What Causes Scope Creep and How to Avoid It?

When you begin your search to find the answer to the question of what causes scope creep, you will find that it happens due to different reasons on projects. When you take the case of any business, executives at the sponsor level do not show interest to get involved in every decision. So, they hand over the responsibilities entirely to the project teams. When they feel that some changes are small, project teams think that they can decide on it and no need to make the change required to the executive level. They work on the change without following a formal change management process. When things do not move forward as expected by the project team, it can lead to scope creep. Even, a tough and inflexible change control process followed by many organizations can contribute to unauthorized additions to the project scope.

The problem with project teams is that at times, they wish to exceed the expectations and so, they decide to deliver more value to the client. With this intention, they add unrequested functionality. But, managers of IT departments often fail to demand more budget and time when they handle the requests for additional functionality. This can lead to scope creep.

List of Causes for Scope Creep:

As mentioned earlier, you will get a long list of answers to your question of what causes scope creep. Here is a list provided by PMI as causes for scope creep. From this list, you will get a better idea of different factors that contribute to scope creep:

• Inadequate clarity and depth of the original specifications of the project.

• Permitting unmanaged and direct communication between team participants and clients.

• Clients trying to get more work for the same price without paying extra for additional functionality

• Instigation of design and development of something before a complete analysis of the requirements and cost-benefit analysis.

• Project team working on new features without any planning and foresight

• Poor defining of initial requirements

• Management promises to deliver more to the clients and forces the developers to produce something impossible within a tight timeframe.

These are some of the few factors that cause scope creep to creep into projects, thereby making the success of the project entirely tough. Are you a Project Manager? If so, now, your question will be how to avoid scope creep. Let us find the answers here. But, before you find ways to avoid it, you should know why steps should be taken to foreseeingly address scope creep.

Why Proactively Address Scope Creep?

As a Project Manager, you should be farsighted in handling scope creep for the following reasons:

• Scope creep can contribute to considerable overruns in the cost

• It can lead to lack of communication among the team members.

• It can contribute to inefficient time management in the team

• Scope creep can contribute to swift burnout within the team and

• It can contribute to inadequate clarity over the final deliverables

Now, you can understand that scope creep can bring ill effects to the team both in terms of productivity and the overall well-being of the organization as a whole. So, you should find the answer to the question of how to prevent scope creep even before the project instigates. 

Ways to Prevent Scope Creep:

As you are wondering how to avoid scope creep in Project Management, here are some key tips that will aid you with the prevention of scope creep:

1. Document the Project Requirements:

The first and foremost thing you will have to do when you intend to avoid scope creep is to document your project requirements clearly. When you clearly define the project requirements, you can define the project scope clearly as well. Before the project begins, talk to the users and project stakeholders to know what they exactly want from the project. When talking with stakeholders and clients if they have different ideas, it is better to talk to an arbitrator to decide what is expected from the project. You can gain a better understanding from the example below:

If your project involves designing a website, where your client wants the website to have a red background, while the stakeholder wants it to be blue, it is better to have someone arbitrate between these two people to make a final choice. When you have the project requirements in written format, ensure to identify the priorities. The reason is that your team cannot work on all of them at the same time.

Of course, it can be time-consuming to record everything that the stakeholders say. But, it is important to capture every requirement of the stakeholders and clients in the document. This draft is referred to as the requirement management plan. Apart from the requirements of stakeholders and clients, this document should also contain the information required for effectively managing the project requirements. The information can be like how the requirements will be tracked and the process that will be followed for changing the requirement. Further, it is better to make sure that this document is held online so that every member of the development team can access it as and when required.

2. Get Client Consent:

As a Project Manager, you are responsible for making sure that the project scope is clearly communicated to the clients. In turn, the client should be in a position to understand what is part of the scope and what is not. Of course, you would have sent clients a document that outlines the deliverables. Nevertheless, it is not sufficient; you will have to involve them straight into the project. Make sure that you communicate with them regularly and walk them through all the deliverables and parameters thoroughly. You can ask questions like “Are you clear about what you will be getting?” and “what you will get as deliverables?” which can help you make sure that your clients have a clear idea of what they will be getting as deliverables.

3. Plan for Changes in Advance:

It is bad that you cannot foresee all risks. But, it is a reality and cannot be prevented. Changes in the project cannot be avoided as it moves forward. In fact, the changes made to the project scope without properly documenting them are one of the important reasons for scope creep. So, you should make sure that the change control and management procedures are established right before the project begins. Also, you should plan some room for possible amendments as well. You should ensure that the change management process is focused on the goals of the project. Also, make sure that you properly document the steps needed for deciding on the modification of the project scope.

4. Host a Kick-Off Meeting:

Now, you have a detailed scope of work and a backup plan in place. So, before the project begins, call for a kick-off meeting. This meeting will help you get all the stakeholders of the project in one place. This meeting will provide an opportunity for the final review of the project scope before the project instigates. At this meeting, you can also decide on the project milestones, accountability and roles and define a process to check and report the status of the project to the stakeholders.

5. Do Not Be Afraid to Say No to Changes to the Project Scope:

You are in a responsible position of managing a project in your organization. So, naturally, it will be scary for you to say no when a client requests some changes in the project. However, at times, saying no is the best way to help your client achieve his goals. Even, it can turn out to be a great tool for you to avoid scope creep. When you receive a change request from the client, check whether it will throw the project off track. If so, you should not hesitate to say no. But, make sure that you call for a conversation with the client and share details of the difficulties and say your no as a conversation as against a declaration. Even, you can discuss options with the client for the best way to proceed.

6. Put a Price On the Change:

You can reduce the number of change requirements from clients when you charge for the extra features that want your team to add to the project. Apart from increasing your revenue, this move will help with discouraging unwanted change requests from clients. Another smart option you can choose is a zero-sum game. It means that if a feature is being added to the charter of a project, make sure to get something out. When you do this, you can keep the resources and time you will require to spend on a specific project constant.

With these tips, you might now be aware of how to prevent scope creep. Remember that scope creep apart from bringing ill effects to the appropriate project can also affect the overall organizational growth indirectly. So, make sure that you take the appropriate measures to prevent scope creep from damaging your projects. 

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