conducted through interviews with project managers at VBC from two different projects. Some recommendations is given both when it comes to evaluating change requests but also how to manage them through clarifying or implementing new tools and processes at VBC. The findings and recommendations could be used in all types of product development projects and is not necessarily VBC specific. Key word: Scope Changes, Product Development Projects, Impact, Causes, Managing Preface............................................................................................................................ III Abbreviations ................................................................................................................. IV 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research Focus and Aim ........................................................................................... 1 1.3 Limitations and delimitations of the research......................................................... 2 1.4 Outline of the report ................................

FAQs

Why do scope changes occur in product development projects?

New requirements and customer needs may be identified or changed during the project life cycle, forcing adjustments to original plans to remain aligned with the business environment.

What does the thesis aim to evaluate at Volvo Bus Corporation?

It evaluates the types, causes, and impacts of scope changes in product development projects at Volvo Bus Corporation, and identifies what matters when evaluating and dealing with such changes.

How was the thesis data collected?

The thesis mainly relied on interviews with project managers at Volvo Bus Corporation from two different projects.

Sep 12, 2026

Upload by Hazel