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We all know a creep or two that we do anything to avoid, but are you aware of the “Scope Creep” that’s lurking within your organization?

A Personal Story…

My husband and I undertook a kitchen remodel to bring the style out of the ’90s.  We planned spending a week devoted to sand and paint our cabinets white, paint the walls, and install new trim.  While working on our kitchen, we realized that it would be nice to paint the mantle in the living room and the railing in the basement.  Oh, and a back-splash would look perfect behind the sink…

…hello, scope creep.

What is Scope Creep?

Scope creep occurs during projects and sneaks in so stealthy that it often goes unnoticed at first.  Only when we’ve invested large sums of time or money do we realize what happened.  Scope creep is an unplanned change that gets added to scope.  It can result in missed timelines, poor quality, and over-spending.

Whether you are implementing a new software system, purchasing marketing materials, or renovating your office, you need to manage your project scope.

How to Avoid Scope Creep

1. Create a scope statement.
   1. Document what’s in-scope and what’s out of scope for your project.
2. Determine risks.
   1. What are possible issues that could occur throughout the course of the project?
3. Estimate timeline, budget, and resources.
   1. Determine how long this project is expected to take and include some major milestones.
   2. Estimate costs for your project budget.
   3. Decide who will be involved with the project.
   4. Account for the risks you identified above in your estimates.
4. Monitor and manage changes.
   1. As the project is moving along, changes will inevitably occur.  With every change, compare it to your scope statement.  Do one of the following:
      1. Leave it out of the project.  For example, during the kitchen renovation we determined that we didn’t have time or funds for the back-splash, so we left it out.
      2. Amend your scope statement.  For example, we made a conscious decision to add the mantle and railing to the scope since we had the paint and equipment ready.  It is not scope creep if you are aware of the change and make a decision to include it.