During the meeting, review roles and accountability, project milestones, and define a process for checking in and reporting on project status. At the end of the day, you are responsible for all project work. If a change in scope comes up, take the lead and meet with your client to discuss how the change fits into the overall project, and how it will impact timelines.
Provide your professional input, work together to make a decision, and carry out a course of action. Sometimes, a change request may come up that clearly does not add value to the project or may even have a negative impact on your work in the long term.
Clearly present your case to your client and discuss the best way forward. If a client is set on making specific changes, consider compiling their requests into a separate project you can begin once your current project is complete. This will enable you to stick to your current agreement rather than continually making changes along the way. When a client approaches you with additional requests, start by reminding them what your original scope of work entailed, and then present them with two options.
You can either add on the requested work for an additional expense, or you can proceed with the agreed-upon scope of work. Scope creep can create a stressful work environment, and take the fun out of doing what you love. Take the time to develop a well-defined project, put a backup plan in place, and continually communicate with your client to proactively manage the first signs of scope creep.
Join Today! Take a look at the project hours and estimated effort, then check in with your team to see if they would estimate an overage. If they confirm, you need to make your clients aware right away. The best way to do this is to make it formal.
Calling things out early will give you the time to think through a mitigation plan and discuss it with your clients. A well-researched and planned discussion surrounding the scope creep risk will help put you, your client, and the potential issue at ease.
Anything can be sorted out with planning and discussion. Talk about uncomfortable! Here are a few scenarios to think through:. At the end of the day, everyone wants to deliver a quality product that is successful and evokes a sense of pride. Just a few questions, asked at the beginning of a project can help establish:. Asking these questions will help your team set some targets within the context of your project budget and timeline.
Having goals helps you set the stage for how you can meet them within the constraints of the project. Goals can also help you gauge the validity of new requests as they come in. A better project manager takes the time to diagnose the scope creep, study it, and develop an approach to accept or deny it. The best project managers take the time to get through all of those steps and approach the situation with a level head. In fact, all of the time you put into creating an estimate, scope, and timeline will make approaching any problem easier.
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Create your free project plan Free forever. No credit card required. Select Chapter. Assuming the project team is external, the extra work created by scope creep can justify a request for an increase in budget, thus increasing project revenues.
In almost all cases, the root cause of scope creep can be traced back to inefficient communication between project stakeholders. This can happen in any number of ways.
It pays to ensure all stakeholders are aligned on key details of the project scope including project milestones, deadlines, and budget expectations before the start of work on any given project. As noted above, the project manager should have this in writing form via the SoW. Once the project scope has been clearly defined and agreed upon, the project team lead should host a kick-off meeting with all team members to align on expectations and key dates.
As a general rule of thumb, the longer the project, the greater the opportunity for scope creep to occur. With this in mind, project team leads should schedule regular check-ins with team members to create visibility into progress and help expose any blockers. During these check-ins, encourage team members to raise issues proactively by making it clear that honest communication on challenges is far more important than perceived progress. This may mean discarding proposed changes or taking a hard line on budget and time limitations.
Clearly identify the impact made on your project and adjust accordingly. This could mean adjusting your timeline or reassigning roles to more appropriate team members.
New requests should also be handled with care to prevent further issues moving forward. Take steps to clearly define expectations with current progress in mind. Make sure everyone involved is in agreement and that change requests are handled through a set change control process. Scope creep is a fixable issue, but prevention gives your project the best chance for success. Remember that setting and documenting clear expectations and having a set change control process are the best ways to keep your project running smoothly, on time and within budget.
Understanding Scope Creep The term scope creep refers to a project that has gone beyond the projected scope. Preventing Scope Creep Preventing scope creep is the best way to ensure your project stays on track and gives you the best chance of hitting your target goals.
Clearly Define Requirements Communicate with project stakeholders to learn the overall expectations. Change Control Process Set up a change control process that everyone can accept. Scheduling Use your requirements document to schedule all the tasks associated with the project.
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