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Scope creep is the uncontrolled expansion to project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources.

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Quick reference

Scope Creep

Scope Creep:  "The uncontrolled expansion to product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources.”  PMBOK® Guide

When to use

Scope creep can occur at any time in the project.  It most commonly occurs during reviews with stakeholders or customers.  During the review, the stakeholder or customer requests a change to a project goal or deliverable that will require additional unplanned work.  Scope creep occurs when the goal or deliverable is changed without adjusting the project schedule or resources.  

Scope creep can also occur when project team members add unnecessary work to the project.  Often the team members do this because they believe it will make the project results better.  However, if the stakeholders have not agreed to the change and provided additional time and resources, the effect is to cause scope creep.

Instructions

Scope creep inevitably leads to delays and overruns since the extra work requires time and money to complete.  Often scope creep is not recognized until the delay or overrun has already occurred.  At that point, it is too late to prevent the scope creep.  The project must either be “de-scoped” to fit within the original boundaries or the team must go back to the stakeholders to request the delay and overrun absorbed by the project sponsors.

  1. Managing scope creep starts at the time of project initiation.  A clear set of project boundaries will reduce the likelihood of project scope creep.  The In-Frame / Out-of-Frame technique described in the lesson on that topic is an excellent tool for clarifying the boundaries.  
  2. The Project Leader should guard against scope creep initiated by team members at the pulse meetings (see the lesson on Team Meetings).  If a task completion is delayed, the Project Leader should immediately check for the possibility of scope creep.  If that is occurring, the Project Leader and Core Team member should redirect the task leader to stay within the task scope.
  3. Following every meeting with stakeholders, the project team should review the action items and direction to determine if there is scope creep.  If there is an unfunded request for additional scope, the Project Leader should notify the stakeholders and request clarification on project boundaries: either an increase in time and resources or the removal of the scope direction.
  4. Scope requests that are not approved by the stakeholders should be recorded on a list known as the “Scope Creep Parking Lot.”  If the project is rebaselined, this list should be reviewed and appropriate scope added to the project.   At the end of the project, this list is turned over to the project sponsors for review by future projects.

Hints & tips

  • Scope creep is a never-ending battle on projects.  Expect it will happen, so watch closely for the signs and manage it.
  • Progressive elaboration, which was discussed in an earlier lesson, is not the same as scope creep.  With progressive elaboration, fuzzy details about scope requirements are clarified as the project unfolds.  This is not new scope, it is scope clarification.
  • It is very hard to tell your managers, “No,” when they ask for additional unfunded scope on the project.  Report the request with the impact at the next management review and ask for clarification on boundaries.
  • Create a small reserve of time and resources during project planning to be able to absorb small scope creep requests.

This definition is taken from the Glossary of the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017.

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  • 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray sheen.
  • 00:05 Let's talk about controlling one of the most troubling aspects of many projects,
  • 00:10 scope creep.
  • 00:11 The project management body of knowledge the PMBOK Guide,
  • 00:15 defines scope creep as the uncontrolled expansion to product or
  • 00:19 project scope without adjustment to time, cost, and resources.
  • 00:24 For example, it could be a stakeholder asking for one more thing to be done on
  • 00:28 the project that wasn't in the original project charter or
  • 00:31 the original project plan.
  • 00:33 Scope creep adds more requirements for activities for
  • 00:36 projects than were originally intended.
  • 00:39 Of course, projects are often started with some uncertainty in the scope or
  • 00:43 deliverables required.
  • 00:44 Clarifying uncertainty is not the same as scope creep.
  • 00:47 That uncertainty should be accounted for
  • 00:49 in the project plan through estimate reserves or risks.
  • 00:52 The project team is aware of the uncertainty and can manage it.
  • 00:56 Scope creep occurs when there are new requirements or
  • 00:59 deliverables that were never envisioned as part of the project.
  • 01:04 Let's look at the impact of scope creep on the project.
  • 01:07 Scope creep inevitably leads to overruns or delays in the project, and
  • 01:11 that's because the new work consumes resources.
  • 01:14 Those resources were not budgeted for that work.
  • 01:17 Paying for the increased work creates the overrun.
  • 01:19 Also, when the project resources are on the scope creep items, the work that was
  • 01:24 assigned to them is normally delayed, leading to a project delay.
  • 01:29 Scope creep can also lead to confusion about what really should be done on
  • 01:33 the project.
  • 01:35 The original charter and project plan had a particular list of deliverables that
  • 01:38 needed to be accomplished.
  • 01:40 But now the team was working on other things that were not in the charter or
  • 01:43 on the list of deliverables.
  • 01:45 The team is no longer certain what they should be doing.
  • 01:49 Finally, scope creep that occurs near the end of a project gives it a sense of being
  • 01:53 endless.
  • 01:54 Whenever the team thinks it's almost done,
  • 01:56 there's one more thing that's being added to the project, this is demoralizing.
  • 02:01 So the obvious question is how to manage scope creep.
  • 02:05 First, we need to recognize where scope creep items come from, and
  • 02:09 guard against them.
  • 02:10 The common sources are customers, stakeholders, and team members.
  • 02:14 Customers will often think of additional items that they would like to have,
  • 02:19 based upon what has been developed so far.
  • 02:21 It's hard to tell the customer, no.
  • 02:23 However, there is normally a contract with the customer that explicitly lists
  • 02:28 the scope.
  • 02:29 If your project's funded by a customer, you need to be prepared for
  • 02:32 those requests.
  • 02:33 And when those happen, a contract change occurs.
  • 02:35 Stakeholders are also hard to resist when they ask for an additional skill.
  • 02:39 After all, they're usually senior management and
  • 02:42 can influence your career for either a good or a bad way.
  • 02:46 However, they also want the project to complete so
  • 02:49 they can begin to get project benefits.
  • 02:51 And one of the most insidious sources of scope creep are the team members.
  • 02:56 Team members start to do additional work they think would be great for
  • 02:59 the project, but it's not required and it leads to scope creep.
  • 03:04 You need to be on guard against scope creep from any of these three sources.
  • 03:08 When someone does identify a need for scope creep, they should
  • 03:12 be able to explain the benefit of that scope change to the project stakeholders.
  • 03:16 If the benefit is attractive enough, the project scope should be changed.
  • 03:20 But that's in the form of a change to the project charter and
  • 03:24 deliverables that requires a new baseline plan, and it's not scope creep.
  • 03:29 The best place to have this discussion is in a management review or
  • 03:32 a toll-gate meeting.
  • 03:34 Normally all the right stakeholders are present at those meetings to make
  • 03:37 the decision whether to re-base line the project.
  • 03:41 Scope changes that are rejected are placed on the scope creep parking lot.
  • 03:45 And that way the project team can keep track of any of those ideas and
  • 03:49 possibly even use them in the event of a re-baseline of the project in the future.
  • 03:55 Let's talk about the scope creep parking lot for a moment.
  • 03:58 The scope creep parking lot is a database of potential changes
  • 04:01 to the project that have not been approved.
  • 04:04 Whenever a scope change proposed and rejected,
  • 04:07 it's placed on the scope creep parking lot.
  • 04:09 The list is often the starting point for the next generation project.
  • 04:14 If at any time the project is re-baselined because of some mandatory change,
  • 04:18 the scope creep parking lot is reviewed to determine if there's anything else that
  • 04:23 should be added at that time.
  • 04:25 Since we're already changing the project,
  • 04:28 this can be a good time to add something that maybe cannot stand on its own but
  • 04:31 it's still beneficial and appropriate to implement now.
  • 04:36 At the end of the project, anything that is still on the scope creep parking lot is
  • 04:39 handed off to whoever has responsibility for
  • 04:41 the next generation of the project work.
  • 04:43 Whether it's another team or just the managers of the result of the project.
  • 04:48 Scope Creep is often a problem but it can be managed, it can be controlled.
  • 04:53 These techniques will help you do just that.

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