What Is Scope Creep? Keeping Your Project Focused

Key takeaways

Scope creep occurs when any part of a project's scope, such as deliverables, budget, timeline, or resources, changes after the project has started.

• Scope creep can lead to projects going over budget, missing deadlines, and increasing overall project risk.

• Common causes of scope creep include unclear requirements and scope definition, as well as a lack of stakeholder investment.

• You can prevent scope creep by creating a strong project plan that involves all stakeholders, breaks your project into manageable subprojects, and includes well-defined goals, a change control process, and a schedule. 

Learn more about what scope creep is and strategies you can use to help prevent it and manage it. If you’re ready to build project management skills, including project planning, scoping, implementation, and closure, enroll in the Google Project Management Professional Certificate program. You’ll have the opportunity to learn in-demand project management skills and get AI training from Google experts.

What is scope creep in project management?

Scope outlines a project's boundaries, including what must be completed, to whom it must be delivered, the budget, timeline, and resources. Scope creep occurs when any of the scope elements begin to change once the project has started. Understanding and managing scope creep is crucial for project managers to ensure project success and maintain control over project boundaries.

For example, let’s say a project to add three new features to a software program grows into a project to add five new features, or a construction project to renovate a building needs to include updates to the foundation after some flaws are discovered. Both of these instances would be considered scope creep.

Scope creep can cause a project to go over budget, extend beyond its deadline, and sometimes increase project risk. Sometimes, scope creep is uncontrollable, and part of being an effective project manager is knowing how best to deal with inevitable changes. Trying to prevent it before it happens and knowing how to handle it when it does is key to setting up a successful project.

Read more: 12 Key Project Management Skills

What are the risks of scope creep?

Scope creep can have a domino effect, negatively impacting multiple aspects of your project. Some of the main risks include:

• Project delays

• Missed deadlines

• Going over budget

• Decreased quality

• Reduced team morale

• Increased project risk

• Resource strain

• Stakeholder dissatisfaction

• Project failure

By effectively managing scope creep, you can avoid these risks and ensure your project is completed successfully.

Famous scope creep example

Scope creep can happen in small and large projects. One classic example is Denver International Airport’s plan to automate its baggage handling system for its three terminals in 1995. The project took around sixteen months longer than planned. It went over budget by $560 million despite deliverables falling far short of the original scope, with only one baggage system at one terminal automated for only one airline. 

These drastic consequences were said to be caused by a few factors. First, when evaluators estimated that the project would take four years, city officials insisted on sticking to the original two-year timeline, jeopardizing the project’s successful completion. Secondly, airlines were not asked for feedback until the project had begun, which meant that including their new requests forced the project planners to backtrack and cost them valuable time and resources.

What are some common causes of scope creep?

Many factors can cause scope creep. Some of the most common include:

• Unclear scope definition: Projects spelled out solely in business terms or lacking specific details can create unclear expectations and misinterpretations.

• Not having formal scope or requirements management: This can happen if the project’s decision-makers step back after setting out the initial scope. Involving important decision-makers throughout the process becomes important here.

• Unclear requirements: If requirements are too high-level and unclear, or new stakeholders appear and add their own requirements, scope creep can occur.

• Lack of sponsorship and stakeholder involvement: Disinterested stakeholders or sponsors can lead to reduced communication, which can then cause scope creep.

• Project length: The longer a project lasts, the greater the likelihood that business changes will occur, stakeholders will change priorities, and competitors will change the playing field. Larger projects can be broken down into smaller subprojects to minimize project length.

Ways to avoid scope creep

Preventing scope creep involves meticulous project planning from the outset. This includes setting SMART goals, creating a robust change control process, involving all relevant stakeholders in the planning phase, and breaking down large projects into manageable subprojects. When scope creep does occur, it's crucial to assess its impact on the project’s constraints and prioritize accordingly to mitigate its effects.

1. Prevent scope creep before your project begins.

A big part of preventing scope creep involves good project planning. This entails:

• Setting well-defined goals: Goals should be SMART, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Ensure everybody on the team knows requirements, deliverables, and other details.

• Creating a change control process: Sometimes, change is inevitable. This means that you can plan for it as best as you can. Set up a system where changes can be requested by team members, approved by relevant parties, and recorded. 

• Involving all relevant stakeholders in the planning phase: Looping in project stakeholders during the planning phase helps you understand what each stakeholder expects and requires, allowing you to set realistic goals that stakeholders agree on.

• Creating a schedule: Communicating with stakeholders and sponsors to keep them involved throughout the project, for example, by planning to send daily updates on the project’s progress or by setting up weekly meetings.

• Breaking large projects into subprojects: As mentioned above, the longer a project is, the more scope creep can occur. If you’re tackling a large project, consider breaking it into smaller projects so that you have a clear map of immediate needs and details aren’t overlooked.

2. How to manage scope creep when it happens

Not all scope creep is bad. In fact, it’s often inevitable. To make decisions for your project once you’ve identified that scope creep has happened, determine the consequences and identify your priorities.

• Determine the consequences: Think about how this affects your project. One way to approach this is to consider the project management triangle. This model shows that the outcome's quality is determined by three constraints: scope, budget, and time. It can be summed up by the saying, “Good, fast, and cheap: Pick two.” If you don’t want the quality of the project to suffer, changing one of these constraints will result in a change in one or both of the others. Will the scope creep extend the expected timeline of your project? Will it increase the cost? Knowing how it will affect your resources is important in determining how to deal with it.

• Pick your priorities: Once you’ve determined how scope creep will affect your project, decide which constraints are your priorities. If a client has a firm launch date for a product, you’ll want to prioritize time, which might mean you’ll have to increase your budget. If the budget is non-negotiable, consider extending the timeline for the project. If you expand the scope but wish to maintain the original cost and timeline for the project, keep in mind that the quality of the finished product might suffer.

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