What is
scope creep?

Scope creep can be difficult to quantify

Changes in scope are often gradual and may not be immediately apparent to everyone involved in the project. This can make it difficult for those leading the project (e.g. project managers in large teams, freelancers, or agency owners) to recognise when scope creep is occurring – and take action to prevent it from becoming a bigger problem.  

Scope creep can also have a domino effect on other aspects of the project. If the scope increases, more resources such as time, money, and personnel will be needed to complete it. Leading to delays, cost overruns, and stakeholder management challenges with your team and particularly with your client.  

Scope creep is either indicative of, or can be the cause of,  a lack of focus and direction. Without clear project objectives it’s difficult to measure success, and delivering on unclear expectations can make it impossible to satisfy your customers. This can negatively impact the quality of project deliverables, compounding the problem of client dissatisfaction.
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If you’ve owned or worked for a company that delivers products and/or services, you’ve felt this pain.  

‍So, how do you overcome a foe that can be difficult to detect, is caused by a myriad of different factors and is challenging to quantify the cost to your business (i.e. making it hard to prove this is a priority to solve)?!

For the lucky teams with dedicated project managers:

Strong communication and planning skills are paramount. Project managers must be proactive in communicating with stakeholders to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that project requirements are clearly defined.

They should use project management tools and techniques to create detailed plans and schedules that outline the work that needs to be done and the resources that will be required.  

Clear project objectives are critical so that project managers know when to adapt to changes in project requirements, and when to push back. This may involve revising plans and schedules, or making adjustments to the project team to ensure that the project stays on track.

Importantly, if the project scope does need to change, capturing the value of these changes is critical to ensure the work is correctly invoiced and the team does not do more work for the same investment.

It’s trickier for smaller teams where the people delivering the work are also managing the project.  

Again, project objectives must be front and centre to act as a reminder to both client and business that additional requirements don’t always serve to improve project outcomes. Processes for change requests should also be in place – it’s hard when you have rapport and just want to jump on the phone or send a quick message. But a chain of custody for project requests and approvals will make it so much easier to ensure decisions are made purposefully and invoiced accordingly.